Smell-vertising hits the UK with potato-scented bus shelters
To promote its new product, Ready Baked Jackets, McCain Foods is tempting U..Kconsumers with the wafting smell of "3-D baked potatoes" as they wait at city bus shelters in York, Manchester, London, Nottingham and Glasgow. When people press a button on a poster, a hidden heating element warms the fiberglass 3-D potato and releases the aroma of oven-baked jacket potato throughout the bus shelter. The aroma was developed over three months in collaboration with a specialist scent lab.
How to make awesome case studies
A great overview from Faris Yakob, a serial awards judge, on how best to present your work…aka 'advertising your advertising'.
Live cats + Facebook = best idea ever?!
Friskies, which rolled out an iPad game for cats last May, has restored human dominance with a Facebook-based live feed that lets humans remotely control the cats’ toys. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ESTime daily, 10 Friskies’s felines will be doing what they do best for the amusement of Facebook users everywhere. Humans get to play, too: In addition to activating three toys (you’ll need to wait in a queue to use them), you can switch cameras and zoom in and out. The best videos from theventure will also be stored on YouTube for viewing in the off hours. Certified Animal Behavior Consultant and cat behavior expert Pam Johnson-Bennett worked with Friskies to help recommend design themes and elements for the program, called the Friskies Plus Playhouse.
Why Pinterest is 2012’s hottest website
Pinterest is the breakout social network of 2012, but even technology addicts could be excused for missing its rise to success because of the unusual way it came to market. Rather than romancing the geeks and then crossing the chasm into mainstream, they instead focused on growing a devoted following. The basic premise is to encourage users to creates interest boards where they can enjoy "pinning" items they find around the Web. While clothing, home decor and recipes dominate the site, inspirational quotes and humor are also popular topics for users to add to their pinboards.
How successful is Pinterest? Unique visitors to the site grew 400% from September to December 2011 and just last week one study showed that Pinterest drives more visitors to third-party websites than Google+, Youtube and LinkedIn combined.
Superbowl breaks social TV and broadcast records
Superbowl XLVI was not only a big hit with broadcast viewers, it also excelled in the social TV space. Approximately 111.3 million Americans tuned in to watch the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots. That puts Super Bowl XLVI just ahead of last year’s record breaking broadcast, making the 2012 Super Bowl the most-watched U.S. TV broadcast ever. Of course, the Super Bowl didn’t just do well in TV ratings. It dominated the social conversations on Facebook and Twitter and social checkin services like GetGlue. According to social TV analytics, Super Bowl XLVI was the biggest social TVevent on record
If you have the time and the inclination, you can watch all of the Superbowl ads here (there are 54 of them).
Is OK GO’s Chevy-sponsored music video the best product placement ever?
The band OK Go has been among the smartest (and funniest) creators of viral media since its band-on-a-treadmill video exploded in 2006. This week they expanded their incomparable viral-video talents with "Needing/Getting," excerpts of which appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Chevy Sonic because the video co-stars the car. The video, which the band said took four months of preparation and four days to shoot, shows a Chevy Sonic outfitted with retractable arms driving a two-mile course studded with musical instruments. There were no stunt drivers, according to the band. The reception on the web so far has been wildly positive -- with even the blatant product placement being warmly received, 3.4 million views can’t be wrong!
Heineken serenades for Valentines Day
Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam is helping to ignite romance this Valentine’s Day with the launch of a fun new Facebook application called ‘The Serenade’.
Based on the brand’s second global film ‘The Date’, the new app enables Heineken consumers to send humorous personalized songs to potential partners, inviting them on a date. Available in twenty languages, ‘The Serenade’ is designed ‘to put love in the air and smiles on faces around the world’
In other Valentines news…
Eharmony gets professional calligrapher to pen your Facebook love notes
eHarmony
(Australia) have launched a nostalgic
campaign to handwrite love letters submitted on
Facebook and deliver them in
time for Valentine’s Day. It is celebrating the
art of calligraphy and
old-fashioned romance, and trying to inspire
non-digital communication ideas.
Liz Claiborne: Love is not abuse app
The Love Is Not Abuse app is a free resource created by Liz Claiborne Inc., the women’s clothing brand that also works to end domestic violence. It’s aimed at parents who want to find out information on teen dating abuse and violence in the digital age. It gives them a demonstration of the dangers, action steps, tips, and links to helpful services and they can also experience it first-hand. Text messages, emails and phone calls are received in real-time, to mimic the controlling and abusive behaviors teens may face in their relationships.
New Mercedes ads can only be seen by truck drivers
To promote its truck model Actros, Mercedes-Benz hit the mark with a unique campaign that specifically got the attention of its target consumers. Mercedes placed ads on top of sedans where only truck drivers intheir raised cabs could see them. Each sticker ad would display an image of an enthusiastic passenger, showing the truck driver the type of reactions he would receive from fellow drivers if he drove the impressive Actros.
Grannies call you on National Sweater Day
WWF and supermarket chain Loblaw wanted to raise awareness among Canadians for National Sweater Day on Feb.9th. On this day you are to turn down the heat and put on a sweater. In support of this day, The Granny Call Centre was set up– where you can sign up to get a call from a real Granny, reminding you to put on some knitwear. A great idea and brilliant execution.