SPARK: The latest digital trends and unique thinking

POST COMMERCIALISM AND THE RISE OF PURPOSE

Tech Innovation and Earned Media - the twin kings of marketing for the last couple of years - are now being challenged for their title. They will undoubtedly remain strong players for years to come, but the new kings of the hill are likely to be Purpose and Earned Business. Well worth reading.

GUARANA ANTARTICA: EX LOVER BLOCK APP

Here’s a fun app idea from Guarana Antartica, who recently launched the Ex-Lover Blocker app for iPhone, which gives friends the tools they need to help their heartbroken mate get over an ex-girlfriend/boyfriend. The app, created by DDB Brazil, blocks the ex’s phone number so that the heartbroken mate can’t call their ex. If they do try and make the call, their friends will be informed so that they can intervene and save them from making this mistake. The app also releases reminders of facts that caused their friend to suffer during the relationship.
 
WITH NEW APP, FACEBOOK AIMS TO BRING SOCIAL INSIGHTS TO CONSUMER HEALTH

Facebook is wading into the health tech space. The social network announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with GE to launch a health app called Healthy Share, that lets people add health and fitness goals to their timelines so friends can help them achieve them. Launched to coincide with the London 2012 Olympics, the app includes a range of fitness and diet challenges, as well as workouts sponsored by Olympians Michael Johnson and Summer Sanders, and Olympic hopefuls Kevin Durant and Alex Morgan. Using the Olympics as a social catalyst, GE global digital marketing executive director, Linda Boff, said: “It’s a platform that helps people get motivated and lean into better health.”

BRITISH AIRWAYS: HOME ADVANTAGE

BBH London has just unveiled its Olympics work for British Airways, which in a brave twist for an airline, is encouraging the people of Britain not to fly away but instead to stay home and support team GB. In order to give some background as to the thinking behind this direction, they’ve written an insightful blog post which explains how they got there from start to finish. It includes more detail on the other elements of the campaign, including using influencers (GB Olympians) to spread the ad, personal and social aspects that people can get involved in and a bespoke documentary that explores the advantages of athletes competing on home soil with a nation behind them.

DON DRAPER DROPS IN ON CANNES AD FEST

Yes, he really did.

COCA COLA: BEAT TV

Coca-Cola is taking its Olympic sponsorship one step further with an ad-sponsored original TV show Beat TV. The original series - a first for the marketer - will air 10 episodes on weeknights from July 30 through Aug. 10 through a variety of broadcast partnerships. Celebrity and athlete interviews, live musical performances and the Beat Bus, a mobile pop-up studio, will be main stays of the variety-style show, which can be sliced and diced for use by Coca Cola marketers around the world.

CANNES PROMO/ACTIVATION GRAND PRIX WINNER: AMERICAN EXPRESS SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAYS

Tuesday night was the first of Cannes Lions’ award ceremonies for promotions, activations and PR. The Grand Prix for Promo & Activation, as well as Direct, went to Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s 'Small Business Gets an Official Day' (above) for American Express. After watching the case study video, I whole heartedly agree is a worthy winner. What a brilliant idea and even better execution!

MCDONALDS HAMBURGER TRAIN TIMETABLE

Here is a smart campaign idea from McDonalds in Poland by DDB Warsaw, which has just won some acclaim at Cannes. At the Central Station of Warsaw, Poland, McDonalds integrated their menu into the train timetable. The timetable not only showed up-to-date schedule information but also showed how many items from the menu you had time for, depending on how long you had to wait for the train. If you were delayed by 20 minutes it showed that you would have time for a cheeseburger and some fries. McDonalds saw an increase of 4,500 extra customers in the first month after installing the new timetable.

MICROSOFT UNVEILS SURFACE TABLETS

The star of Microsoft’s mystery Monday unveiling has been revealed: Surface, a Windows tablet. Just as Windows 8 is a reimagining of the Windows operating system, Microsoft describes Surface as a reimagining of the tablet. The first of its kind, Surface is designed to work as both tablet and PC with unique features and ‘gorilla glass’. Check it out.

DORITOS VERSUS ROSS NOBLE ON TWITTER

U.K. comedian Ross Noble likes to have fun with Twitter. He sets up occasional "Twitterbombard" campaigns, asking his followers and fans at his gigs, to deluge a particular Twitter user - a member of Parliament or a brand, for example, with ridiculous questions. One of those brands, Doritos, decided to have fun with Mr. Noble in return, after he talked about bombarding Doritos during a TV talk show appearance. The bizarre questions came flooding in and Twitter users found, to their surprise, that @DoritosUK responded not just with words, but with images as well. So when @brentusmc asked if it was OK for his hamster to use a Dorito as a sled to get down the stairs, he got a return tweet saying "We aim to please," accompanied by a picture of a hamster riding a Dorito down a staircase.

The conversations continued with images of sunflowers made of Doritos, a Dorito goldfish, a bathtub full of Doritos, Dr. Spock ears made of Doritos, a Doritos hang glider, Doritos sun cream, and a replacement wing for a pet moth fashioned out of a Dorito. The grand finale was a 'present' to Mr. Noble from Doritos, an image of him made entirely out of Doritos. Just brilliant.

ADIDAS: READY TO RUN

With the insight the younger audience in France hated running, Adidas needed a new way to create hype for the re launch of the Climacools – pure running shoes, so they launched this experiential campaign “Ready to run.” The concept begins with each teen that tries on a pair of Climacools anywhere in France has a chance to be chosen to carry out a mission which involves racing across the city. The chosen teen gets kidnaped from within the store, taken into a van, given earphones and instructions before they are left to run their mission. They are filmed as they carry out their hour long operation. Adidas involved key stars in the campaign such as athlete Teddy Riner’s (world judo champion) who gave the teens their instructions remotely.