« January 2014 | Main | March 2014 »

Subway Ad Poster Makes Train Arrivals A Hair-raising Experience (Video)

 

It's not every day a haircare ad blows you away.

This digital signage from Apotek in Sweden senses incoming trains at this Stockholm subway station, and makes the poster model's hair react with dramatic flourish.

Ad Age reports that agency Akestam Holst and production company Stopp outfitted a Clear Channel 'Play' screen with ultra sonic sensors set to recognize a train's arrival, but not react to passersby.

As each train came in, it sent the model's hair flying - much to everyone's delight. (Kind of makes you wonder what you could do in Chicago or San Francisco.)

So ask yourself: How can digital outdoor like this give a lift to your brand?

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


Weirdest. Commercial. Ever.

 

From the WTF Dept: The weirdest, most hilariously frightening commercial I've ever seen.

I don't know what EDEKA is.

I don't know what Supergeil is.

I don't know who Friedrich Liechtenstein is (...unless maybe he's the bastard child of TBWA\Chiat\Day's Lee Clow and Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World...).

But this commercial - or video (it's over three minutes long) is one strange mo-fo.

And it's sure to make "Super sexy, super easy, Supergeil" an Internet thing for days.

What's your view: Fun? Freak show? Or both?

(By way of crustybucket on Reddit)

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


3D Printing Clothes & Furniture: Designs, Not Products, As Brands

 

A couple of PSFK stories this past week have me wondering about what constitutes a "brand" in categories seen for so long now as immune to digital media disruption: Fashion and furniture. 

First up, news that a company called Electroloom hopes to launch ready-to-wear clothes that you could print from your 3D printer at home. And second, a look at what happens when this technology eventually results in home 3D printers (or even "bays") capable of printing out furniture (see YouTube video above).

Set aside the implications for retailers like The Gap or Ikea - which are immense - what happens when Ralph Lauren, for instance, no longer sells physical clothes, just creates the designs for them, and sells them 100% online - for instant print out in exactly the right size?

Granted - this is a giant "if" and a considerable "when." But the fact that this kind of technology is being rolled out so quickly, product brands of all should be gearing up for an age when books aren't the only things disrupted by the digital+physical connection, now that 3D printing is more than just an idea.

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


New Marvel Comics Augmented Reality Superhero Costumes Come With Super Powers (Video)

 

Okay, we're going to get our geek on here for a sec.

We actually tend to be more DC comics than Marvel Comics. Well, DC for comics and TV, Marvel for movies - but we digress. Either way, it's hard not to dig these new cosplay outfits - called Marvel Morphsuits - that are powered by Zappar and enable super powers to come to life when viewed through a mobile device.

Our own two cents: The app should come with video capture so kids (or let's face it, grownups) could make their own sfx-driven movies. 

Still: Great idea - and sure to cause a stir at Comic-Con this summer.

Read more, here. 

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


Head & Shoulders, McDonald's Pull New Pranks on Their Customers (Video)

 

Two more major brands are getting in on the whole prankvertising thing - punking customers for fun and profit.

First, the Head & Shoulders promotion pulls a hidden camera fast one on young men out on a first date with a snow princess, judging from the flakes falling from her head.

From all appearances, the guys acquit themselves well.

Meanwhile, Ronald McDonald's has decided to play mind games on passersby who are asked to snap a photo of a couple. A poster of a Big Mac is carried past them to cause a distraction while the female half of our couple switches places with another person. Will the unsuspecting dupe even notice?

 

It's only February, so just think of what brave brands will be pulling on people on or around April 1.

But before you try it yourself, be sure to check out our three important rules for successful prankvertising.

Read more on the Head & Shoulders prank here.

And read more on Mickey D's mischief here


Feature Length Commercial for LEGO Stacks Up $69.1 Million Opening Weekend

 

If you had any doubt about the power of branded entertainment, one look at the weekend's box office should change your mind, fast.

The star-studded 3D LEGO Movie is the biggest movie of the year so far, and the second biggest February opening ever, according to CNN.

What's most amazing, beyond the voice cast that featured everyone from Will Ferrell to Liam Neeson, this stop-motion-CGI-style adventure is basically a commercial for everyone's favorite children's toys.

Of course, it is not without precedent: Think Transformers, GI Joe, etc.

Still, in retrospect, all the massively powerful LEGO shorts over the last few years makes this movie seem long overdue.

Either way, make not mistake: All brands are lifestyle brands today, and it is the aura around them that matters just as much as the product itself.

Can't wait to see the user-generated content that comes out of this, too.

Read more, here.

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


'Dumb Starbucks' Opens, Sparks Social Media Sensation (Video)

 

Forget parody ad campaigns. Check out this TMZ YouTube video about Dumb Starbucks - which appears to be a parody coffee shop that has sparked a social media sensation. How do you think it will end? And can a Dumb McDonald's be far behind?

Read more, here.

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


A Restaurateur's Best Friend: Q&A with James McKinney, CEO of SimpleDeal (Pt 2)

Gw_james_mckinney_simpledealIn part one of my interview with SimpleDeal CEO James McKinney, we heard about how this new app connects passersby with restaurants right at the point of maximum interest.

Simpledeal logo

In part two, we'll hear more about what it means to restaurants - including how they might be able to turn a trove of data into a gold mine.

CLICK TO LISTEN: Q&A: James McKinney, CEO of SimpleDeal (Pt 2)

(Approx 7 min, 25 sec)

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes


Mobile Wingman for Your Next Meal: Q&A with James McKinney, CEO of SimpleDeal (Pt 1)

Gw_james_mckinney_simpledealI'm digging SimpleDeal, which looks to be a promising new hyper-local mobile app that connects restaurants with customers at the point of maximum interest.

Unlike apps for setting reservations, receiving daily deals, pre-ordering meals and so on, SimpleDeal acts like a kind of digital wingman, enabling passersby to point their mobile phones at a restaurant to see the menu, find out more about its offerings, review any special deals and make a dining decision.

Simpledeal logoThe restaurant can then follow up with new deals if the consumer opts in, but the app capitalizes on what I believe is mobile's greatest promise.

That is to say it is not push-based, it is pull-based - consumer activated, at the consumer's discretion, at the moment when a consumer is most interested in what you have to offer. And it is enabled through an online portal where restaurants can modify their messaging, or change out specials or deals, in real time.

Most important of all, it gives the client restaurant more than just a transactional ROI, it gives them added voice and value, by enabling them to share what they believe makes their offerings unique.

Time will tell if SimpleDeal, which is live in Long Beach California today, and about to expand into Orange County, will truly take off. But in a Q&A with McKinney, the model as he describes it is definitely worthy of the effort.

Among other things, McKinney points out that a "deal" doesn't need to mean "discount," which is an important factor for a famously margin-tight industry. And it may be the data the app generates that's may be of interest most of all.

CLICK TO LISTEN TO Q&A: James McKinney, CEO, SimpleDeal (Pt 1)

(Approx 6 min, 22 sec)

NEW: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes