Tuesday 31 March 2009

Augmented Reality Goes A Step Further

Not long ago I brought to you the phenomenon of Augmented Reality and how advertisers and marketers were beginning to exploit it within campaigns. Well I can now bring to you this, Topps 3D Trading Cards. This won't mean much for British readers but you can still appreciate the awesomeness of it! Here you have Augmented Reality being used in consumer market's.

A company named Total Immersion are leading the way with Augmented Reality and have come up with and developed these amazing 3D trading cards, with which the user can then interact on a gaming type platform through their computers. Amazing.

Just think of the possibilities ahead...full 3d augmented reality games? I can see it already! I can also think of some great ways to advertise these new cards!


Devious Macbook Air Ad

Had to post this up! Just came across it after being linked to it from a tweet on twitter. I don't think it is real - but it is pretty damn funny! I will leave this one short and sweet. Should I be putting categories onto these posts?! Wait...where is my hash key on this mac keyboard?! ARGH!


McCann Erickson Placement and Print Ads



First off...check out this print ad above you here! How awesome is this?! I have neglected looking at awesome print adverts so here is a little taster! You can't deny they are all pretty cool! I have picked these ones because not only are they VERY clever in concept and copy, but their execution and composition is just ore inspiring! Agree?

So, I am two days into my first ever placement at an ad agency - McCann Erickson Comms House, Manchester. It is going really well so far. I have been working on a brief for anti-drug driving, and will be getting a new brief to get stuck into tomorrow as well. Thankfully my creative juices have been flowing!

This morning I had a chat with and went through one of the art directors "books" (industry term for portfolio) to put it bluntly - it was amazing!! So much work and effort had been put in and the guy was just full of quirky cool ideas. It really kicked me up the ass. I am taking my own book in tomorrow for him to have a look at, and maybe some others too which is bit daunting but I am going to tell them to rip me to shreds on it because it is crap and they know what they are talking about!

So, not much else to say really! Going great so far, and I'm slowly getting to know people - everyone is so busy that it's hard to get a good convo in a lot of the time!

So enjoy the ads I have posted here and let me know what you think!




Saturday 28 March 2009

Give This A Go

Someone just linked to this on Twitter so I just HAD to whack it up on here. I gave it a go and it does work! A couple minutes of light relief from what ever you are doing!

How did it go for you?!

Earth Hour 2009

Throughout the social-networking hemisphere people are talking about the WWF sponsored Earth Hour. I thought I would jump on the band wagon simply because there is a cool advert to go with it. The Sydney division of ad agency Leo Burnett have created the advert above to promote the event. I think it is clever, if not slightly on the long side. But it makes it's point clearly.

To be honest, I doubt I will be able to turn off my lights for an hour tonight, I have a lot to do but we will see.

If you haven't heard about the event - the idea is that you turn off all unnecessary lighting between 8.30-9.30pm local time TONIGHT! Sydney started off the event and apparently over 800 cities around the world are doing their bit.


Mini Viral

This is a new viral video for Mini. Really awesome use of CGI and pretty funny as well. Don't know if it quite sells me a mini, those Mini Vans are pretty nasty to look at, but nevertheless, a damn good 'mini' viral!


Typo

This is a cool animation that features some quirky typography. I think there is an important message in there too but I got hooked by how good the animation was through the whole video, the end kinda spoils it but what can you do!


Friday 27 March 2009

When Alcoholics Get Bored

I have been hearing through the grape vine that a lot of people reckon this could be the next "viral video" to hit the net running. I would have to agree, it is bloody incredible! I won't spoil the post by saying much more than this.

Now go and spread the word, tell your friends and make sure they watch it on GUERILLA BLOGGING!

http://tinyurl.com/d7w6gw - just copy and paste them that link!


Thursday 26 March 2009

Sharp Shooter

Below here are some images of objects being penertrated by an air gun pellet from a rifle held by artist Alan Sailer in his studio. He photographs the moment using high speed cameras and the result is quite spectacular.

This is actually a tomato being shot. I think what's happening on the right hand side actually looks like mold growing...

This one is a grape being shot at.

Quite obviously a strawberry being blown to smithereens.

Now this one is the coolest as far as I am concerned. It is a christmas tree bauble that has been filled with orange jelly. The artist says is was most interesting because the jelly actually held the pieces of the exploding bauble together. I concur.

Crude But Funny

So I first heard about this on the radio. Let me explain...a student went up onto the flat part of his parents roof late one night and painted this large penis. His parents were clueless to the prank and the penis went unnoticed until a helicopter pilot was so amused he contacted the owners of the house. Apparently the pranked parents then rang up their sun, who was taking a gap year traveling around the world, and asked him if he knew anything about it and got the reply "Ah, so you found it then?" This was a whole YEAR after the penis appeared.

The image you see there is actually taken from Google Earth. It seems this story is actually spreading across the internet in quite a viral fashion. I just love how things get spread across the internet so quickly. No doubt one or two of you will tell someone about this where ever you are and BOOM it has spread even further.

I think this student is a genius. Fact.

Staying With The Billboard Theme

It has been a long couple of days and I have neglected the blog! I need to get back on it and reply to your comments.

For now, I thought I would blog some images of some cool billboards that I have popped up here and there over the years.

This billboard was for Kill Bill. The really cool thing about it I think is the attention to detail. Look at how they have shaped the blood splatter around the car and not just put it all over the place.

Simple yet more than effective, a really cunning idea.

I really love billboards the quite literally 'spill' out and onto the surrounding environment.

Another really clever example. I am not actually quite sure if this is just an illusion, or if those fingers really are protruding out.

This one makes me hungry. You?

Love this one! Speaks for itself, with a little humor to boot!

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Fcuk "Imagiplore" Billboard Mock Up's

So I thought I would share with you what I have spent my monday evening doing. Here are the mock-ups for the billboard element to a campaign I am doing for university at the moment. I have been working with my usual creative partner on this but I have actually had most of the influence on the concept, the copy and the execution.

I won't go into the boring details here, and the ad would make more sense if you were to see the TV ad spot we put together (undecided if I will blog this or not) but I am quite happy with how these mock ups have come out.

THe campaign is very copy driven, which (for non-advertising savvy folk) means the text on the advert/slogan's/tag-lines etc. The copy is helped along with the intriguing gentlemen in the forefront of the frame (my friend Liam.) He is the main focal point in the TV spot and reads a monologue to camera, hence why it makes more sense as a full campaign.

Let me explain the use of Audrina Patridge from The Hills. We had trouble with the models for the shoot (long story) so we had to use Liam and then find the right sort of image, sadly this came with Audrina's face and body...but we plan to blag this during the presentation by suggesting we have used her as a celebrity endorsement to the campaign.

There is also an ambient event incorporated into the campaign, a bit of GUERILLA advertising!


Sunday 22 March 2009

Augmented Reality

The rules of advertising are changing, and they are changing rapidly! Advertisers have to be constantly aware and up to date with new trends in technology, and here is the newest conception...

AUGMENTED REALITY

Now, I am no expert on this, but here is what I understand . . . this technology was invented by the military and has since been pushed through into games development. I hear through the grape vine that software companies are developing games that use your surroundings as a back drop and place 3D simulations right in front of you.

Basically, you hold or place a piece of card with a particular pattern on it into a room and when you wear special goggles, or look at it with a special camera, a 3D object that is programmed to recognise the pattern appears.


Here is an extract about how an energy company is exploiting this new tech to advertise a new service...

Augmented reality is getting increasingly more buzz and we've seen all kinds of applications. Recently the baseball trading cards application got flagged as featured on www.t-immersion.com. By the way, this site's video gallery features many great examples smartly categorized in its digital marketing, events, consumer products... sections.

So it's great to see one of the most 'serious' categories and companies in the world to be creative with this technology. On a new GE Energy website promoting its Smart Grid windmill technology you can print out a special marker that looks like a solar panel and when keeping it in front of your webcam, it will bring to live smart grid on your screen... featuring even a cute scare crow. You can also blow into your computer's microphone to make the turbines spin faster.

Advertising that smartly uses technology to create an involving experience people want to spend time with is certainly one way to get your target audience notice your advertising more. P.S. I love the fact that the site also mentions how the experience was created...

AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCE

Saturday 21 March 2009

Sticking With The Durex Theme...

Ok so kill me . . . just came across this from the MECH guys again . . . hilarious no?


Made To Make You Last Longer

So, I thought I would share with you a little snippet of some of the work the agency McCann Erickson Communicatons House, based in leafy Cheshire, UK, do for their client's.

This viral video was created for client Durex. I think it speaks for itself really, don't you? Well, I don't really want to have to go into explaining why condoms are useful etc, so please don't make me!

The reason I am showing you this is because I am spending a week with them on a creative work experience placement starting a week on Monday and I cannot wait! I am very proud to think I will be working along side the masterminds behind this viral!


Behind The Scenes - Sony Bravia Bouncy Balls

So after the last post I thought it would be sensible to post a behind-the-scenes look at the making of quite an influential and memorable advert.

Everyone must have seen the Sony Bravia campaign over the last couple of years. This advert was one of the first, and one of the best of the lot and is highly regarded in the industry as, well, AWESOME!

Check out how they made it...it wasn't just CGI!


Audi Q5 Advert

This is one of my favorites ads to have been aired over the last year or so in the UK. I don't know if it was ever rolled out globally so I thought I would share it.

It was made by the London arm the global agency BBH and features a box in an empty gallery which is then slowly opened and shaped into an Audi Q5 by a character on/inside the box.

The song in the background is by Woodie Guthrie and called "Car's" and I think it is the perfect choice for this ad.

It really gets me going when I see a piece of advertising that is so simple, but was probably and absolute pain in the arse to make! People don't appreciate the effort that goes into TV commercials when they just fast forward on sky plus but for something like this, we should all sit back and listen!


FutureMe.org

So here is a quirky website you should check out.

FutureMe

It's a simple concept - you write an email today and schedule to send it to yourself in the future. I just did one to send to myself on my 24th birthday asking all the same questions I am asking myself now, but hopefully by then I will know the answers.

Will your dreams come true?
Will you get that job?
Will you run that marathon you always promise yourself you will one day run?

Ok, so that last one probably will never have an answer but you know...


Friday 20 March 2009

Slightly Concerning...

Just came across this blog entry.

People learning English have the possibility to receive “One Word a Day” via email in order to improve their vocabulary.

The word of today is funny, I wouldn’t have thought that it makes its way into regular vocabulary so fast:

Your word for 20th March 2009 is

* * * twittering * * *

Please choose the correct definition and click the link.

a) whistling or humming the same tune over and over
http://www.owad.de/check.php4?id=2260&choice=1&sid=1181682

b) sending short electronic texts to let people know what you are doing
http://www.owad.de/check.php4?id=2260&choice=3&sid=1181682

c) nervously tapping the foot or leg as a sign of impatience
http://www.owad.de/check.php4?id=2260&choice=5&sid=1181682

Happy guessing!

What is the world coming to?!


Signs For Schweppes

Ok so this is a short film made as part of a new campaign for Schweppes. The campaign is to reposition Schweppes as a soft drink for adults. The drinks company launched a website called the Schweppes Short Film Festival and commissioned five directors to create short films aimed at a "mature audience".

The short film Signs quickly made it over on youtube to their top 10 and has had nearly a million hits VERY quickly. Each video has a "Schhhh" moment, and each has some very clever and subtle product placement.

The films are also going to be cut into short adverts and aired globally, they hope. So far the campaign has only been rolled out through Eastern Europe but they hope to take it global asap.

I love the Signs. It kept me hooked and I seriously recommend watching it if you have 10 minutes to spare! Another great example of alternative advertising techniques! A lot of thought has gone into this campaign and I hope it pays off for them!

Schweppes Short Film Festival


Thursday 19 March 2009

Extreme Sheep Herding

I think this is fantastic. It's amazing what some people can do we LED's, sheep and a bit of imagination! This is a viral video made for Samsung. I think it definitely works. What do you reckon?

I would love to one day have a hand in making something as epic as this!


Tuesday 17 March 2009

Facebook Homepage Haters Unite

I have just come across this interesting little article about the state of Facebook post-refresh on their homepage. The new homepage really is rubbish and WAY too much like Twitter. To be honest, the design of Facebook has never much rivaled the brilliance of myspace so what can you expect from a CEO who seems to lack much creativity! I say Facebook should let you edit your own profile background etc . . . what do you reckon?

The article is taken from gawker.com.

Has Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg been driven mad by envy? In his effort to redesign his social network in the image of Twitter, he may well end up destroying everything good about it, users say.

Valleywag alumnus Paul Boutin, now writing in the New York Times, dismisses the complaints as "inevitable" gripes from people who don't like change. That may have been true for Facebook's substantial revamp last fall, which smartly cribbed some elements from Twitter. But as people get used to the latest changes, they're starting to realize that this redesign is simply, objectively bad.

Facebook actually introduced status updates before Twitter even launched, a fact few people now remember among the wave of Twitter hype. But the sites have long differed in their presentation of updates. Twitter shows all your friends' updates in an undifferentiated fashion; try to go back more than an hour or two, and you get lost in the noise. Until now, an algorithm has ruled Facebook's presentation of updates, so only the most interesting bits show up on a user's "news feed"; not all updates show up, but the vital ones do.

The redesign replaced the feed on Facebook's homepage with a complete stream of all friends' updates — all the noise of Twitter, but without its simplicity. One annoyance: You can no longer delete status updates from your homepage. Instead, you have to go through an elaborate workaround.

Facebook's algorithmic best-of selections, meanwhile, have been shunted over to a right-hand column which users can't control. That's leading to all kinds of hilarity, a tipster reports:

A woman complained about not being able to delete things from the "highlights" sidebar because a friend is also friends with her ex-husband. The friend tagged the ex in a photo and I guess the photo was popular enough to wind up in the ex-wife's highlights sidebar. So now every time she signs on, there's a photo of her ex-husband waiting to greet her. Awesome!

Another person complained about the same highlights sidebar because several friends had joined a group that uses an X-rated photo for its logo. Having several friends join a group apparently puts the group and its logo in the highlights. She is now greeted with said explicit photo every time she signs on, with no way to get rid of it.

Among the many worthless apps on FB, there is one called "big wet boobs." As I said in my last email, whenever people send virtual stuff to each other, each "gift" shows up one right after the other on your home page. So this person now has dozens and dozens of entries showing "Bob sent so-and-so Big Wet Boobs." (This one in particular sent me into fits of giggles.)

This redesign, in short, promises to be the kind of nightmare presented by Facebook's debacular Beacon ads, which exposed users' purchases to friends willy-nilly before an embarrassed Zuckerberg nixed them.

Facebook's strength has always been its filters — the ability to get a picture of what your friends are up to without being drowned in updates. Zuckerberg has thrown his 175 million users into the deep end of the pool, with the thought that the masses are like him and his friends — omnivorous consumers of momentary trivia. There's a reason why Facebook has more than 175 million users and Twitter a mere 6 million: Because Facebook has offered a better product than Twitter.

Has, past tense. Facebook snuck up behind MySpace and zoomed past it; it is now almost twice the size of the struggling News Corp. property. Zuckerberg appears to be worried Twitter will do the same. Certainly there are Twitter fanatics telling him he's missing the boat, 140 characters at a time, all day long. And Zuckerberg is right to be paranoid. But there's a reason why paranoia is classified as insanity.


Rolling Adverts

So, this kind of fits in with the over all title of this blog . . . guerilla advertising . . . in this clip are a few quirky examples of moving adverts. Adverts stuck on the back of lorries basically. But I thought these ones were quite cool, and just a little bit different so please observe with pleasure and let me know what you think!

It is a strange thing to be interested in advertising, but in truth it is ALL around us - you take in over 1500 ads a day without realising it. When you pass a car on the road, it could be considered to be an advert - especially when one is broken down or on fire, that tells you NOT TO BUY IT!

P.S. Appreciate the music in the background of this clip. It makes it I think.


Monday 16 March 2009

This Is Interesting...

So everyone is aware that social networking online is taking over the world, application by application. Well, advertisers are aware of this too and so are slowly coming up with more and more intelligent ways to advertise and take advantage of this ever growing niche.

I have come across a new idea for advertising within social media, its being called WOMI (Word Of Mouth Impression.) It is basically a mini-application which users add to their facebook, twitter etc which spreads itself out through ones personal social network of contacts and friends.

Here is an official description of the process:

WOMI campaigns present visitors with ads asking them for some kind of input either though a multiple choice question or using a text field. SocialMedia then uses this input to customize ads which are shown to the user’s friends on the same social network.

For example, if an ad for Star Wars had a call-to-action asking if I was on the Light Side or Dark Side of the Force, it could take my response and then present my friends with an ad that said “Jason is on the Light Side, how about you?”. In turn, their responses are passed on to all of their friends, making this among the first kind of advertising with a viral element.

Now this sounds interesting, it could work great providing it leaves the user with some control and does not invade, or appear to invade a person's network. Users love to get involved with surveys and polls etc so this could give an advert great coverage.

But is this idea taking it just a little too far? Should users remain in control of which contacts this application can target?

Thoughts?


Even Super Heroes Have Laundry

You see, you might be able to save the world . . . but even the most hero-like of us all have to do our washing.

Human Tetris

Well this is just awesome! HUMAN TETRIS!! Holy moly this takes me right back to my childhood, I spent HOURS playing on this game on the original game boy.

I hear it is the 4th video performance of the GAME OVER project directed by a Swiss artist by the name of Guillaume Reymond.

What do you reckon? I love a good bit of stop frame animation! Something like this, put into context, could make a bloody good advert!! If you could work it so that this was done LIVE in a area of high foot traffic it would be a HIT!


Modern Twist On Retro Gaming

Just came across this on the world wide web. It is a remake of some retro gaming titles such as Donkey Kong, Yoshi Island, Advance Wars, Street Fighter and a few others! Makes for some fun viewing! I hear it was created by RETROnoob over at Deviant Art. Hit the link to see the fill set of images.

Retro Modern Gaming


Sunday 15 March 2009

Next Gen Jeans?



So here is a pair of jeans designed by a 22 year old product design student. They feature a built in keyboard, mouse and speakers. There is only one downside to them . . . they arn't wireless . . . yet!

Will they catch on? Would you wear them?

A Gathering For Charity

Thought I would share this little tv commercial for Comic Relief 2009. Created by Fallon London. It speaks for itself really.


Saturday 14 March 2009

The City That Never Sleeps

Coming up are some of my favorite images/places in New York.

Times Square from the box office steps. The buzz, the lights, the ticket touts, the insanity. What's not to love?!

I believe this is the IBM tower behind the Apple Store on 5th Avenue. Standing on that corner, on 59th and 5th just astounds me. The numerous views you can get from that one spot is intoxicating.

Another view from that same spot by the Apple Store. The famous Plaza Hotel next to one of my top 5 scrapers in the city. I don't know much about this building, all i know is that it is gorgeous...as buildings go of course!

The view from a 16th storey bedroom in the hotel we stayed at on E 40th and Lex. It had been snowing and raining all day and the Empire State slowly dissapeared through the evening. Earlier in the day I had a breath taking view of the south of Manhattan from Cunning in Soho during my interview. I didn't take a picture at the time - thankfully I'm working there for three weeks later this year so I have plenty of time.

Bank of America Tower at Bryant Park. Arguably my favorite building in the city, and I think the greenest sky scraper in the world! I watched a documentary on the building of it and have been infatuated ever since, luckily it was only 4 blocks from the hotel. Just check out the clarity of that blue sky if you please.

Borja Bonaque

Well this Twitter thing isn't so bad at all. It's lead me to read some really interesting blogs and find myself quite inspired.

Below are a couple of city scape prints by artists Borja Bonaque. A passion of mine are city scapes, they really do it for me.



You can find more at Borja Bonaque

Seeing these prints has inspired me to have a play with some of my favorite photos I took of New York this year.

Tuesday 10 March 2009

Let's Dance!


This viral was filmed in London's Liverpool Street Station just a few days ago. Commuters were surprised by no less than 350 professional dancers!

The video has already been viewed over 7 million times on youtube - this must have worked surely?!


Tetley Tea Advert


I am featuring this advert simply because it is executed so perfectly. I sadly have not had the chance to catch this advert on the TV yet - but I can't wait to see it.

It is to advertise the new sub-brand Tetley Red from Tetley Tea and directed by Chris Hewitt.


Follow Up Cadburys Advert


This is the third advert from Fallon London for Cadburys. It follows on from the successful Gorilla Ad (featured AGES ago on this very blog!) and a much less successful ad which featured different vehicles you see at an airport racing up a runway.

It is just another great example of whacky ways to create entertainment, which in turn creates a buzz around the brand.

In the modern age it is all about BUZZ!


$3 Million Dollars - Worth It?


Advertisers paid a mere $3 million dollars to air this ad during the Super Bowl and I am REALLY glad they did! It is simple, but so affective and infectious!


Baby Car Logos

So here is something I came across today. Every company, big or small had to start somewhere, everyone started out small. When these companies were born, the looked very different to how they look now.

Look at these images of car brand logos and think about what they really look like, and appreciate the progression and growth of both humans, and brands.






Street Animals in New York


So check this out...

This is the kind of thing I love, this is what I believe in . . . this is what advertisers should be doing more of in the future!

Joshua Allen Harris gained some press with his inflatable street art—animals, serpents, and monsters.

Inspired by this, the advertising agency Ogilvy NY worked with the artist to create a emotional public service announcement for the Environmental Defense Fund.

Inspiring.


Monday 9 March 2009

Tweet With Me

So I am embracing one of the newst forms of social networking. Twitter. It seems to be popular with people in the creative industries so I have conformed and jumped on the band wagon!

Do you tweet?! Follow me!

http://twitter.com/tommyjames


New York For Summer? Yes Please....

Okay, so I don't want to bore anyone or get to big for my boots here so I will keep this life update short and well, kinda sweet!

I went to New York with university a couple weeks ago and went to two interviews with two different, and truly awesome advertising agencies both based in Soho. The interviews went well and upon my return to blighty the first agency offered me a three week internship and the second a full SEVEN week internship!

I fly out at the end of May and I'm living in The New Yorker Hotel on 8th Avenue at 34th Street! My dreams are slowly coming true, so as you can probably imagine I'm MEGA excited!

Both agencies are advocates of GUERILLA ADVERTISING!!! Which is obviously just awesome, and is absolutely what I believe at and what I am good at!

and the whole adventure will make for some AWESOME blogging so please do keep checking back!