Dazzle Ships

Augmented reality goes Pop!

Okay, I think it's safe to say that Augmented reality is now the toy of the moment.  Seems to be we can't move for the stuff here at Dazzleships control.  But I'm always one to add to the pile so here's the latest promotion for Julian Perretta's new track Ride My Star which claims to be the first ever Augmented Reality pop video? 

If you've got a webcam, head over to his website, print off the tracker sheet and you too can 'star' in the music video. Certainly a fun way to get people to check out his track but I'm disappointed that there is no way to record your own video creation and spread the word virally too (I've always wanted to star in a music video!).  After all, most of what we've we seen so far is great the first time you view it but there isn't much longevity in it but give me the ability to record my stuff and share it and my interest may be reignited. 

I mean, getting to tease an augmented reality sasquatch with bacon....genius *cough*!!

Bryan aka ThePersuader

These 'children' aren't invisible...

Childrens' charities have a rich heritage in producing campaigns that tug at our heart strings and/or shock us and this example from Australia follows that mold.  Unlike the infamous Heroin Baby from Barnados though, this example, run for the Australian Childhood Foundation, uses ambient, outdoor sites to bring their simple but powerful thought to life rather than photoshopped images: Society doesn't take enough notice of neglected children. 

Just the visible execution alone is worthy but JWT, responsible for this campaign, have covered the bases to ensure that when the inevitable vandalism happens, what is left of the poster isn't wasted.  It's hard to see in the picture below but behind the now missing 'child' is the message 'Thank you for seeing me'.

I have no numbers to prove donations are up for the ACF, but just check out the flash video at Ibelieveinadvertising.com to see the the almost ubiquitous impact this campaign has on the passing consumers (love the clip 39 seconds in where people are walking into each other!).

Nice work.  Let's hope the donations come rolling in off the back of this very creative use of Outdoor.

Bryan aka ThePersuader

Relevant context makes all the difference.

Whilst I was saddened that my own, mighty team weren't in this year's European cup final (we'll, we've won it more times than any other English team so I shouldn't be greedy), you couldn't move for the traditional sponsorship bumpers and advertising throughout the course of the evening.  But this stuff is all heavily controlled by the UEFA and the TV stations here in the UK......less so in Israel through and this has provided the perfect opportunity for Optalgin (Israel's leading brand of pain relief).

Every time a player got injured (and let's be honest, in European football the rate at which players fall over mortally wounded make it a miracle we ever get to complete a game!) the TV station would whip in the graphics for the pain relief's product endorsement.  The ad says simply: A tough pain? Optalgin for tough pains.

Genius I say.....just a shame we won't see any of that action here in the UK for the foreseeable future.

Bryan aka ThePersuader

Relevancy in action?

In a cluttered, fragmented world, it's relevancy of an advertiser's proposition that will make the difference between success and failure.  Relevancy can manifest itself in a number of ways but this is a great example from Colgate (Asia) of an advertiser creating a relevant aperture where previously none existed. 

Colgate had historically given out mini samples at events like 'Oral Health Month' but found little long term impact on consumer perceptions or sales was being delivered.  As a result, they've changed tact and decided to hand out free ice creams and lollipops.  Was this a nefarious act to help accelerate tooth decay worth of Dr. Evil?  Apparently not, since as the consumer finished their delicious, sugar filled treat they were left holding a perfectly formed little reminder that now would be a good time to clean their teeth.  

I'm not too sure whether this has helped switch consumers into Colgate products or simply increased the frequency of use with the consumers current brand (no data available) but I still think this is a great execution to ensure the message is delivered at a most relevant time.

I'm off to brush my teeth now.

Bryan aka ThePersuader

Patrick Bateman's worst nightmare?

Thank you to John Wilshire at PHD for this.  I won't repeat everything he has written, as you can read more on his blog here.  In short, how damn cool are the business 'cards' the guys at Lego have.  I am so jealous. 

 

While I admit they can't be the easiest to carry round in your pocket, they speak volumes about the company and I would hazard a guess that Charlotte Simonsen and her colleagues are pretty enthusiastic about their company.  The little things count you see. Unlike the standard cards most companies have, no one is going to lose these and everyone will talk about them.  It is such a simple, yet genius viral touch that instantly warms you to their staff and company.  They have learnt that every touch point matters.  Something companies often forget. 

I am not suggesting that it is related to the business cards alone, but coincidentally, after a few years of struggle, Lego have bounced back with double digit growth in 2008. 

It got me wondering what the following scene from American Psycho would have been like if Charlotte Simonsen from lego had been in the room at the time - click here.

I think it would have gone something like this; "Oh Jesus, the precision of the beams, axels and bricks must only be made possible by stereolithography machines, where the ABS plastic is heated to 232°C until at a dough-like consistency, before being injected into molds at pressures between 25 and 150 tons. Look at the moulds - they permit a tolerance of up to two thousandths of a millimeter, to ensure the bricks remain connected. The pure black lettering on the acrylonitrile butadiene sytrene resilient plastic. The red trousers even match the arms and logo."  At this point he would have then had a heart attack and the film would have ended.

- Sam

More aggregator weirdness

A little while ago we heaped fulsome praise on Aleksandr Orlov of  ComparetheMeerkat.com.  At the time he had 2,000 friends on Facebook.  Now it's 178,000.  Nice work.

We also had a bit of a pop at Confused.com. 

Their latest offering clearly hopes that a bit of meerkat magic will rub off on their character, Confucius:

A game attempt.  But they've bottled it.  Too much banging on about the site, and no attempt (that I can find) to make the character live outside the ads themselves, suggests nothing more than a new creative vehicle for the same old strategy.  

Aleksandr delivers much more.

An opportunity wasted.

-- Toby

More Hyundai

 

We like Hyundai North America at the moment. Yes they have done it again.   So they go and win the North American Car of the year for their all new luxury sedan the Genesis. Pretty cool that. But then they run this ad in the middle of the Superbowl.  

This ad is genius for four reasons.

1. It tells consumers something tangible about why the product is good. It won Car of the Year.

2. It uses competitors brand values to establish Hyundai's premium credentials

3. It expains, in a really nice way, how you should actually pronounce the brand name. Apparently its like Sunday not Mai Tai.

4. The other cars the Genesis beat to the North American Car of the Year award were the Ford Flex and the Diesel Volkswagen Jetta. Two car brands that did not appear in the ad.

We like Hyundai.

 

Ben

Pirates in th' dock

   

Thank ye t' Data Jedi Jago fer sharin' this seafarin' hearty tale.

Yesterday th' guys at Th' Pirate Bay sailed on trial in Sweden fer copy infringement, wi' th' Swedish Music industry lookin' fer US $13m in booty an' ham.

The booty be nay th' interestin' thin' about this case however. What be interestin' be that one o' th' defendants, Peter Sunde (aka brokep) be tweetin' away whilst sat in th' dock. In fact, he’s still tweetin' as I write now. Th' case has become a hot topic online as this post on TorrentFreak highlights. Numerous Twitter users be very kindly translatin' th' proceedings from Swedish into English so that th' world wide, social web can follow what be goin' on in court, makin' "#Spectrial" th' most searched tag in th' Twitterverse.

As Bryan pointed ou' t' us, 't looks like Th' Seafarin' Pirate Bay be takin' the'r approach o' helpin' swabbies t' connect together into th' courtroom wi' them.

  

The trial, Christian Engström,Vice Chairman o' th' Swedish Pirate Party believes, be more than jus' a prosecution o' Th' Pirate Bay. He feels 'tis a question o' th' future o' communication.

“Should the Internet be a place where everyone can communicate or should it not? That’s the question of this trial, and no court can answer that question. Even if The Pirate Bay would be freed all the way through the court system, the problem isn’t solved. The Copyright Lobby will demand more restrictions and tougher laws and the only way to protect social media culture in the long run is to work politically” (clearly nay a propper swashbuckler, as his lamnguage be all wrong).

The next step could be legal experts on Twitter who support Th' Pirate Bay offerin' the'r own advice. 'Tis a social media trial th' world be followin', an' while Peter Sunde recently tweeted "how the hell did they think this was going to be something else than EPIC FAIL for the prosecution? We're winning so hard", the reality be someone could end up walkin' th' plank at th' end.

That spake, wi` th` trial beein` scrutiniszed by thousands worldwide, maybe th` gentleman o` fortunes will win, and th` anitpiracy lobby will all get scurvy.

Keep watchin' ya scallywags,

- Sam (a buccanneer at heart)

If ye too want t' become a seafarin' hearty click here

 

 

Experiment in a recession

 

We talked recently about how the troubled car market can try to stimulate sales or maintain price by adding value by partnering with the right brands to create limited edition models. That's all good and well for some prospective buyers but at the moment a lot of the public just don't want to commit to a large purchase (Chart 4). To counter this Hyundai in the US are now introducing a new initiative to bail people out if they lose their job in the next 12 months. Basically they've added redundancy insurance into the purchase cost. It's a neat initiative that will no doubt generate sales as well as get a fair about of positive column inches.

This highlights that brands just can't stand still in a down-turn. Consumer attitudes and behaviour have changed significantly over the past 6-12 months, which means brands need to get to the bottom of these changes and innovate accordingly. Given the need for immediate results for some brands this might mean experimenting more and then latching on to something that really works. That or risk being left behind.

Stephen

Recession Retail

 

A great idea for ebay from Belgium a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately, we could be seeing a lot more of it soon.

-- Toby