Introducing Nokia Push Burton

Good morning!!  As forecasted, the weather is not looking very hot this morning.  "Heavy Rain" is forecasted all day long.  This should make my morning commute that much more fun.  I forgot to mention in my last post that I was in NY this past weekend running in the Continental Airlines 5th Avenue Mile!  I ended up running it in 5 minutes 31 seconds, which is a time I did not expect at all, but still got me pretty pumped.  Oh and I can't forget...I also watched the film Mulholland Dr...any of you out there seen it?  If you haven't get ready to say to yourself...ok I need to watch that again, because you certainly finish the movie asking yourself um...what the hell just happened?

Anyhow, let's get to the topic of today's post.  As I wrote about a few days ago, Nokia is launching a series of commercials about their newest phone, the N8.  Well to my surprise, Nokia just keeps coming out with content to promote the phone.  Their most recent video features a partnership between Nokia and Burton Snowboards, and showcases the phone brand's Push technologies to snowboarding.  Just last year, Nokia announced the Push Project, and did something similar with skateboarding.  It gave skateboarders the ability to score their real life moves as they would in a video game. The same approach applies with snowboarding in that now your able to score your real life moves on the slopes!  Certainly sounds pretty cool.  I think I need to see the phone first before I say anything!  If you want to read more about this particular project, check out the Nokia Push Burton blog otherwise just watch the video!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

It's a lot better than just a disposable ad

Good morning!!  Haven't posted in a few days due to a variety of things, mostly due to the lack of time.  I wanted to write a post for this morning but I had a bit of an adventure on the NJ Turnpike when our car broke down, and eventually had to be towed back to DC.  All in all, it was a very long night!
Anyways, this morning's post was sent to me by my old friend, Trish.  She works over at UM London, who was responsible for this particular initiative.  As you can see from the video, they are looking to promote the launch of the widely popular video game Halo Reach, by painting a 50ft mural at the Westfield Mall.  I've played Halo a few times here and there but I do know there are people out there who are hardcore addicts about this.  
The idea of painting a 50ft mural is pretty cool in itself based on the sheer size of the project.  I would imagine that the mall had some sort of launch for the game, which would have added to the appeal of painting that mural.  My only criticism would be that while the idea is cool, how does it really connect with the people playing the game.  Yes, it might get them a little excited before entering the mall, and yes it might spark some interest in buying the game right when you got there but does it have any other appeal?  I would like to actually hear more about what they were were looking for with this campaign.  Otherwise, I thought it was a job well done. 
 What are your thoughts? 

~Until Next Time~
WIM

The Homer Simpson Escalator

Good morning!! I love these types of advertisements...the ones you don't expect but can only really figure out when you look at them from a distance.  Being a huge fan of The Simpsons, this particular advertisement really caught my eye.  It's a little old seeing that it's promoting their movie but regardless I thought it was still worth sharing based on how creative it is.  I want to make sure I don't get sole credit for finding this, so here goes. Thanks to Ads of the World who found it via julien-hatton who found it via sitesquibuzz!  I'm glad it found its way to The WIM at the end.  Anyways, here it is and let me know what you thought!

~Until Next Time~
WIM

Choredography

Good morning!! So this morning I bring to you another video featuring dogs!  Titled chore-dog-raphy for a reason, the band OK Go has put together another classic video that uses the all too familiar choreography but this time around they have friends with them.  I can't even imagine how long it must have taken but as you will soon see, the end result was awesome.

Enjoy!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

Every home needs a Harvey

Good morning!! Back to Monday it is...how was your weekend?  Anything fun happen?  I went and watched the Woodrow Wilson Half Marathon take place yesterday morning, that was pretty eventful.  Reminds me of how incredibly fast some people are haha.  Speaking of which, I should actually sign up for my next race at some point.

Anyhow, besides the many reasons that exist that dogs are better than cats, I thought I would feature dogs for Monday's daily dose of WIM, rather than the all too familiar cat of last week.  Red Brick Road, the agency behind this spot produced it for for Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and ITV.  Essentially, Thinkbox is looking to show everyone the effectiveness of TV advertising.  The commercial itself is pretty amusing.  We watch a couple walk into a pet store, and find themselves in the difficult dilemma of which dog they should choose.  Fortunately, we have Harvey to help out.  Just so I don't spoil it for everyone, I may as well say that every home does need a Harvey.  Enjoy and have a great Monday!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

It's not technology, it's what you do with it.

 

Good morning!! Finally Friday and looking forward to the weekend. I had my first game of the basketball league last night...unfortunately we lost but to the other teams credit, they were pretty good. I think we got them next time though.

Anyhow, this morning I bring to you a spot featuring the N8 from Nokia. I'm extremely excited to be posting about this, not only is it because Nokia is from Finland, but it's because I've been anxiously waiting for the arrival of this phone. With Nokia's stock not doing very well over the last few years, it's something like this that might give them a little spark. With a newly appointed CEO, you can somehow envision where they want to go with this. Typically, you don't see many commercials for Nokia, but I think with the constant presence of the iPhone and the Blackberry, and the variety of commercials they put out, it was probably time for them to produce something special.

The phone itself looks really cool, and would be very tempted to getting one but unfortunately my carrier doesn't support it. But maybe I should make the switch after the constant crap I receive from Verizon with their customer service. But that's another story! haha.

Anyhow, check out the commercial and let me know what you think! Have a great weekend!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

Does your breakfast make you amazing?

Good morning!!  So each morning I have these posts but I have never really posted any morning ads...well today you are in luck!  Thursday's question of the day is "Does your breakfast make YOU amazing?  Mine certainly does...breakfast of champions!  Actually in all seriousness, breakfast is crucial if you want to survive the morning grind at work, so I highly recommend you have a good one regularly.

Oddly enough, the spot I'm showing today is for Quaker Oats, and I eat that stuff on a regular basis.

So with that said, take a look at this somewhat inspirational spot that gives off this energizing feeling like GO do something with your day! And make sure it's amazing while you're at it.  Anyways, would love to hear your thoughts as always.  Be amazing today!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

The Scuba Cat

Good morning!!  I spent a good portion of yesterday thinking it was Wednesday and then finding out around 2 that it was actually Tuesday.  Understandably I was quite disappointed haha.  Looking forward to today though.  A good friend from Austria is in town visiting, so I'm looking forward to meeting up with him and his lady friend sometime after work.

So it seems like cats are going to be the theme for this week. This particular spot was sent to me by The WIM's most avid commenter "Uncle Cliffy" and it features the famous Scuba Cat.  The spot is looking to promote the website www.howstuffworks.com by custom fitting a scuba outfit for a cat.  First off this is pretty damn impressive because the last time I checked cats didn't like water, and this cat right here is fully submerged with the help of another scuba diver.  Anyways, I thought everyone would get a kick out of this, and hopefully get your Wednesday off to a good start!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

Cats know where to find happy.

Good morning!! I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was pretty eventful, I went and watched the Nations Triathlon, which actually got me pretty motivated to sign up for it next year, so I plan on doing that sometime soon.  Anyways, as you probably can already tell, I spent a portion of my weekend choosing a new design for The WIM!  I wouldn't mind hearing some of your thoughts regarding the new layout but I think it looks much better than before!

More importantly, let's get to the topic of this post.  IKEA, the company from Sweden...yes that country which borders my homeland of Finland has come out with an ad where cats seem to know best.  Mother London, the agency behind this ad, unleashed 100 cats into IKEA's store in the U.K looking to promote its newest slogan "Happy Inside."  As you'll see from the spot itself, the cats move around the store and try find a piece of IKEA furniture that fits them just right.  According to Feh Tarty, the creative director at Mother, cats "tend to live their lives as they wish, in pursuit of their own comfort and happiness, so what better vehicle to show which furniture makes you "happy inside."

Anyways, that's enough from me, check out the spot, and let me know what you thought!

Happy Monday, and have a great start to the week.

~Until Next Time~

WIM

Dig toilets, not graves

Good morning!! Happy Friday!  Friday is just a great day in general...fresh off of a win in kickball, the weekend is already off to a great start.  Today I bring you a slightly off putting commercial from a charity called WaterAid.

They are trying to draw attention to the issue of the lack of sanitation in developing countries using.....a remote controlled piece of poo.

This particular spot is part of the "Dig Toilets, Not Graves" campaign and urges visitors to contribute and to pressure the U.K. government to act on the issue.

Anyhow, take a look at the spot.  Personally, I don't see this being very effective.  Though it does branch away from the traditional approach of showing poor kids on TV.  Anyways, leave your thoughts and have a great weekend!



~Until Next Time~

WIM

Specsavers feels England's World Cup pain

Good morning!!  Today I thought I would showcase quite an amusing print ad from Specsavers, a U.K. eyewear chain.  As I'm sure most soccer fans are aware, England was robbed of a goal against Germany during the World Cup.  Needless to say it didn't really matter because England played terrible throughout the World Cup, so it didn't really make a difference.  Anyhow, the ad is still pretty funny.  Just to give you some background, the ad is referring to this particular event:

As you can see the ball clearly passed the line, no question.  Clearly, soccer should institute some sort of instant replay to prevent these types of things from happening, but Specsavers thought there was something even better than instant replay and that was:

...a pair of glasses!  Pretty clever.  I thought so at least.  Share your thoughts!
~Until Next Time~
WIM

The upside of aging

Good morning!! This morning I bring to you a clever spot in support of the League Against Cancer annual fundraising drive and the message of prevention. The spot encourages you to Live to Be Old, because there are some upsides to it.  I actually enjoyed this spot a lot, because it takes something very serious and portrays it in a way that everyone can connect with.  Humor has a way of doing that!  Despite the subtitles this is well worth viewing, and I look forward to what you guys have to say!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

The Nike Air Show

Good morning!!  So back in April I wrote about the secret behind Nike's air, and this morning I bring to you the Nike Air Show.  The idea was to create some sort of event to introduce the new Air Max in Argentina.  In conjunction with agency Castro, Nike created a site that enabled users to levitate and race other Nike sneakers using just their breath.  People could either go to the Nike store in Buenos Aires, or go online to www.nikeairshow.com and blow into their computer microphone and make the shoe hover 1.6 inches from a platform and move.  A very interesting concept, and a great way to involve your customers with your product.  Anytime you can engage your customers by experiencing the product, you move away from all traditional advertising and essentially leave your customers with a connection to it, by simply having an experience with it.  Anyways, take a look at the video below and let me know what you thought!  Enjoy!

Nike + Castro: Nike Air Live Show_ english from Castro Innovation on Vimeo.

~Until Next Time~

WIM

Oi, crabby. Eat some sausage.

Good morning!  I hope everyone had a great labor day weekend.  I was in Boston over the weekend, and it was a damn good time, wish I could have actually stayed a little longer!  Weather was perfect, well besides for Friday's mini hurricane but Saturday and Sunday were just gorgeous.  Unfortunately all good things come to an end and now I'm back home.  But...then again I don't have to work today so that's even better.  Anyways, this morning I bring to you a spot for Jimmy Deans.

The spot shows Jimmy D sausage food ward off morning villains.  A slightly humorous spot but it really doesn't keep my attention, and frankly I didn't think it was very good.  The super hero in question goes around school helping kids get their Jimmy Ds so that their mornings get off to the right start!

Take a look at the spot below and let me know what you think!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

Revisiting the diner

Good morning!! This morning I revisit the diner.  The soda wars have been in the mix for as long as I can remember and Pepsi has been trying to figure out what to do with Pepsi Max forever!  From bad campaigns to terrible branding, they thought it would be best to just copy Coke Zero, at least that's what it looks like.  Anyways, here is a spot from Pepsi, but to be honest, Coke should be flattered that Pepsi would even consider featuring their superior product in this commercial.  

Anyways, check it out and leave us your thoughts!

~Until Next Time~

WIM

World's Largest WaterBalloon Fight

Hopefully the title caught your attention as you are about to witness the largest balloon fight. As well as listen to a bright cheery happy-go-lucky song by Kyle Andrews. I must admit it is very catchy indeed and afterall it is Wednesday why not climb the mid-week hump with a catchy tune...

Well, for all you advertising bloodhounds out there, I'll add some depth to the song. The video was created by McCann New York for Holiday Inn. The idea was to form a record label, StayU Music, "to produce, promote and share revenue from" the original Andrew's track that broke this spring.

In order to make the video, McCann collaborated with students of Brigham Young University's BYU AdLab, who conceptualized the record-breaking balloon fight. Check out the video below

Now, I personally enjoyed the commercial even though I have yet to understand what McCann is thinking about doing with the whole music business venture, however, I'd like to hear some thoughts about the video and if you find it associates with Holiday Inn.

'til next time!'

-APL

I use it for my pleasures

Good morning!! I don't even know where to begin with this spot for Agent Provocateur, the lingerie company.  Betty Sue, otherwise known as Kirsty Hume, watches a man doing a really unsexy dance as she watches through a video feed.  Certainly something like this would never appear in the U.S. but they have certainly gone very risque with this campaign.  I would say it's still safe for work but that doesn't mean anyone should see you watching this, otherwise you probably have some explaining to do.  The spot had a very underground grunge feel to it the entire time with Betty Sue acting like quite the dominatrix.  To be honest with you, I would rather watch a Victoria's Secret ad over this any day.  There was something a little disturbing about this campaign...I think it had to do with the guy doing the dance.

Anywayssss take a moment and let me know what you thought!  In other news, I'm planning on moving The WIM to wordpress but can't decide on a theme I like, anyone have any suggestions?

~Until Next Time~

WIM