A Very Public Display

"So real, it's scary," is the tagline for the the new LG IPS Monitor. While not exactly original or exciting for its category, the execution of that line does a wonderful job a putting some substance behind those words.

The video below shows how they tiled the floor of the elevator with their screens. When people entered the elevator, the floor looked as normal as can be. However, as the elevator started moving, the screens turned on and created the illusion that bottom was literally falling out. Pretty freaky.

Whether the passengers are actors or not is unknown. If not, I do wonder if they had defibrillators and perhaps new pants available on set. The idea behind this stunt is attention grabbing and a genuinely nice product demo. The video has already received 10 million views and countless stories in the news.

Looking forward to their next prank... I'm thinking the window in a high rise building, a flying superman and a giant splat.

The True Market Value of Heineken

As soon as I saw this Heineken video, I knew it was time to wake my blog from its dormancy.

The challenge proposed by the beer maker is simple, "How far can one get with no money and just Heineken." Now with the devaluation of so many currencies, this is no doubt the perfect time to put forth such a test. The guinea pig in this experiment is a guy named Justin. His journey will take him some 5187 kilometers via the already difficult Spice Route in Asia. His final destination is one giant party in Thailand. And again, the green bottled beer from Amsterdam is his only method of payment.

In watching the videos, you'll see him spend a lot of time bartering for bike rides, boat rides and other modes of transportation. His proposition is always the same "Can I trade you a Heineken for (insert Justin's need here)?"

While some of the situations seem oddly coincidental, overall I enjoyed the execution of what is a very cool idea. It was also a nice marketing story as Heineken is striving to increase market share in the Far East.  I am very curious just how many Heinekens were shared in the adventure.

Up next for Justin, how far can he get with only warm cans Milwaukee's Best?

 

Parallel Parking Pinball

Whether you consider yourself a parking wizard or a bumper's worst nightmare, there's no question we all would love a little help. So here's a cool idea from Ford to generate hype and purpose for their innovative parking assist feature.

This stunt is not only attention worthy, but it masterfully demonstrates the problem at hand and then solves it... with a Ford. It shows how even the worst offender can overcome his lack of steering wheel skill. And for everyone else, they can breathe a sigh of relief that there's one less pitiful parker in Paris ready to ding their car. A victory for all... well, except for Jacque, owner of Jacque's Autobody Shop.

What? I didn't even know John Tesh was coming to town!

So your favorite artist is coming your way. Great! Only you find out 24 hours too late. Crap! And now you are stuck scrambling to find tickets that are either a) in the nosebleed section, b) jacked up in price, or c) both a and b. If you've never had the displeasure of this experience, you can stop reading right now.

If you have felt this pain, then it's time to take a look at Songkick. By combing through ticket vendors, publications and venues, Songkick is able to track your favorite artists and then immediately let you know when they're scheduled to make an appearance in your neck of the woods. And it's ridiculously easy to let Songkick know who you like. Just use it through iTunes, Spotify or even via Facebook.  It'll simply scan the artists in your library or the ones you've "liked," and then bam, you've got a calendar of concerts near you.

Pretty handy little application. And a sure-fire way to guarantee that the next time John Tesh goes on tour you will not miss out on his magical live rendition of "Like a virgin."

The Invisible Car

Auto advertising can often be quite predictable. If your sports car goes 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds, you show it. If your spacious SUV can fit a small army of soccer players in it, you show it. If it can handle rough terrain and snow with ease, you show it performing doughnuts on Antarctica while the driver enjoys a hot cup of cocoa without spilling... unless the creative team of course prefers sunshine, then you head to the desert or the beach.

That's why this execution from Mercedes, while very unique and eye-catching, is actually right in line with traditional automobile marketing. Mercedes is launching their environmental friendly F Cell technology, which produces precisely "0.0 emissions." The challenge obviously is, "How do you show nothing?" Watch the video. Very cool.

A Razor Fight

If you work in marketing, you've certainly heard the phrase, "Give away the razors to sell the blades." And if you've ever purchased blades, you know exactly why they say that... because those tiny, sharp pieces of metal and plastic are serious money makers.  Well, someone is now looking to shake up this razor situation. Meet DollarShaveClub.com. 

A new idea in the male grooming category, Dollar Shave Club offers a monthly razor membership starting at just $1 (plus s&h).  This basic package gets you 5 twin blades every month. You can also upgrade to the The 4X or The Executive for a greater quality of blade.
 
Not only does this make for an interesting and different business model, but the way Dollar Shave Club is positioning itself is equally fresh. Dollar Shave Club looks and feels like the anti-Gillette. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It doesn't try to amaze us with the "space-age" technology inside their razors. And they don't have celebrity endorsements.

Nope, Dollar Shave Club uses their young unknown president to present their case. He describes their razors simply as "f*&cking great." He pokes fun at the unnecessary razor accessories you pay for these days. And while the Mach 3, 5, 7 or whatever number they're currently at would find itself backed with millions & millions of ad dollars and sponsorships, Dollar Shave Club created this one simple video. It's funny. It makes a good argument. And it's no doubt destined to go viral.

Yep, unlike a guy with tiny blood-stained tissues populating his face and neck, this is some smooth operating. Well played -- Dollar Shave Club.

Flash Fans

Up in Canada, where a baby's first steps don't count unless it takes place on ice, just about every little boy grows up dreaming of someday playing professional hockey. They imagine the thrill of game-winning goals, exploding cheers from the stands and the majestic hoisting of the Stanley Cup. And for most, that dream is left behind somewhere on a frozen pond.

However, even over the passage of many years, their love of playing the game remains true. So, these men and their average (for a Canadian) hockey skills carry on at the local rink. After work. After putting the kids to bed. After picking a few things at the store. They lace it up and they hit the ice. No fans. No cheers. No glory.

But on one night, with the help of Budweiser, two teams were able to experience a pretty cool moment of "Eh, what if... "

Not Your Average Joe

Honda could spend millions and millions of dollars creating the ultimate marketing campaign about how their cars are built to last. In it, they could include ads that will "cut through the clutter," "create both a rational and emotional bond" and "win international awards." They could have a 24/7 twitter feed, a video game from Zynga, a wickedly cool App and of course, killer product placement in Transformers 4, the legend of the Civic. 

OR... they could just introduce us to Joe, an average guy from Maine sporting a pretty nice mustache who just crossed the 1,000,000 mile marker with his 1990 Honda Accord. Pretty amazing.

Honda wisely and nicely celebrates Joe and his not so average achievement. They document his odometer turning over to the original starting point of 000000. They throw him a parade. And they even buy him a brand new Honda. Now, that is a tremendous example of how to show off the feats of your product while building brand and customer loyalty. If they were really cool though, they would've thrown in a chauffeur.

A very sweet music video

Music videos have always been a terrific place for artists to try something new and get a little outrageous. Well, the following by singer Kina Grannis and director Greg Jardin is exactly that and then some.

Created for the song, "In your arms," this piece of work slash art, took roughly 288,000 Jelly Bellies and 18 months to create. Pretty impressive, especially when considering that most pop artists these days take about 3 hours to write and produce a hit song. You know, the one about putting your hands up in the air and shouting "oh" or "yeah" or "eh-oh" or something of that nature. But I digress, be sure to watch both  the "making of"and the video itself.

Jelly Belly must also be pretty happy with this kind of free product placement... the best since Lady Gaga's outfit for the Beef Industry Council.

Words That Play

Ji Lee, a designer and creative director at facebook, puts together a really engaging collection of type treatments. The concept or challenge behind his effort here was to make words that work as images. It's not only very clever use of letters, but it makes for a brilliant communication device.

If you want people to pay attention to your words, this kind of thinking can achieve it. You can purchase the entire thing, entitled Words As Image, at amazon.com. Or for fun, pick out a word and try to come up with a like visual for it. In honor of Halloween, I'll pick... ghost... oh wait, I can't see it.

Defining a Terabyte

So... the new Panasonic BWT800 3D Blue Ray disc recorder holds a whopping ONE TERABYTE of content. That's right, one whole terabyte.

So... "How much exactly is one terabyte?" you may ask.

Well, Panasonic, with a corresponding marketing campaign, is setting out to define what this massive number means to you. Because after all, one terabyte is big enough to record high-quality HD video for 684 hours or 28 days. This kind of room gives you the power to appease the recording habits of your wife, your kids, your relatives, your neighbors, your neighbors' relatives and your relatives' neighbors. 28 days is an absurd amount of TV.

To hype the magnitude of this number, Panasonic is producing and of course recording 28 days of entertainment entitled, "The Persecution of Rommy Gulla." And unless your name is Rommy Gulla and you live in Australia, this sounds like a pretty fun idea. As described in the video below, Rommy is about to endure 28 very long, very painful days -- all to help quantify one terabyte. You can watch the series via Facebook or Youtube. Viewers can even suggest a prank, vote on pranks and win Panasonic stuff. Day one involved a late-night police invasion and helium.

Overall, this looks like a great example of engaging consumers and showing, not just telling, what your product can do. Now, what prank should I suggest?

Have a Seat -- at your own risk

There is no question that an "earned" beer always tastes better. Whether, it's the one you proudly imbibe after finishing off some handyman work around the house or the Apres-ski one you toast after a day on the slopes, or heck, simply the one that marks the end of a long Tuesday at work... a beer that follows effort is a beer that brings with it the taste of victory.

In the below marketing stunt, Carlsberg, a Danish beer, takes this insight and expresses it in a unique way. You'll see how 2 people are put to the test of fear, sterotyping and the fear of stereotyping. The concept is nicely paid off by their tagline, "That calls for a Carlsberg." It works great in this situation and no doubt sets the table for many other executions. Up next, a standing-room only bus filled with a half-naked, fully-tattooed, senior citizens.

Tongue Tastic

The story behind Orabrush, a brand new way to fight bad breath, is a lesson both on marketing in today's youtube world and one of perseverance by a little product that could. Invented by Dr. Robert Wagstaff (Dr. Bob), this tiny tongue scraping instrument went from something no company wanted to recently the shelves of 3,500 Wal-Mart's. Yeah, for the little guy!

And the story of how that all happened is told in the first video below. As you'll see, Orabrush proves to us that good products that solve real problems demonstrated in the right way (see the other below video) will find a market and will sell, even if you have to do it yourself and make the retailers come knocking.

Orabrush also shows us how to capitalize on one's viral success. After finding an online audience, they then added a vast youtube library featuring their irreverent Tongue Mascot, also seen below. While it's a simple invention, it takes a not-so simple path to getting to market. Good job, Dr. Bob -- who is probably relaxing on his new yacht treating his tongue to the tastes of champagne and caviar. Afterall, who cares if you fish egg breath, when you have a yacht.

A Disgustingly Smart Idea

Contagion, the new action thriller starring every other popular actor in Hollywood and co-produced I believe by the Hand Sanitizing Association of America, just finished #1 at the box office in its first weekend. While I was not one of the 23 million to see it, I did catch this very clever billboard created to hype the film.

[Insert bad pun here -- on how this idea really grows and presents the opportunity to go viral.]

Warning: While watching this clip, Germaphobes may find themselves experiencing cold sweats, hot flashes, wooziness in the leg region and a dying need to take an emergency shower followed by a week-long vacation in a sterile plastic bubble.

A Visual Diary

So, I keep thinking that stop motion will soon feel old and boring.

Then comes along something like this.

Created by designer Joe Hollier, this stop motion piece details out a month in his life. He takes us on a little day-by-day journey of his activities and thoughts. It's a super-creative, super-fun diary. And as a marketing person, I have to add that it makes for an incredible self-promotional device -- showing off both Joe's skills and his personality.

Occasionally Perfect Billboard

Heineken, known for a more clever brand of beer advertising, has created a billboard that carries that torch and does a great job getting people to take notice. Because this particular billboard is sometimes just a plain, old billboard, and "occasionally" as they say, it becomes much more than that.

On Aug 17th, for example, it transformed into a stage for the group TV on the Radio. What a cool experience for the band and the people gathering on the street. I love that the billboard is a little cryptic. It doesn't say, "Hey, see what's happening here next." It also does a terrific job of connecting a product and brand with the people without feeling forced or disingenuous. And certainly, if Heineken is trying fit into the "cool" space, this helps that cause.

Reporters without Borders

Journalism is dying, right? Reporters have no idea how to connect with today's tiny attention spans and paper-phobic, technologically-savvy consumers. Hell, who needs reporters when we can have twitters?

This campaign for Reporters without Borders does a terrific job of squashing all that rhetoric in one mighty swoop. It uses the very technology everyone thinks these people don't understand while arguing the case for assisting reporters and the important role they play. It uses QR codes and smartphone to turn a print ad into something much more. Very cool.

Pool Ball

From darts to bowling to Golden Tee, man has long searched for ways to combine two of his favorite pastimes - competition and beer drinking.

So, it seems oh-so appropriate that Budweiser offer up a little help and inspiration in this endeavor. Introducing Pool Ball, a game that marries the internationally popular sport of soccer (or football as the Europeans insist) with billiards.

For Budweiser, this creation helps build an even greater bridge between beer, sport and nightlife. Love the execution. And really could see this becoming both a spectator and recreational sport for soccer, ahem football, fans everywhere.

Seriously Interactive Billboard

While some people out there -- that is crazy parents who can't say no to their child's french-fry fit --  will view this McDonald's video game slash billboard as simply another example of how the Big MacCompany is making our world fatter and dumber, I see an example of a very cool idea.

Check out the video and see again how a fun thought married with super-sized technological wizardry can create a wonderful marketing experience.

Nothing Fake about this Lip Sync

"A dying city," is what Newsweek magazine recently called Grand Rapids. A statement that the people of this Michigan town obviously took as fighting words. This video below is Grand Rapid's official response.

It's creative. It shows off the city, its people and the pride they share. It broke a World's record for size and scope of Lip-Dubbing. And it's the perfect example how to get attention by making something spectacular. Not to mention, it's a powerful way to make your point.