Burger King are making the most of their cross promo deal with these other ads being released to support or in addition to the online activity.
Check out the German Buger King commercial that featured a German Homer. He kinda sounds like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.
Here's the American version we know and love.
And I totally forgot about the Springfield Challenge. Where Vermont won the right to host the premiere.
All this lead to an impressive $70M opening weekend for The Simpsons Movie and Australia doing 18% of this in the same timeframe. 8% above the average!
We've reached our latest milestone of 800 banners! And we've achieved it in just 63 days (not including weekends) thanks to some frantic posting of Cannes work from the team. That's an average of 1.5 banners a day - no other site gives you that!
A beast this big needs feeding, so please keep submitting work. And if you're submitting other interactive work for consideration in the news section, please remember to include a URL and/or screenshot to the work and a very brief summary/overview.
PS. Hope you enjoyed our photoshop effort on the 800 :)
If you have been hot linking our banner files you'll realize now it no longer works.
While I don't mind it being done when there is a link back to our site almost all the other sites never did this. It's slowing down our server and in the last 2 months costing several hundred dollars in excess bandwidth.
Here are our not-so-serious thoughts on the thinking that was perhaps behind the new Qantas logo.
Point 1 : The Roo no longer touches the ground.
That's because its a Flying Kangaroo.
The new Roo will spend less time grounded thanks to billions in new plane orders
Point 2 : Part of the Roo's tail has fallen off
It was the underperforming union bit. The new Roo can do more than ever, but with 5% less Union labor to hold it back
Reflects the cutbacks to maintainence. That piece of the tail was present on the original plan, but because the tail painting was out-sourced to Asia, it fell off. However we believe it may be stapled back on in the near future
Macquarie Bank souvenired it after its failed privatisation attempt
Jetstar took over that bit, as it was under performing and would be run better by its low-cost cousin
Point 3 : The Roo has an elevated tail
Fare's are going up. It's assumed the position
Point 4 : The Roo looks squashed and a bit bigger around the waistline
The Roo is seated in Economy. That new Premium Economy class had to get its space from somewhere, so you plebs flying Economy now have even less room
It's seated in First Class and has enjoyed a 10-course degustation menu on it's flight from Sydney to LA
Point 5 : Italicised Qantas Typography
When taxing to and from Sydney Airport's far flung third runway the italicised font makes the plane look like its moving faster to those situated in the control tower, thus cutting a few minutes off the journey to the terminal.
It looks like it's making a quick exit, just like a few on the board
Point 6 : Bigger Ears
Next time you complain about the food, it'll hear you...
Google and Sony (with Big Spaceship actually creating the site) have teamed up for an online experience to promote Bourne Ultimatum called The Ultimate Search for Bourne.
What I love best about these type of promos is you can instantly gauge its success. By using Youtube videos as a clue delivery service one only needs to check the view stats on said videos and you'll know how many people are playing. Day 4's clue (we're up to Day 5 now) is sitting on 800 views. The first videos are at 7,000. (see below)
Maybe people do what I did and just Google the questions and cheat?
It looks great but its tiny type and super long UI is annoying as is Flash's limitations with copying and pasting text but that's not the agencies fault. Also I would have liked to have done more than just find answers and past it into a message window. Mini games or anything would have been a nice change.
What's interesting is Google didn't charge Sony for the privilege of hosting the game as it saw the benefit as mutual. Without Google's support this would have made the whole thing a lot harder to pull together.
Updated: (Sorry I had my agency's wrong)
The level of complexity for this game is quite easy compared to Red's ARG game out there called Ethanhaaswasright.com And yes I can't get past the 2nd puzzle!!! (it's shitting me)
Update 2: I was completely wrong (like most other people) Ethan Haas Was Right is actually for Alpha Omega a new RPG. More info here.
Thanks B!X you tried to set me right but I didn't listen.
Virgin Mobiles latest campaign Are you with us or What which covered press, outdoor and online has been using photos from Flickr that were under an attribution creative common license. So as long as you credit the photographer you can use the photo for free for any use. Sweet deal for the agency as photographers can be expensive. Damn if only Herb Ritts used Flickr.
So nothing wrong so far, an email to the photographer or a free phone would have been nice, but nice doesn't make the world go round. What is causing all the problems is that the photographers didn't get model release forms for the people in the photographs. Most budding photographers wouldn't even know what that is or need to. Not only did Virgin Mobile fail to get photos with models releases they insulted some of them with the actual ad. They did a double whammy with the image above the girl is 15 years old. Ouch.
Note: The message from Host is that for the ad above "the idea is that the girl in the particular ad is the dumper, not the dumpee."
To me that gets lost in translation.
While bloggers and the Flickr community are up in arms, none of them are lawyers and this could all fizzle to nothing. Virgin seem to have changed all the photos on the website Are you with us or what.com.au to remove any faces. Lucky cats don't have lawyers :)
I've spoken to a few other agencies about this issue and the general consensus was "Yeah Flickr is a great place to get free photos". You even break copyright law by basing vector artwork on a photo you don't own copyright for see here. Although this is a lot easier to hide and harder to prove.
As an active Flickr user for many years I have had my photos used for commercial reasons but each time I have been paid a small fee for my trouble. Usually around $100. Virgin Mobile could have avoided any negative press by just paying a partly fee to those who agree and opting to not use photos for those who don't.
If you want to read more about this then check the article in the Australian, the offending Pen pal photo, a Flickr group discussion where even Flickr's GM weighs in, or here where a representative of Virgin Mobile's advertising team apologizes (slightly) or just Google it and read for hours.
Note: I contacted Host a month ago on this issue but failed to get their side of the story.
Update: July 23, 2007
I have the official response from Virgin Mobile's media people (thanks Host)
"Flickr is about providing a platform for photographers to reach new audiences. As such the decision to feature Flickr photography was based on the desire to champion a vibrant, current, online community. It was part of an approach designed to reject clichéd 'advertising' imagery in favour of more genuine and spontaneous shots. It is typically Virgin to embrace fresh initiatives and the democratic spirit of Flickr matches the inclusive nature of our 'Are you with us or what?' campaign.
The images have been featured within the positive spirit of the Creative Commons Agreement, a legal framework voluntarily chosen by the photographers. It allows for their photographs to be used for a variety of purposes, including commercial activities. All of the photographers have been accredited in the adverts."
Update : July 24, 2007
ABC Radio / Triple J had a discussion on this last night - listen
So to sum up:
Using photos with an attribution license is legal.
Not telling photgraphers you are using their photos on a nationwide campaign seems like a unfriendly oversight that could have avoided some bad juju.
Not getting model release forms signed by the people featured in the photos is a costly legal grey area.
Also, what happens if the photographer changes the license later at a later date? In this case, Virgin Mobile wouldn't know of the change in an image's status, because it never made contact with the photographer, and as such the photographer would be unable to inform them either.
I wonder if Getty Images or the other stock libraries have seen a drop in profits thanks to Flickr?
Internet memes or phenomenons are everywhere these days and its hard to catch one early. There's nothing worse than sending something to a friend only to get back "that's so last week."
Memes vs Viral:
The way to think of a meme vs viral is like this. Viral is something advertising agencies create to try and sell a product and if popular will stay around for a few months.
A meme is something that changes the way people talk and will end up being mentioned on Family Guy or The Simpsons.
Another fancy word for Viral
If the word VIRAL feels overused and has lost its meaning then try using MEME. It hasn't hit the mainstream yet and if you explain it as I have it's like a Viral on steroids then when someone else pitches to do a Viral your ideas will sem better.
Note: You say it mehm not ME ME.
Untapped Memes:
Here's a couple new ones which I saw last week which have yet to catch on as much as the previous examples
Chocolate Rain
Algorithm Dance
If the Algorithm dance seems slightly odd what's even more odd are these Inmates from the Phillipines dancing to it
Or the same inmates reenacting Thriller.
Advertising Funded Memes:
It's interesting to note that very few of these memes actually helped any product get sold. Almost none were created by advertising agencies. Aside from Ford's Hurra Torpedo but they just latched onto an obscure band that already existed.
OK Go's career was saved with their treadmill film clip, Blair Witch and Snakes on a Plane would be forgotten if it not for the web. SNL is probably more popular now thanks to Youtube than it has ever been. (Narnia Rap and Dick in a Box)
Aside from these, very few were actually created with the purpose of selling something and I think that's because these things grow organically. When something is forced it rarely sees success.
The only two examples I can think of quickly are Subservient Chicken and Million Dollar Homepage. Both created solely to make money for someone and both wildly popular and spawned many imitators.
McDonald's have launched a new campaign to name their new burger. Yes I know its so exciting that why are they offering a $20,000 prize when the act of naming a burger should be the prize itself.
Another promotion running where consumers are giving the power to determine product decisions is Master Foods' Dolimio pasta sauce promotion. Wow and you thought naming a burger was fun!
Doritos did this earlier as did Pepsi when they let people design their cans.
And speaking of McDonald's I thought I'd throw to these great posters for McDonald's in France done by illustrator Andy Smith. I'm not sure what they say but I probably wont eat at Quick Hamburger when I'm in Paris next time.
The Simpsons movie is 8 days away (I would say how great it is but I've been told not tell anyone I've seen it) and we're heading into the biggest marketing push Fox has ever done. So big they have put together a website to showcase the promotions. See Yellow.
What's not on there is the new Simpsonize Me tool for Burger King. Just launched by CP+B.
Now it's a little rough around the edges (read: buggy) but when it does work it's actually pretty cool. Uploading a face definitely takes the grunt work out of creating a character.
Here's me Simpsonized. I had to adjust the hair but it's a pretty good likeness. It's even captured my terrible fashion sense. I also Simpsonized myself age 80. As you can see I no longer wear glasses and my ears are bigger but I've now got a great sense for fashion. I look forward to my Versace days to come in my 80's.
What's confusing is that the official Simpsons site has their own Create your own Simpsons avatar tool. Here's the Simpsons character I created a few weeks back. To launch two similar online initiatives seems a waste and also takes the allure off the BK one.
What's missing from both is a gallery function. I want to see other people's characters. I want to see them all in a huge crowd shot. I guess I'll have to browse the Flickr groups and fan forums for my fix.
And and if you dial you age in at 200 this is what you get. Don't do it as you have to upload your photo again after.
As for what else is happening outside of what's mentioned on See Yellow, there is also:
Both Samsung and Vans should have created official sites for these promotions. Their corporate sites (Vans | Samsung) don't even mention these at all. You can't rely on bloggers as your only form of information distribution!
Even more detailed info can be found on Wikipedia.
The only known image of the Bannerblog team, in a rare sitting together to discuss the addition of a new member, and the approval of a new typewriter ribbon
While the Bancroft Family are busy protecting the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal from Rupert Murdoch, we at the Bannerblog Journal live a much easier life. Over a glass of 1984 Penfolds Grange at Tetsuya's (we don't have a NoBu downunder yet) we decided life would be so much easier if we had another editor, and with that we charged our glasses , put out a memo, then sat back and smoked a few cubans.
The past few months traffic has been growing at a steady pace, with submissions filling our inbox on an almost on a daily basis. To reflect this growth in traffic, particularly in the US market which accounts for 20.45% of our audience, we're please to announce new members of the Bannerblog team, Kate Daggett-Cohen from Agency.com New York and Paul Collins from Akestam.Holst in Sweden who will help improve our coverage from Europe.
We're still in dire need of an Asia based editor that can help bring that region into the spotlight by posting banners at least once or twice a week. Ashley is doing his bit by dating his own 'Wendy Deng' to get us some influence in Asia, but realistically we don't expect that maneuver to pay off until after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Benefits?
You get to pimp your own agencies campaigns occassionally, which will no doubt score you some brownie points with your VP/MD/CEO/ECD. And in the unlikely event of a News Corp takeover, you'll be Web 2.0's latest hot property.
It's a mock 70's porno. You could say a "spoof" but that word has a different meaning in the world of porn.
This is the latest work for the Department of Health, the previous campaign (one of my favs) can be seen here & here.
We'll post up the banner campaign for this soon.
And if the world of porn is something of interests you, then you might want to check out Ron Jeremy's The Hardest (working) man in Showbiz Rob at Soap is currently reading it and says it's a great read.
In what could only be described as hilarious, but somewhat unfortunate, searching on Google Images for the phrase 'Citroen Logo'yields an interesting alternative.... Warning: The Google Image Search is considered NSFW.
And this even gets past Google's Safe Search being switched on as well.
Did someone order a buzzword? The Bannerblog® 360 Trend Matrix™ was in overdrive trying to keep up. ‘Thumb Generation’ ‘User Generated Content’, ‘Consumer in Control’ ‘Blogosphere’ and good’ol ‘Web 2.0’ racked up many mentions, with at least one speaker dropping the term ‘Web 2.5’. Not to be outdone, Mobile marketers introduced agency land to the‘Third Screen’ which I actually don’t mind! Love it or hate it, if it’s the language of clients, you can be sure we’ll be speaking it with them. Bannerblog Pick:Empty Bottle’s Web 2.0 Bullshitr
Infectious activity on YouTube & Myspace
Many of the digital entries, particularly the viral category, leveraged their campaign on blogs, social networking sites Facebook & Myspace and of course YouTube. As always, it‘s not viral until it goes viral, and results varied. Dove’s Evolution taking home top honors with a Grand Prix and an acknowledgement from the client that the parodies are OK too. Another standout for me, was a viral e-mail from Ogilvy China. E-mail is a tough medium in which to be creative, so I figured this gets my pick. Bannerblog Pick:WWF ‘Tiger’ Email
Going home with empty pockets
No it’s not a reference to the 10 Euro beers, but Mobile Advertising. The emergence of the ‘third screen’ (Mobile) as an advertising medium was prevalent throughout the seminars, unfortunately examples or case studies were nowhere to be seen. Even the Mobile Category was light on with only 3 winners from a shortlist of 8. Hopefully when a mobile campaign picks up a Titanium or Integrated Lion that will be a catalyst for change. Bannerblog Pick:Comic Shogakukan Book Campaign
‘The Uploaders’ - Informers of the digital age.
The quality of the seminars was fantastic with the majority being very insightful. One of the best presentations, was Agency.com who presented findings from an ethonography project they undertook in the UK. Did you know, Uploaders represent 8% of the UK population, are young male’s, well educated, have 60 friends on their buddy list and use online review sites 50% more than a typical internet user? Bannerblog Pick:Agency.com ‘Who Is Driving Social Media’
Until Next Year
We’ll continue to bring you more of the world’s best work over the following weeks and months as we work out way through the finalist entries. Our Cannes coverage has helped us reach an average of 2800 unique visitors a day, making us one of the most popular creative blogs around.
A huge thanks to all those who have supported Bannerblog over the past 2 years, with special thanks to our sponsor Tangozebra whose sponsorship helps us pay an ever increasing bandwith bill!
Finally, a big hello to the those we met in Cannes including Publicis Hal Riney [US], Agency.com [UK+US], Akestam Holst [SE], CP+B [US], M&C Saatchi [AU], Leo Burnett [UK+AU], Publicis [UK], RMG Connect [UK], Fairfax [AU], Campaign Magazine [UK] and many many more.
We hope to be back at Cannes next year,
The Bannerblog Team
HBO made TV worth watching (read: downloading) but now they created a short experimental film and backed it up with an amazing web experience. Created by BBDO and Big Spaceship, HBO is reported be be spending $7-10 million on this campaign. But it looks the money, so I say good on them for creating something different.
There's also downloads of all the apartments, the music, which features the likes of Clint Mansell and fits the mood nicely, screensavers (60MB worth) and a blog. But not one of those blogs that just a bunch of PR and BS, they hired a writer and asked him to document the project. A smart move that resulted in a blog that feels right and is actually working well for HBO at explaining something which is quite ambiguous. On top of all this the flash work is slick and really ties in the experience.
There's also phone numbers to call, character social page profiles, fake websites, and real world events tied to this promotion. HBO are calling it "Hyper Media". So add that to your Buzzword Bingo sheets ladies and gentlemen. More info on the blogs FAQ section.
The film was launched by projecting the video onto the side of a building in NY. See the screen below.
Here's the trailer for the project
All they need now to satisfy my thirst for content is a making of video.
I'm not sure if the Ikea wardrobe site influenced this at all. Also Requiem for a Dream featured the scene of the old lady cleaning her apartment and stylistically it feels like this. Also Clint Mansell did the music for that too.
I look forward to seeing how this expands and pans out.
The next time you put a video on Youtube or create a branded Myspace page for a brand just remember that we can all see the stats on views. So if you video gets a few hundred views or your brand has less Myspace friends than my mum, it's probably not worth trying to promote this as successful work.
Faking these stats might seem easy but it's not just views that make up a Youtube videos stats. It's favs, rating, comments and links. Those are a lot harder to fake. Same goes for Myspace and there you need comments and an active forum.
It finally arrived yesterday, and i'm writing this entry from a new iphone. While without flash still it doesn't quite provide the full web experience, the future and potential oportunities are great. The browsing experience is quite nice, and it's likely that both publishers and advertisers will soon be talking about a very different mobile experience set. Or rather, those of us that present options to take advantage of the new form factor that has just lauched will grow our businesses.
Rumor has it that a european 3G version will be announced as early as july 2nd, with delivery set for the fall. If nokia, motorola and microsoft push there mobile browsers up to attempt to match mobile safari, then the opportunities will really crank up. Lets hope so, and in the meantime, start playing with an iphone and thinking about what you can build.
The only known image of the Bannerblog team, in a rare sitting together to discuss the addition of a new member, and the approval of a new typewriter ribbon
