I Got Soul But I'm Not a Soildier

The new spot for GE’s online series “GE Imagination” features this rather whimsical tale of a fuzzy faced samurai with a confounding problem. I can’t help but think BBDO New York, the agency behind the 3min viral, felt that they were in a similar situation. How does one raise the awareness of something as seemingly bland as an energy company? The answer was in appealing to an idea behind the company. GE claims to provide novel ideas to energy problems. This is not a WTF ad but in fact, a spot-on example of communicating an idea in a way that is easy to understand and der I say entertaining.



On a side note, I was somewhat surprised to see a scene in this commercial featuring a village of tiny ninjas that resembles Ninja Town, a yet to be released Nintendo DS game inspired by vinyl toy design shop, Shawnimals. Cross marketing or coincidence?

Underwater Music

web game by One Lucky Guitar Inc.

Most of the time web games are utterly useless. They have little to do with the product or service of a site and the user experience is often less engaging than Pacman. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. The new web game featured on the band, Pinback's website is by no means engaging. It's not particularly useful either but it does give users something to do while listening to the band's new album, Autumn of the Seraphs...which is ultimately the point. A web game isn't going to make me buy a new car (BMW, Scion) but it may make me buy it's soundtack.

School's in Session

Advertising School: Design Factory International, Germany
Tutor: Michael Hoinkes (He Said She Said)
Creative: Benjamin Busse

Students coming out of ad schools often make the same mistake of limiting themselves to headline-driven print ads with the notion that alternate media advertising will either be too expensive or too difficult to execute. The difficulty is thinking of ways to use new media in a way that is relevant. This spec ad from Ben Busse from the Design Factory International in Germany not only blew my mind but it made me want, more than anything, for it to be real. For an interactive campaign to succeed, the public must WANT to interact and the technology must be appropriate to do so. This campaign succeeds in both. The only problem is falling for the old “Bluetooth technology” trick. Bluetooth advertising has currently been dubbed a flop for the relatively small usage of enabled cell phones. All of that aside, this may be one of my favorite ads of the year and it was done by a student.

Just In Time For Winter

The age of the ironic t-shirt is dead but smart design will never go out of style. Nice type treatment Courtesy of String Tees.

I Want to Ride My Bicyle

The 2007 Bicycle Film Fest is only days away from the Chicago Tour stop and the party starts early this year with the opening party on Tuesday, the Triplets of Belmont scavenger race on Thursday and the Holy Roller Alley Cat on Friday with film programs running through the weekend. Last we checked, weekend passes were going quick so get on bicylefilmfestival.com quick to get your tickets and don't forget to come out for the races. Want more info? Drop me an email or grab someone out of the bike lane and ask. And make sure you don't miss the Lucas Brunelle videos on Saturday night we'll leave you with a teaser...

Star Wars vs Star Trek

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Light writing from LICHTFAKTOR. The video was shot in London for Sky movies with sound courtesy of green man/basswerk. It is done picture by picture between 4 and 8 fps. If only the new Sprint campaign did light drawing half as well as LICHTFAKTOR...

Lego Invasion

A giant Lego man was found floating just off shore from the Dutch resort of Zandvoort with the phrase "No Real Than You Are" emblazoned across his blue chest. Employees of a nearby drink stand rescued the 2.5-metre tall model which currently stands guard over the beach side stand. One woman was quoted as saying, "I saw the Lego [man] floating towards the beach from the direction of England."

Megunica

A new documentary from Blu, the Spanish artist best known for his oversize mural pieces the world over is currently in production. The film follows the artist and his crew through Latin America painting, partying and looking for a life changing experience. Full trailer below…

My Personal Moon

A group of Russian designers have created the "Personal Moon" project which builds giant crescent moon night lights. Not the most functional piece of furniture but check out the great photography from their site, English Russia.

Here's Stella!

The new integrated campaign from Stella Artois threw the book out when it came to traditional media with the “Gold Room”. One part dinner theatre mixed with one part brand strategy, Lowe Hunt, the Australian agency for the Belgian beer maker, recreated the famous bar scene from the movie the Shining in Brisbane Australia. Guests were invited to a special screening of the 1980 Jack Nicholson classic by following the bar tenders directions to room 237, leaving their contact details with an attendant and then registering online. “Guest” were then invited to a special screening of the film held at Brisbane’s Od Museum which was also decorated in the style of the film’s Outlook Hotel. The “Gold Room” campaign is just one of many film themed micro sites to come from Stella including this one for Fight Club. What do classic films have to do with beer? Absolutely nothing but these sites are beautiful.