Im going to mumble the exact same word she used in the video. “Mercy.” BMW recently released a video featuring Clive Owen, Dakota Fanning and Jon Bernthal in a short action packed movie with fast paced action simulating an escape scene. Needless to say, this is a high budget commercial with lots of planning and cast. Obviously, it is not an everyday affair that creatives can work with such handsome budget and awesome cast. Anyway, the idea of a brand investing this much to create a blockbuster work is commendable. Although the story line is far from being really diverse, the commercial is atypical of most auto car commercials. It place the new 5 series in good light by revving up its reputation further. Nice work.
Gaming on the go
With the proliferation of mobile games, the gaming industry began to see increased trends of people devoting a large portion of their time and finance into this area of entertainment. As an active gamer, I am also guilty being part of this staggering number of gamers. Now, does that mean console gaming and arcade gaming is losing its appeal? The answer is a Yes and a No. You probably notice the decrease in traffic in your neighborhood’ LAN shops, cyber cafes and arcades. But on the other hand, you see people gripping tightly on to their mobile phones on the train and completely sticking their face into the games wherever they go. This makes you doubt the survivability of traditional gaming. However, Nintendo proves us wrong by actually playing the “catching-up” game. Check out their new console, aka ‘NX’. It is the hybrid of both console and mobile gaming experiences.
Have you check out their trailer? its fantastic. It brings out the essence of the brand and also packs all the function and features of this new tech. Personally, I think they did an awesome job.
The daredevil camera man
NIKE’s 2016 commercial, ‘The Next Wave’ is the epitome of good cameratography combined with a solid storyboard. If you are blown away by this video, then you should know this was made possible through the skills of camera operator “Gimbalninja”. The Austrian is famous for his daredevil attitude when it comes to shooting dangerous stunts and absolutely challenging actions in motion. Akin to a first person shooter game experience, the camera experience for the viewer allows one to see the ninja’s perspective. The clip allows you to see how the story flow in very exciting angles all across Beijing and Hong Kong. It was able to feature a nicely curated film of several different sports overlapping smoothly. In short, getting the right script is important but executing a piece of really good work requires getting the best person for the job. Albeit a niche occupation, it is definitely a highly sought after skill set. Check out the videos below.
Fly!
While working on a previous brief for a client of mine, the idea of VR struck us in the midst of our brainstorming session. Some cringe while others embrace it passionately. Consumer VR experience in today’s context revolves greatly in a ‘controlled’ interactive environment. Why is that so? It becomes extremely challenging to bridge that level of experience into consumer retail, exhibition or even online. Brands are riding on the technology wave but are always skeptical about its outcome and especially for those who are cautious of the perceptions from their target audience. So, we have always had a conservative approach to emerging technologies. Have a look at Parrot’s new Drone plane. The drone offers real time flight experience by allowing the user to navigate the flight from a first person view. The “Disco” drone is no mediocre technology. It ramps up to 80km/hr and its glide trajectory is almost impeccable. Running at 45mins per flight, it allows consumers now to own a piece of technology that brings drone flights to a whole new experience. VR is no longer just a novelty experience used to boost brand’s ego but a usable technology that consumers can indulge in.
Everyone is born an athlete
Always a big fan of all the works created by powerhouse ad agency, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland. In particular, those kick ass Nike commercials they had ran over the last couple of years. They hold a dominant spot in my memory and I believe the same goes to all those who appreciates the level of creativity they implanted in all their videos. Now, they made a new high. Check out this commercial for the Olympics. The ad, ‘Unlimited You’, brings on a heightened brand message that illustrates how great athletes are born from birth, as they transformed from unprepared amateurs to world-class athletes. Very cool and extremely high budget production. Nice.
Make dreams happen
A video that will not take you too long to figure out the importance of having the right support for you as well as your children’s dreams. This is probably not the first time we have seen such a script, but stories like this tend to warm the heart and deliver the message effectively. It resonates with many and gives you that tint of light, enough to drive you forward and accomplish that one wish you had. Simple, inspiring and lovely.
In your direction
Innovations are happening every SINGLE day. This one interesting creation is no exception. It marks the inauguration of the glass speaker technology. Huh, glass? Yes, Turtle Beach has officially made a technological breakthrough by using glass as a form of speaker to project sound. Using what they term as HyperSound Glass, they are able to project what they label as ‘beams of ultrasound’. I thought this was really cool. Check out the video and see how kickass these tech are. I mean the volume isn’t controlled in the video but it fluctuates according to the direction where it projects to. Still in its infant stage, this prototype is already a very impressive concept. These look like they can sit on my small snazzy TV console and still make a statement. That’s a want.
Eat Naked.
So they did it. A restaurant that embraces the concept of delivering an exceptional dinning experience based upon the ‘back to nature’ approach of doing things. I can almost imagine myself dinning in the dark. It’s definitely not an extreme idea nor one that seemed over the top. But to dine in the nude is not something anyone can be comfortable with. Bunyadi, a 42-seater restaurant in London is offering its patrons that naked food experience. With such provocative dinning approach, it might seem apparent that only a handful of daring individuals would strip to their birthday suits immediately. Well, what do you know? That is so wrong. At the moment there are actually 46,000 people on its waiting list!! This is definitely an idea that requires some serious nerve and commitment to work. Come to think about it, would you have second thoughts if you are dinning with people who don’t necessarily look good in their birthday suits?
Instagram addict
HAHAHA. Epic.
Seriously, if this isn’t one that can resonate with any Instagrammer out there, then nothing will. Any serious Instagrammer will tell you it takes a lot to get your direction right and a total new level to hit that submit button, especially if you have followers always waiting to see your next post. Look, there really isn’t an easy way to build legitimate followers at an accelerated speed and with that amount of effort placed in creating a kick ass Instagram account, you want to make sure you do it right. From the vast array of filters right down to the brightness, contrast and even the vignette, you want to create the right blend. Yes, being an Instagram addict, I make sure every image of my vintage toy collection is well taken. One of the ingredients for a successful Instagram account is featuring solid content. So check out this video and see how much ruminating is taking place in relation to real life editing systems that are happening on your mobile. Funny indeed.
Fun in the box
Another interesting way we can improve brand experience through packaging design. Prior to this execution, Pizza Hut had a movie box concept which also taps on mobile technology. This had a really fun theme to it. The use of the 50s music themed together with the individual donut flavour makes it a rather interesting combination. Somehow the formula for a successful engagement is to combine different experiences into one and to create a fresh perspective to the brand. I think its a brilliant move by Krispy Kreme. Check out this video.
Zack Chia 