Simple yet concise. There are things about the Japanese culture which makes it so unique and attractive. Be it their music, culture or fashion, everything seems to have that very special flair that could almost transcend reality. Clothes that might look so weird and ideas so radical making its way on to the streets, becoming an everyday affair is proof of the society’s acceptance to constant change. How did youth culture transformed traditional mentality into what it is today? Check out this video by Japanese agency, Hakuhodo, as they create this amazing mash of music video to illustrate the transition of times for Beams in the last 40 years. Amazing work.
Mercy.
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.
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.
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?
Give me a FIVE!
Car pooling is no longer a strange concept for many of us. Especially for those of us who wants to commute in the most economical and efficient manner, car pools are kind of the way to go. Now, how do we make it even easier? Here’s the good thing, New Yorkers now enjoy this service through Uber! They are implementing a flat rate of $5 for all car pools within Manhattan below the 110 Street area, but limited to peak hours between 7 to 10AM as well as 5-8PM on weekdays! However, this comes with a small price to pay. That is, you might need to walk a bit to a specific location in order to allow the pick up points to be well aligned for better travel efficiency. So the idea here is to make it more optimal to pick you up as well as drop you such that the travel route is well, ‘strategised’ for timely pick ups and well worth fare charges.
The interesting thing to note is that car pool has been very lucrative for Uber and based on their current fast growing ridership and the staggering amount of New Yorkers who are using UberPool are growing exponentially. Car pool might just be the way to go for Uber albeit their claims for a ‘complimentary public transportation’ provider.
Let’s see what happens next. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will pick up fast and hopefully be adopted in Asia countries like Singapore! Nonetheless, Im still an avid supporter for Uber and will continue to use their services.
Kill those mozzies
WOW. A brilliant idea indeed. Mosquito Killing billboards. Once again, billboard advertising continues to amaze me. More and more awesome ideas get spun through such open media platforms. This billboard was created with the ultimate goal to kill those disgusting mosquitos. The initiative was launched by two advertising agencies in Brazil. Both agencies, Posterscope and NBS wanted to create a billboard that would simulate human sweat to attract mosquitos and eventually ambush them inside. This should aim to totally annihilate all the mosquitos around the area. The idea was originally conceived to help destroy the Zika virus that is currently a sore issue in Brazil and Latin America. Not sure of its effectivity, the billboard is no doubt a deterrent against the spread Zika. At this moment, it is essential to keep the spread in check. There is a debate that this might eventually have a backlash effect as mosquitos are now lured to a specific area. There is a high chance it might even create a large feeding ground if there are humans around area. Again, putting these practicalities aside, I want to applaud both agencies for their brilliant idea to help fight the mozzies and the disease they carry through creative ideas.
Balls, balls and more balls.
I think humour has got no limits. Not that there is nothing under the roof you can’t joke about, but its more of what did you just joke about that caught my attention. check out this billboard execution. Very simple, very clear and extremely hilarious execution. once again, its a damn funny billboard.
The future the way we want it
I have my fair share of appreciation for such videos which portray technology and its benefits. As much as I like how Fisher Price is embracing this full fledge, there is a chasm we need to bridge when we show ‘the future’ to ‘the present’. Before we embark on this fantasy ride, there are several factors we need to work out. The logic is simple: how then could technology helped us to improve our lives? heck, even to help us complete our parenting roles? This video illustrates engaging graphics coming to life and interacting with both parents and child. We also see how the alarm clock snoozing came into effect with just a simple hand gesture. While working out some concepts for my clients before, I remembered a particular case where I had to provide directions for a rather futuristic video. I cringed at the fact that people are dashing into this whole technology craze. But as I soon realised, there is an emerging need for brands to be seen as forward thinking. Innovative. Rather, LOOKING innovative. It well positions them as leaders in their field, giving them an added edge against their competitors. Branding and marketing has become significantly crucial as we progress into a tech-civilisation. I still appreciate what Fisher-Price had done here. Its just that sometimes its all about the goal rather than the objective isn’t it?
Zack Chia 