Missing the vintage Volkswagen van?
Well, good news. The Volkswagen microbus is now officially back and should be an excellent option to the van. What’s even more astounding would be the fact that VW is launching it as an electric model!
Check out more of the microbus here:
Who doesn’t love booze with great company after work? We all do. And for the most part of it, beer always taste better with good food. Never mind the traditional pair up of beer with pastas or burgers, chips are still the best choice. Probably still the most popular choice for an after work soccer match with your homies! Now, Doritos have once again created something interesting. The Frito-Lay continues to amaze me with their Tostitos’s “Party Safe” bag. Wait a minute, did I just said party safe? Yes i did. That means you now party without the constant fear of driving home drunk.
The pack of chips is actually going to heighten your awareness of alcohol level as well as do the favour of getting you a decent ride home. Pretty nifty trick i did say.
A concept by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the bag comes equipped with a device that is connected with a microcontroller. It is somewhat calibrated to detect alcohol from the person’s breath. Should the sensors detect alcohol presence, it immediately signals red and what you see is an image of a steering wheel! On top of that, an Uber code is created, indicating a message: “Don’t drink and drive”.
With near-field communication (NFC) technology, you can even tap the bag with your smartphone to activate the ride. With all the campaigns going on against drunk driving and Uber’s ongoing promotions, Tostitos are throwing n the $10 off deals during the period as well as after the Feb 5 Super bowl game. Well played.
Driverless technology have always been a topic widely discussed amongst tech enthusiasts. Google has helmed the title of being pioneer in this technology and we have seen quite a lot of examples of projects and experiments done by them. The parent company, Alphabet, is now embarking on an alternative direction for this project. As much as we hope to see this coming alive, Google is facing a lot of potential challenges in the practical implementation of this technology. Setting up a new company, Waymo, it plans to lead this innovation through collaborative approaches. The concept would revolve around Waymo working collaboratively with auto manufacturers to bring their innovation to goo use. This would definitely include making new vehicles from ideas to reality. Regardless, the data and information accumulated throughout the research remains pivotal to the evolution of automobile. This can be therefore be leveraged by close working relationships with auto manufacturers. The new initiative now remain a effective solutions for businesses worldwide.
Check out the new flavor from ClemenGold Gin. Love the new branding and visuals. Based in South Africa, the brand had its product designed by agency ‘Fanakalo’, with a strong emphasis on bright flavor colors. Looking for a really awesome beverage to beat summer? Here it is.
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.
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.
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.
Image source: Digitaltrends
By now, you should be so used to having a separate app on your mobile phone that is used solely for your conversations held in Facebook. The Facebook messaging app is certainly a very developed platform that was clearly planned ahead of its launch. I remember how it used to annoyed me when I had to download a separate app just for Facebook messaging. But the flip side of having an additional app also meant that we now can have more features within the app making it more robust in features. Not only are you now able to continue text messaging, you can also have the video loading in tandem. It also gives you customizable features like muting the video while you type. Facebook continues to embed more into our daily lives and making many subtle adjustments to accommodate our user experience. Is your brand thinking along the same direction?
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.
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 