Coffee is almost mandatory in our daily routine. And I think to actually tap on the beverage’s popularity to drive through a meaningful communication message is extremely rewarding. Nescafe’s campaign to create “Instant Connections” through their Nescafe generating machines, helps to convey the importance of sharing joy and making friends. I guess our hectic life creates lesser opportunities for people to actually communicate or know one another. But this approach truly brings people together with just a touch of the button. OgilvyOne Frankfurt gave birth to an idea which targets the busy traffic light junction where hundreds of people would pass by. Their machines piqued the interest of the commuters and had them being curious and slowly finding out the mechanics of this pairing devices. As long as both side of the machines are both pressed together, a cup of Nescafe coffee appears. Everyone likes a warm cup of coffee before heading to work and this is done with the effort from somebody else. Wouldn’t this encounter just make your day better?
Move it
From a digital perspective, we have witness quite a hand full of such ads. These ideas somehow never fail to make me smile. I actually like the effort of bringing something to live especially when it is done using simple easy approaches. A creative execution from BBR Saatchi, Israel. We see how Ford Explorer can easily communicate its innovation in 3 very interactive print to digital execution. Always good to have more of these ads around isnt it?
Interactive Pizza ordering
It gets a little infuriating when you can’t get dinner served the way you want it. Especially when it comes to pizzas, there are a variety of choices and combinations apart from the standard menu options. For the discerning few, they know their pizza and it is always a matter of striking the balance between offering what’s really good versus what’s really in demand. Fret no more, Pizza Hut has recently surfaced a conceptual ordering system with the help from folks at Chaotic Moon Studios. Check out this video. What you will see is an interesting demo of a couple ordering pizzas from an interactive screen. The entire experience aims to simulate a more engaging experience. You get to choose the exact size of your pizza, meddle with the shape, spoilt yourself with the generous toppings and even enjoy a game or two while you wait for your pizzas! If this is the future, why do we still need waiters?
Cute cute Yeti
If you haven’t played Plants vs Zombies yet, you can go check out how lovely and adorable a Yeti can look like. Hehe. Personally, I have always fancy having a snow Yeti toy. One that is flurry and fat, it just make you wanna cuddle it so badly. This holiday, creative agency, Iris Worldwide has done a fantastic job for Saks Fifth Avenue’s store display. What they are featuring this Christmas is a Yeti! They unveiled the installation on November 25 and bring forth a blasting light show with an amazing light projection of the face of a lovely yeti right on the building itself. Check out the video and have a look at how the shop windows were all decked up in a whimsical theme where there were storybooks with interesting interactive content featuring the yeti as he goes on a journey from being one obscure snow monster to a lovely well appreciated snow artist! Awwww Nice! They have also brought the experience on to mobile, making the experience seamless. You can literally activate the app, type in your name, and with a swipe of your finger, throw that snowflake you created on your mobile into the window display live! Awesome! Apart from mobile and outdoor, there is an online experience where site visitors could create their very own yeti! What do you know? This year mr yeti is here to bring you a rather integrated christmas experience!
Light projection masterpiece
When I saw this video, I knew I just had to talk about it. This is some serious light projection experiment done on moving surfaces which explores the possibilities of real and digital space. I questioned the accuracy of this light projection mapping initially, but was completely taken in by the video. Towards the end, it even corresponds with the environment and the beauty of how the elements interacts as well as the animated sequences is simply mind blowing. All done by possibility 2 projector arms. It is absolutely magical. Brilliant work by Bot & Dolly from Mississippi USA.
Cowabunga!
Things just can’t get any better! Were you a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Mashable just published an article reporting a release for the turtles, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” for Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and Steam for PC. This action hard hitting game brings back memories of the retro TMNT arcade coin-op games we used to rock during the 90s. Published by Activision, the game boosts great game play with the game’s art direction quite closely resembling the new Nickelodeon CG series.
I personally love the TMNT games since I was a kid. In fact, my favorite turtle happened to be Raphael! As usual, the rooster of characters to select will be the complete set of all 4 turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. They are also bringing back the four person co-op function! Now you get to hammer through the stages all the way to the lairs of Shredder with three friends simultaneously! Check out the game!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows costs 1,200 Microsoft Points, or $15.
Interactive water tub
An immersive experience from a rather interesting medium. Now you could actually control objects that is projected onto water surfaces! Developers from the Koike Laboratory in Tokyo have actually created an interactive touchscreen on the surface of waters in a bathtub. It provides us with lots of fun during our bath time. What’s amazing is one need not worry about damaging their electronic devices. Known as “Aquatop”, this technology is made possible through a few devices. With the Kinect camera mounted on top of the tub, a projector as well as nice speakers and a PC of course. You can create lasers by dipping your fingers into the water or even play with moving objects like photographs. Check out this video to see how much our bathing experience has evolved. Extremely fun and very engaging. This could be a promising way to make use of water projection for interactive and social engagement purposes. A good way for business that wish to create a rather alternative brand experience.
The Amazing Mix
Websites with great interactivity bring about greater fun and engagement. A good web is one that engages the audience by providing unique content with great interactive elements. ATTIK has developed The Amazing Mix site with a video board to display the new Lexus IS sedan in front and center. With the clever use of your keyboard, any key would cause the scene’s visuals and audio elements to change. Therefore, it creates a rather unique custom mix. What impresses me is the smooth transition of effects happening between the scenes. It is extremely interesting to watch the effects as you move around your keyboard punching random buttons.
“The Lexus IS sport sedan appeals to performance-driven, tech-savvy customers who are looking to stand out from the crowd,” said Lexus Corporate Marketing Manager Brian Bolain. “‘The Amazing Mix’ allows users to infuse their own identity into their video and share it with their friends. We’re already seeing some amazing mixes and we can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Volkswagen Golf 7: 3D Projection Mapping Event
Awesome. Can’t help but repeat this video a couple of times to see how the digital graphics flow so seamlessly throughout. It not only gives you a hint of what you could do, the car’s heritage, it also highlights how interesting your Golf could be. Projection mapping is not new but slowly gaining more recognition here in Asia and I have seen quite a number of events making good use of lights and digital effects to map huge event artifacts and it works pretty well. BBDO New York did their version of mapping on water for Gillette and it was totally out of this world. Still, projection mappings when executed nicely is a sight to behold.
Let your eyes do the trick
Following the news of Samsung’s S4 mobile phone’s eye recognition, we are seeing more and more “eye catching” gadgets and devices. This is defintely another great way to play the game albeit i am not too sure if your eyes would get even more taxing from all the flickering!
Zack Chia 