Volkswagen

Lately Volkswagen has been making their name by doing different and rather strange advertising.  Recently they published a Norwegian ad in which you could "test drive".  The ad consists of a stretch (2 pages wide) of road in which you can download an app and "test drive" your phone through the ad.  You can try out three different features of the car: lane assist, adaptive lights and cruise control.

Even more recently Volkswagen has come out with an edible print ad by Ogilvy Cape Town.  VW South Africa's Auto Trader magazines have shown these ads with copy that reads, "Eat the Road. Seriously, eat it." The ingredients are listed on the side as "glutinous rice flour, water, salt, propylene glycol, FD&C colour, glycerine."

 Other recent Volkswagen ads, although perhaps not quite as unusual:
Volkswagen: The Force

Volkswagen has a history of having ads that have reinvented the industry and are truly fantastic:

I could keep posting these all day there are just so many!
To see more great Volkswagen ads you can pick up a copy of Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads? for about $999.98 on Amazon (it is a pretty rare book).  Or more realistically you can type that into google and see a fair amount of the ads on the image search.

New website!!

So I haven't written a blog in a few days because I have been obsessed with updating/redoing my portfolio site.  It looks so much better now though!

Check it out:  http://www.wix.com/sarahaagesen/portfolio

Student Project - eHarmony Waffle Maker

I am currently in my capstone marketing class, Marketing Policy.  In this class we are given a term project and a group to work with (3-4 people).  The project is to create a marketing plan.  Each team is given a brand (we were given eHarmony) and a random product which they do not currently produce or compete within the industry (we were given a waffle maker).  Then we are given the term and a few milestone presentations and papers to get us in line.  At the end of the term we have to do a presentation and turn in our final marketing plan for the eHarmony Waffle Maker.

For our project we created a personalized waffle maker in which a couples names will be placed on the waffle iron plates, thus creating imprinted names on each waffle.  One guy in my group, Dale, actually created a prototype waffle maker, which we used during our presentation to make waffles for the class.

I also pieced together a few ads targeted to our main three market segments (Newlyweds segmented based on age).

And then.. we pieced the whole thing together into a marketing plan!

eHarmony Waffle Maker





Another group member and I just finished putting this together this morning and it feels great to be done!

Friskies Cat App

 Friskies has developed a serious of games for the iPad2 and Android tablets that are meant specifically for your cat (and don't worry, Friskies assures the tablet screens are scratch-proof).

"Friskies is excited to feed your cats’ senses with three new games made just for cats. The colors, movement, and game-play have been researched and tested for maximum feline fun."

With apps for everyone in the family, why not create a game for the cat?  Great way to keep it entertained (not to mention keep yourself entertained). 

Social Networking Meets Beer Contest

Two German students, Max Arlestig and Maximilian Gebhardt, created a project entitled "The Invite" in which they incorporate a bottle opener with Facebook.

The opener has a bluetooth connection which it uses to connect to Facebook.  Every time a beer is opened using the opener, a Facebook event is created at your location and invites your friends that live within close proximity over.  Friends are then encouraged to RSVP to the event.  Whoever ends up with the most friends RSVPing wins a free case of Heineken! 

Below is the student pitched campaign concept.

While this is a project and not a real campaign, it does have some pretty cool ideas within it.  Definitely a fun way to get involved with the Heineken brand and to get people involved (I mean it's free beer).  However, I also see several drawbacks with this idea.  First of all, do you really want an event being posted every time you open a beer?  What if there are multiple people using the opener; would you have 10, 20, 50 events created in a night?  And also, would you really want all your friends in your area to be invited (or any for that matter)?  I mean, lets face it everyone has some of those Facebook "friends".  And, if you were to have say all your friends RSVP and show up, are you going to be able to handle the party (I mean I live in a small apartment - it'd be a disaster)?

While perhaps this project isn't perfect, it definitely has some great ideas buried within.  These types of interactive social campaigns are starting to become popular among companies, trying to find the most creative way to interact.  One company that is trying to campaign on this social level is Pepsi.

Flash Mob!

Flash mobs have been becoming very popular lately.  A flash mob is made up of a group of people that gather together in a public place and perform some type of usually song of dance.  The group randomly assembles and people that seemed merely spectators join in.  The group disperses once the song is over. 


The T-Mobile Flash Mob Dance

Modern Family - Flash Mob!
By the way this as of late is one of my favorite shows!  It is hilarious and if you have not seen it I highly recommend changing that pronto. 

Christmas  - Hallelujah

AT&T is playing off of this trend in one of their latest ads.
AT&T - Flash Mob

Besides flash mobs, there are some other pretty cool music videos out there that I would like to share.

Double Vision - 3OH!3
The video is meant to look like a web page that you scroll down.  
The thing that is really cool about this video is the entire thing is made when people are laying down. 

 

You should really check out the behind the scenes making of the video below.

Ok Go - Here it Goes Again
This video is also pretty impressive!  I am really curious how many times it took them to get this filmed (you will notice it is filmed through in one take - and at one point one of them almost falls at about 1:00 in the front left). 

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
Dance Zombies!!
This is a great song and when I was walking to class the other day after listening to this I was just waiting for everyone to spontaneously bust out the shuffle... would make for such an entertaining class.  Maybe next time!

Google Car Drives Itself

Google has developed a car that drives itself!

 As of October 2010, test cars had driven over 140,000 miles with only occasional human control.  This includes San Francisco's Lombard Street (which is one of the curviest and steepest streets in the U.S.).  There had been one accident reported with the vehicle, when it got rear-ended while stopped at a red light. 

While this car is years from mass production, it is still something to be excited about.  The engineers are saying that robots have a 360 view, do not get tired/distracted, and could save thousands of lives.  Also, with the decreased probability of car crashes, cars could be built lighter and more fuel efficient.

The car is rigged with GPS and sensors as well as access to all speed limits, etc. 

There are of course a few drawbacks with this car as well.  Currently, the law requires that a human operate a vehicle, so until the law is changes this type of vehicle could not be used.  Also, in the event that an accident were to occur, who would be liable?  The person behind the wheel or the car manufacturer?  Also, I think that if the car were to get into an accident, it would be a very big deal/lawsuit. 

So while this is still somewhat a car of the future, it is still pretty neat to see where things might be headed.  I am not sure that people will ever really feel comfortable enough to put their lives in the hands of a robot car, but perhaps someday.

The One Show

 The One Show 2011 Awards are put on by the One Club each year to recognize and promote excellence in advertising.  The 2011 One Show Festival was recently held on May 9th - 13th.  With winner recently announced I decided to include some of my favorites below.  

Agency: W+K
Wieden + Kennedy scored big this year at the show.

Old Spice: Questions

Old Spice: Boat

ESPN: This is Sprtscenter

Nike: Write the Future

Agency: Deutsch L.A.
Volkswagen: The Force

Agency: kempertrautmann gmbh / Hamburg
Goertz 17: Shoelace Box

Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Burger King: King Pillowcase

Agency: AlmapBBDO / São Paulo
Billboard: Music. See what it´s made of.
These are awesome.

Agency: Mother
Target: Kaleidoscope Fashion Spectacular
The Target Fashion show took place in New York's Standard Hotel.  It included 60+ dancers, a vicual program created by Daft Punk's light designers, 155 rooms at the Standard Hotel, and lasted 20 minutes.  While this was going on the fashion show for target was happening on the ground in front of the venue.  Spectacular!

Agency: Y&R Dubai / DUBAI
Microsoft Corporation Xbox Resident Evil 5: Zombieland 
These print ads are for the New Resident Evil 5 game for Microsoft's Xbox.  The people featured in the ads are wearing shirts with their name and nutrition facts on it.

Agency: Euro RSCG New York 
Dos Equis:  Dos Equis Radio - The Most Interesting Man in the World
The One Show: Euro RSCG New York / New York | Dos Equis Radio

Agency: BBH New York
Google: Chrome Speed Tests

 Agency: Ogilvy
IBM: Watson
The One Show: Ogilvy New York / New York | Watson

Agency: BBDO New York / New York
AT&T: The Last Text Integrated Campaign


Agency: DDB Stockholm
Volkswagen Sweden:  Speed Camera Lottery

Heineken goes to Wieden + Kennedy

In 2008 Heineken released their Walk in Fridge commercial created by the UK's King Cross agency.

I think this commercial is great!  Funny to both men and women and I just love the surprising twist at the end the first time you see it. 

For a while W+K managed Heineken's account.  However, it was lost to Euro RSCG in 2009.  In 2009 W+K came up with the Give Yourself a Good Name campaign.

 This campaign was carried over to RSCG with the below commercial that was released in 2010. 

I'm not too crazy about this campaign.  It is alright, but I don't think it really did much to boost Heineken shares or increase brand loyalty and I think it was minimally discussed among consumers.

In 2010 they turned to some guerrilla marketing.  They also launched a viral campaign called Men with Talent in which men could showcase their many beer drinking talents for the internet world to see. 

Now the Heineken account is back with Wieden + Kennedy and they have began the Open your World campaign.
This commercial, called "The Entrance", rolled out earlier this year.

I absolutely love this commercial!  It is entertaining and brings a whole new look to Heineken that I think could really work for them.


However, one thing I can't help but notice is this ads similarities to the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World campaign that was created by Euro RSCG.  One more thing to note is that in early 2010 Heineken bought Mexican beer companies Dos Equis and Sol. 

Also great ads.  I am more of an IPA gal, but these ads make me want to drink a Dos Equis!

Both ads (Most Interesting Man in the World and The Entrance) use international mystery men as the main appeal. 

Perhaps this is just coincidence?  Perhaps Heineken and W+K are trying to play off this past campaigns success?

Audi

Audi's latest ad takes a bit of a different approach than it's prior ads.  While this ad is for the new A1, which is one of Audi's smaller cars, it is still an Audi.  The A1 has not been released in the U.S. yet.  I think that with this ad they are perhaps trying to appeal to a different crowd and maybe attract a bit of a younger, more energetic crowd.  From this ad I see the target being young, hip Apple enthusiasts (maybe a bit of a hipster). 

Don't get me wrong, love the new ad.  Although I am not entirely sure it is consistent with their past ads, it really gives the brand a personality and I think it will attract young, affluent buyers.

This years superbowl ad.  Escape old luxury.  This seemed to be kind of the prior Audi message and direction and I thought it really worked for them.  I thought these ads were great; entertaining, different than a typical car commercial, and brought in that differentiation factor to Audi (new luxury).  And they had a bit of that old mob feel to them.

Audi Goodnight (earlier this year - January).

I will be interested to see if this new strategy will carry over into the U.S. market at all.

Microsoft Home of the Future

The Microsoft Home has been around since 1994.  It takes a peek 3-15 years into the future and looks at how technology will be a factor in everybody's life then. 


Microsoft Home is created as sort of a testing ground of products.  Currently some of the objects that make the home futuristic are interactive digital wallpaper (with internet connectivity), a charging plate that charges any electronic (phone, watch) as well as provides information about them, and a large interactive screen that holds music and information (as well as many other things).  If that doesn't make much sense just check out the videos below!

On a related note.  Microsoft also has videos released on what they envision the future to be like in 2019.

You can also find extended videos on YouTube of 2019 visions in specific areas (i.e. offices, manufacturing, etc.).

Pretty cool and very technology oriented.  I am not sure we will quite be there yet in 2019, but maybe someday not too far from then Microsoft's vision will become reality.

Cute Anniversary Gift

I recently read about an art director, Sean Ohlenkamp, that created an anniversary gift for his wife using his mac.  It is definitely a bit nerdy, but it is really sweet at the same time.

Everyone likes a cute surprise!

Polaroid's Gone Gaga

A little over a year ago, Polaroid named Lady Gaga their creative director.

"I consider myself to be a visionary, not just a songwriter and a singer. I am an artist," said Lady Gaga, Polaroid's Creative Director. "I brought my vision and love of fashion, technology and obsession with the future into all of my work with Polaroid."

Since her time at Polaroid, Lady Gaga has helped to create the Grey Label.  The Grey Label is composed of three products:



1. Instant Mobile Printer

The portable printer works with mobile phones (minus the iPhone) via bluetooth.  It will be available in June and is now posted online at the Polaroid website for $169.99.

2. Instant Digital Camera

The instant digital camera will bring together both the traditional Polaroid instant print camera with the new technology of a digital camera.

3. Camera Glasses

The camera glasses bring together fashion and photography.  These sunglasses are actually able to capture digital images.


Below is a video of Lady Gaga unveiling her new products.

Polaroid's new Grey Label is definitely different.  With the nostalgia and popularity of their original cameras, Polaroid is hoping to encourage young, fashion forward, and technology savvy people to invest in their Grey Label.  While I think all of the products seem unique and pretty cool, I am not sure that any of them are something I would "need" to have.  I think the item I would want most would be the digital Polaroid camera, as it would be a lot of fun to be able to do Polaroid's and print only the one's you want.  I could see some really cool social projects and city projects being done with a camera like that.

While the Grey Label is somewhat old news at this point, the first item (portable printer) is about to be released.  I will be interested to see how it does, and even more so how the whole line does once it becomes available later this year.

Creative Workspaces Part 1

Creative workspaces have been proven to help increase worker productivity as well as enhance the creativity of work produced.  After looking around to discover some of these spaces I have found an incredible amount of well designed and beautiful offices around the world.  It was actually pretty difficult to decide which ones to post and which to leave out (and so you will find this post very large and with lots of pictures due to my indecisiveness - and followed by a part 2). 

Google 
First up we have Google.  Of course with their Googleplex and lax rules, innovation is inevitable.  Google gives their engineers 20% of their work time to work on independent projects.  This time spent on individual projects has led to Gmail, Google News, and many other applications and games.  Seems like their policy is working to me, I don't know what I would do without my Gmail and iGoogle.  Google also offers their employees a ton of on-site benefits.  In pictures below can be seen a massage area, swimming pools, gaming rooms, and relaxation rooms (with fish tanks).

Relaxation rooms, massages, slide, creative pod offices.

 In place swimming pool.

 Tech shop where you can have a drink while your computer gets fixed.

 Meeting rooms inspired by igloos.

Pixar
Pixar, the animation studio that brought you films such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Up, allows individuals to decorate their own workspaces and in effect has created almost different neighborhoods within their building. 

Fornari
Fornari is a fashion company located in Milan.   It was started in the mid 1940's and have progressed to be a fashion icon.  Their new offices were designed by Giorgio Borruso Design of Marina Del Rey, California.

Dilbert's Ultimate Cubicle
Dilbert creator Scott Adams approached innovation firm IDEO with the task of creating what Dilbert's Ultimate Cubicle would look like.  Included in the office space are hammock, an aquarium, and a hamster wheel as well as other more typical items.

Disney
Now it is only appropriate that Disney also have a very unique and creative work space as well.

 Who doesn't want to work in a giant honey comb?

Coaxis
These last offices are located in Portland, OR.  Coaxis is a leading software development and management firm.  Group Mackenzie was the project lead in developing their offices.

To be continued...