Over the past seven years it has become increasing common and expected to see product and service commercials in the theater before the movie. This month AT&T has taken the next step in creating the first cinematic 3D spot intended for theaters with detailed animation, impressive visuals, and an original score for its new “Rethink Possible” campaign. The spot is available in other mediums but was produced with movie theater audiences in mind. It is currently being shown to the handful of people watching the 3D coverage of the World Cup and will be shown soon in theaters. This is interesting because it is an innovative step towards the new wave of inevitable 3D commercials that uses the new technology mainly for entertainment. It doesn’t allude to phone services at all when it shows a small fish chasing after an orange ball. Eventually bigger fish come and take the ball away then the small fish breaks away only to the surface to find an endless forest of trees that produce the orange balls and copy urging audiences to “Rethink What’s Possible”. It will be cool to see what other commercials are released in the near future made specifically in 3D for theater audiences.
This new viral campaign by Volkswagen features a giant slide installed at a Berlin subway station celebrating their new Fast Lane campaign. This new campaign, FAST LANE – Driven by fun, “is dedicated to everyone who loves to go beyond the regular, who is curious for new stuff and who simply enjoys to speed it all up a little.” They have found a simple yet effective way to demonstrate their campaigns new philosophy while engaging their target market. This campaign takes the focus away from the actual cars and it celebrates the feeling of driving them. Subway stations have been the venue for many different viral campaigns because they are high traffic areas that are typically seen as boring and mundane. These guerilla marketing campaigns introduce a new level of fun and excitement to a commonly predictable commute.
According to a recent article, the California Legislature is currently considering a bill that would get the ball rolling to introduce digital license plates. Instead of the stamped metal plates that have always been used, California motorists can expect a digital system that displays their license plate number when the car is in motion. However, if the car stops for over four seconds the plate’s display switches to an advertisement for a product or service. The only reason this seemingly crazy idea is being considered at all is the potential ad revenue for the state (which is currently $19 billion in debt) by drivers turning their cars into small mobile billboards. This could also give drivers the opportunity to customize their plates even further than current vanity plates or plate covers allow. If this happens, California would be the first state to use the technology if the DMV recommends it. Although this could be a potentially dangerous distraction, it would open many new possibilities for ad space. Also, if GPS functionality was added it could allow for location based ads. It will be interesting to see if this bill is passed and if these innovative ads will make it past prototyping. Widespread implementation seems like it would be very expensive, setting up all California drivers with digital plates and what would the ad space be worth if it was on every car?
This week Arrested Development alumni Jason Bateman and Will Arnett premiered their first viral video for their new production company DumbDumb, a sponsor driven comedy enterprise that specializes in branded content. DumbDumb is a first of its kind production company; backed by Barry Diller’s IAC and partnered with Ben Silverman’s Electus, it makes only comedic advertising content to be distributed virally. The first short viral video titled The Prom Date is the first of three “Dirty Shorts” webisode videos sponsored by Orbit Gum. The video series is built around Orbit’s brand promise to clean up dirty situations and this particular video features Bateman playing an angry dad, Aubrey Plaza as his angst filled teenage daughter, and Arnett as Skip her prom date/social studies teacher. The 5 minute web feature is absurdly funny, nailed their brand message, and could possibly mark a new era of branded advertising content taking product placement to a whole new level. By taking popular comedy actors and allowing them to produce content built around the established brand message it delivers funny, viral content that viewers and fans are much more likely to go out of their way to watch and share. After viewing this first feature it seems DumbDumb is destined to be a success, attracting viewers with its edgy content and the chance to see Bateman and Arnett work together again, that is until the rumored Arrested Development movie finally comes out.
Chick-fil-A’s newest viral campaign promoting their new spicy chicken sandwich recently launched and has been receiving a lot of positive attention on Digg and other internet hot spots. The promotional campaign started with direct mail pieces and in store collateral prompting users to go to www.getspicychicken.com where they can fill out a reservation to try the new product at their local Chick-fil-A restaurant at a certain date and time with a customized printed coupon. Reservations at a fast food chain is certainly a strange idea but it seems to have paid off by attracting customers to use their coupon in a new unique way while adding more effective means of tracking the coupons useage. The campaign also included a social media program to hype the products release on Facebook and twitter. Lastly, the campaign is finishing up with some very clever online ads that are especially appealing to creatives. To emphasize how hot the new sandwich is the flash advertisement shows a the sandwich burning through the browser to reveal the site’s HTML code through the burn hole. This clever banner ad has caught people’s attention with a simple idea executed perfectly.
Earlier this month following an Astros game giant ants appeared to take siege of the nearby Veterans Administration building that can be seen from Minute Maid Park. The ants swarmed the building and could only be stopped by a heroic oversized can of Black Flag insecticide. This guerilla marketing effort was made possibly from new animated 3D mapping technology. This cutting edge projection technology re-creates a detailed three-dimensional model of the surface in a program and models the custom animation around that surface. Houston was chosen as the first place to launch the guerilla campaign because of the cities reported bug problems but they plan to utilize the technology for similar campaigns in other cities. It will be interesting to see how this new projection technology will be used for future ads and media events.
In previousposts I have featured new innovative billboards that take advantage of new technology to engage viewers and breathe life into an aging advertising medium. These new technologies have added functionality to the otherwise inoperative ads. The newest and quite possibly strangest billboard advertisement created was recently erected in Charlotte, North Carolina. The billboard is for The Bloom, a regional grocery store chain that is promoting a new brand of beef. Not only does the ad display a gigantic piece of steak on a massive fork but it actually pumps out the smell of hickory barbecue to entice passing motorists. It also has copy boasting that the “flavor is actual size”. The scent technology was developed by ScentAir, a company that develops custom fragrances for casinos and hotels, and is powered by an oversize fan that blow the scent thirty to fifty yards into the roadway. The billboard is otherwise unavoidable as the scent jumps into the audience’s car for a multisensory experience. This billboard is the first of its kind and it could possibly be the last based on the public’s reaction. It certainly raises a lot of questions about ethics; what do people who live nearby think about the billboard? Do they enjoy living with the constant smell of barbecue? Does it really smell like steak? What about vegetarians who claim to be appalled by the smell of meat? Regardless of local opinion, the ad has caught nationwide attention possibly making it one of the farthest-reaching billboards in advertising history.
