Chado Advertising & Design has begun work on a new website for Trophy Fly Fishing Adventures, a unique saltwater fly fishing guided trip in pursuit of the elusive Roosterfish. These highly sought after trophy fish can easily sense predators and are particular about the fly and presentation making them very difficult to catch without the help of an experienced guide. Recently, with the release of the fly fishing documentary Running Down The Man, shot on location, there has been increased interest in this big game fish with anglers traveling from all corners of the world for their chance to hook the legendary species.
The fly fishing adventure is located in Cabo Pulma Mexico on the Baja Peninsula with lodging available through Cabo Pulmo Eco Palapa. Cabo Pulmo Eco Palapa offers comfortable accommodations right on the beach and “off the grid” where guests can enjoy tranquility and solitude living far away from civilization.
The new website will feature information about the guided adventure, accommodations, the unique location, the Rooster Fish, and video clips from Running Down The Man. Other features include search engine optimization, a custom content management system, updateable photo galleries, and PayPal functionality. There will also be social media integration to the GetReeled community and YouTube. Please follow the Chado blog for further updates.
Chado Advertising & Design is pleased to announce that we will be working on a new identity development campaign for Corner 90, an upscale restaurant in the trendy Kwun Tong district of Hong Kong that serves healthy, fusion and contemporary style food. Corner 90’s unique menu will include a collection of ethnic and fusion food as diverse as Hong Kong itself with European, Indian, Western, and Asian offerings. Deliverables for this campaign include a new logo and tagline, along with stationary, letterhead, envelopes, three sets of menus, placemats, sales flyers, and two multipurpose advertisements. This identity development campaign will capture the inviting atmosphere, unique culinary offerings, and unforgettable dining experience Corner 90 has to offer. Continue to follow the Chado blog for further updates!
Japan has recently introduced new digital advertising billboards for a trial run that utilizes exciting new technology that could potentially change the face of visual advertisements. Although it is still in its test phase, the new technology fits billboards with specialized cameras that can read the gender and approximate age of its viewers and tailor the message displayed. This ensures the ad space is being used to its fullest potential and the message is delivered to its intended audience. The project was launched last month with twenty-seven displays in multiple subway stations around Tokyo. Further testing and analytics can take the ads a step further adding another variable for increased accuracy in audience targeting: the time of day. Different demographic groups are more likely to use the station at certain times of day so the available ads in circulation can change for increased precision.
This type of targeting is already being used online with Facebook tailoring advertisements based on the user’s gender, age, and interests, but using cameras could be seen as too invasive. There has been some backlash at Facebook for saving user data for advertising so there are already many ethical considerations surrounding this new technology. The operators claim that the cameras do not record images, they only collate data about the groups it is targeting to improve the system. Depending on how the trial run proceeds, we could soon have these “smart” advertisements in American subway platforms displaying only relevant ads to commuters.
I find this particularly interesting because, besides a few exceptions, billboards have never really changed. For decades they have remained the same, untouched as relics of old-world media before the digitization of advertising. By incorporating new technology it may ensure the lasting survival of the medium or, based on the public’s perception of its potentially invasive nature, destroy the public’s acceptance. With security cameras already prevalent in most major cities this wouldn’t seem like a hard sell for the public’s acceptance, but it may be seen as more surveillance and the next step in an increasingly Orwellian future.
Frito Lay’s Cheetos have launched an ambitious new online campaign that is surprisingly very effective. It is entertaining, engaging, and very impressive considering it is a viral game centered around cheese flavored snack products.
In their campaign titled “Battle of the Cheetos” users pick a side; crunchy or puffy and do battle with other users online. It is a strategy war game where animated Cheetos fight with cheese-powered weapons to determine the superior type of Cheeto. As players win more battles they are rewarded with upgrades and more Cheeto warriors for your regiment.
The animated battlefields spring from partnered websites from which the viral game is accessed, including Mashable, Gawker, BoingBoing.net, Gizmodo, and many others. Statistics can be tracked via Facebook to determine which users are the most skilled generals for both the puffy and crunchy armies. The gameplay is simple yet engaging and like all great online multiplayer games, it allows users to taunt their opponents and trash talk via their computer’s microphone. This imaginative campaign may seem like a very strange way to promote and sell Cheetos but it is already doing an excellent job if you consider the content and depth of the game. Consumers spend an average of 12 minutes playing branded games, much longer than they would with any traditional form of advertising, also consider the Facebook connectivity and the fact that this branded game is actually quite fun to play; the Battle of the Cheetos is an impressive campaign that manages to entertain players centered entirely around the Cheetos brand. It is easily the best branded online game I have experienced and will hopefully set the tone for all branded game content that will follow.
This summer movie season has been riddled with flops and underperforming films. With movies like Knight and Day and Grownups making their run, the only beacon of hope for a decent summer movie is Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Inception. Nolan’s newest offering has been receiving a lot of attention and is the only upcoming movie of the summer anyone seems to care about anymore.
But why? Very few details have been released about the movie’s plot and it is already generating buzz as an award winner. The answer is Inception’s brilliant advertising. In particular, their surreal building-sized optical illusion style billboards recently spotted in New York. Similar to the movie’s trailer, they do not give much away but definitely catch people’s eyes and continue to build hype for the upcoming blockbuster. I think these billboards are great; they are different and bring something new to the table with their optical illusion, three-dimensional look. I would much rather see more creative 3D posters than hastily thrown together 3D movies that have dominated this summer movie season.
The super popular Facebook app/real-time farming simulator FarmVille has recently began a cross-promotion campaign with 7-Eleven convenience stores. The cross-promotional campaign features signage and Farmville branded snacks. The campaign also introduces limited edition Farmville items that are only available with the purchase of 7-11 FarmVille Food. The items, which are unlocked with special codes on the product packaging, include water towers, swimming pools, and sandwich carts. These two brands seem like a strange fit for a cross-promotional campaign; FarmVille is associated with organic farming and fresh produce which people usually don’t associate with 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven will also run similar campaigns with other Zynga Facebook game titles like Mafia Wars drink cups with promotional codes for in-game items.
Although this campaign seems absurd and a very odd fit for both brands it is opening the doors for increased cross promotion with products and unlock-able virtual content in video games. If proven successful, this type of campaign could become commonplace where players will purchase other products to gain an edge in their game or unlock new features. Special downloadable game content is already available with game pre-orders or for purchase via online services so this doesn’t necessarily require new technology.
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.
