out of the box :: The awesome world of digital

Audi: Start. Stop. Audi’s new energy saving technology...

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:17:34 +1000

Audi: Start. Stop.

Audi’s new energy saving technology stops the engine when you stop at the lights. They wanted an interesting way of getting this idea out there. The Audi Stop-Start app takes the same thinking and applies it to a smartphone. The app shows the user what other apps are open and allows them to close them to save the energy of their phone. Simple, smart and energy efficient. Nice one Audi.

Blighty: The music video powered by Tweets Bands are constantly...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:31:00 +1000

Blighty: The music video powered by Tweets

Bands are constantly innovating in the digital space. From the viral videos of OKGo to the HTML5 Chrome music videos of Arcade Fire, they are continuously trying new ways to get people to interact and be part of the experience.

I was quite surprised when I stumbled upon this little gem from Melbourne based band Blighty. It’s a simple idea but by feeding the lyrics on real-world tweets it means the experience is unique every time you watch. I found the entire thing quite mesmerising. What do you think?

Check out the site to see it for yourself.

Durex Fundawear Digital advertising needn’t be about...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:55:17 +1000

Durex Fundawear

Digital advertising needn’t be about finding another channel to spread your message, and only a handful of brands are truly realising this. Big brands such as Nike have innovated the space with products such as Nike+ and Fuel band, giving people new ways to experience the brand ethos through digital forms. And now we are seeing Durex experiment in the space too.

‘Fundawear’ is the first of a series of Durexperiments. It’s a new line of underwear that allows your partner to control the vibrations through a mobile app. Perfect for couples over long distance, or just those that want something a bit different. It’s not just advertising, but a new product innovation, brought to you by a brand. I am excited to see what other products come out of the Durexperiements, let’s hope they innovate as much as this one.

Audi R8 - Screenshot the car I think this has to be the first ad...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:02:29 +1000

Audi R8 - Screenshot the car

I think this has to be the first ad I’ve seen using the everyday iPad feature of the screenshot. It’s a feature all iOS users know well, but by making it the interaction for the ad is a genius touch. The car speeds through the ad at blistering pace and only the most experienced screen-shotter can capture it.

The clever bit? Every shot the user is taking is saved to their photo library as a constant reminder of the new R8’s break-neck speed. Pretty cool.

SCION GhostGlass This is a really nice use of a ‘Microsoft...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:39:07 +1000

SCION GhostGlass

This is a really nice use of a ‘Microsoft Surface’ style environment. Visitors to the SCION stand at the recent motor show were given special ‘GhostGlass’ cards. These then became keys within their environment, interacting with the elements around them. Place them atop touch screen tables and see interactive content and video. Shoot video up to the big screen or play games with friends.

The really interesting part is how the cards reveal special messages and passwords around the stand simply by holding them up to specially created stickers. Nice.

Heineken create the bottle of the future It appears Heineken...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:52:26 +1000

Heineken create the bottle of the future

It appears Heineken have been doing some really nice stuff in the activation space of late. But this re-imagining of the simple bottle is a touch of genius. Taking cues from technology such as Disney’s ‘Glow with the show’ or Coldplay’s very own ‘Xyloband’, these bottles light up in a number of ways. Firstly, they ignite with light every time you take a sip. Secondly, they illuminate in time to the music in unison.

It’s a fantastic way of bringing people together in a club environment and a really clever way to enhance the drinking experience. I can’t wait to see these out and about.

Recalling 1993 When the Museum of New York wanted to promote...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:52:00 +1000

Recalling 1993

When the Museum of New York wanted to promote it’s new exhibit focussing on a specific period in New York history, they needed an idea that would cut through. How could they raise awareness of this time in a new and innovative way? The idea was to use the only relic still alive on the streets from this period, the payphone. They turned every payphone in the city into a time machine.

By dialling 1-855-FOR-1993 from any payphone in the city, people were treated to an audio clip from someone recalling a story on that street at the time. This localised content, making it relevant to the street you’re standing on and really bringing you closer to the stories. This is a great use of an old medium as a promotional tool, and a really clever way to make people emotionally connect with history.

The HP PhotoBall Brands are always on the hunt for new ways to...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:32:34 +1000

The HP PhotoBall

Brands are always on the hunt for new ways to connect with brands through sponsorship, especially at festivals, where there can be a sea of brands all shouting for attention. So what did HP do at this years Planeta Terra in Sao Paolo? They created the ‘PhotoBall’, a huge blow up ball that was unleashed on the crowd at the main stage. It was equipped with an HD camera and Wifi Antenna so it could beam photos in real time.

The magic bit? People could visit the HP photobooth at the festival to get a printed photo of them playing with the ball. They could also tag themselves online. It’s a unique and interesting way to record the festival from a new angle, a really nice way to showcase the printing capabilities of HP, and a fantastic way to reward participants with something tangible at the end of the experience. Nice work HP, love it.

Nissan Leaf first brand in Sim City I am always on the look out...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:15:44 +1000

Nissan Leaf first brand in Sim City

I am always on the look out for new ways for brands to engage with people through digital. And one place that brands rarely traverse is gaming. EA are no stranger to opening up their game worlds to brands, President Obama being one of the first to put their campaign on billboards around the city in Burnout. However, Nissan’s take on getting their message across is a little cleverer.

To advertise their new Nissan Leaf, they have introduced a free download add-on pack for Sim City that allows gamers to place virtual electricity filling stations around their cities. These of course come with mini Nissan cars, and the more you place the more ‘eco-friendly’ your city becomes. It’s a pretty clever way to promote their green message, while allowing consumers to interact and play with the brand in a new way.

I wonder how many other brands will utilise this channel moving forward, and what creations they will bring to peoples virtual cities.

Audi bring scalextric to life through digital Lovely activation...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:57:57 +1000

Audi bring scalextric to life through digital

Lovely activation to launch the new A3. The huge custom-built track allowed three people to race a scale model of the A3 round a scalextric track, all controlled by their iPad. The onboard cameras allowed the racers to see what it was like to actually sit behind the wheel and the video it created could then be shared on their social networks. I can’t believe something like this has not been done already?!? Nice execution.

Opel Corsa - The first car named after its owner Opel wanted to...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:07:17 +1000

Opel Corsa - The first car named after its owner

Opel wanted to launch a new Corsa to the youth market. The Brief? To come up with a name that spoke to them. And what better way to name a vehicle than to name it after the owner. A cool idea to truly personalise a product, even if it does have sniffs of Cokes ‘Share a Coke’ Campaign. What product will get the ‘name’ idea next? I quite fancy a pair of underpants with my name on…. wait a minute I already have those, thanks mum.

The most mesmerising clock you will see this week This...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:40:45 +1000

The most mesmerising clock you will see this week

This installation by the clock genius’ Work by Humans Since 1982 takes some of their recent concepts to another level. I reckon I could gladly just stand and stare at it for hours on end. Beautiful stuff.

Melotweet brings music to twitter Evian is all about living...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:48:00 +1000

Melotweet brings music to twitter

Evian is all about living young. To bring this idea to life, they thought they would inject some playfulness into the way your consume your twitter feed. By allowing people to place musical paddles and blocks on a canvas, users can create simple music from the cascading tweets. It adds a nice ambience to the whole experience. Pretty simple, but nicely executed.

Desire - New short film for Jaguar How do you launch a car in...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:11:23 +1000

Desire - New short film for Jaguar

How do you launch a car in todays market? There have been a slew of creative ways car brands have been innovating in this space, from interactive movies controlled by your smartphone to lifting a car in the air with likes. But this could have the ability to be something quite special.

To launch the new F-Type, Jaguar have decided to team up with many ‘of the moment’ stars to create a short gangster movie. Shot by Ridley Scott’s team, starring Damien Lewis and even bringing in Lana Del Rey along for the ride to sing the theme tune. This has the potential to go beyond traditional advertising and actually become a cool, watchable piece of content. Let’s just hope it actually has good screenwriting to match the high-caliber production values. Watch this space when it launches soon.

The new Facebook One of the complaints many people have most...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:14:46 +1000

The new Facebook

One of the complaints many people have most recently about Facebook is that it has become very cluttered. There’s just too much content. From the live feed that updates in the right column, to the messy UI. Even though the way we present ourselves improved greatly last year with the introduction of Timeline, the way we consume others lives has been in drastic need of an overhaul.

Well, Facebook believe the time has come. And with their new redesign, not only are they saying ‘goodbye to clutter’ but they are unifying the user experience across all their platforms, creating a more harmonious experience wherever you interact. Although many may backlash against this (everyone seems to hate change, especially the billions of people using Facebook for free!), I can see this change only as a good thing. The mobile experience of Facebook has been vastly superior to the website for some time, and this redesign may just be the step that they needed to take in order to bring people back to the site.

You can sign up for it here as soon as it drops.

Facebook Holiday lets people experience Cape Town Everybody...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:06:44 +1000

Facebook Holiday lets people experience Cape Town

Everybody knows the iconic things in Cape Town. But do they really know the real Cape Town? The stuff happening on the ground everyday or the wonderful things going on outside the city?

This is the problem with many cities around the world. There are so many things that make up a city that it can be hard to get people to discover them all. Enter ‘Facebook Holiday’, a campaign from Cape Town Tourism that lets people virtually live a weeks holiday, experiencing the things they didn’t even know existed. By logging into the Facebook app and connecting your account, the app posts amazing first person content on your timeline for a whole week - photos, updates and videos. It’s almost like you were there for real.

It’s a pretty clever way to show someone the ‘other side’ of a city, while using those people to publicise to their wider group of friends. It’s also a pretty extensive execution, with hundreds of pieces of content created over the course of the campaign to make everyones experience unique. A really nice digitally-led tourism campaign.

Renault Clio - The first car lifted by likes Renault wanted to...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:44:00 +1000

Renault Clio - The first car lifted by likes

Renault wanted to prove that passion could indeed lift a vehicle off the ground… god only knows why. But they did. So they built this app. Every time someone ‘liked’ the app, a real-world thumbs up was placed in the box on the seesaw alongside the car. After over 16,000 likes, the car was finally lifted into the air, one lucky person won the car and the world became a happier place.

As much as I ‘like’ the idea. I’m a little confused what the link to the product is, apart from it being a nice mechanic to win it. If you can indeed decipher this cryptic for me, please feel free to let me know. Until then, I’m off to ‘like’ some brands to try and win some free shit, catch you later.

RayBans - The Ambermatic In a world where people are obsessed...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:47:57 +1000

RayBans - The Ambermatic

In a world where people are obsessed with retro-style photography (thanks Hipstamatic for bringing us that trend by the way…. I miss you now Instagram is here), RayBans wanted to show the world what life looked like through their new lenses…. for real. So they did. The Ambermatic app allows people to snap a photo, which is then beamed to the Ambermatic machine… an interactive installation in their flagship store in London. The photo is then shot for real through the lens of the sunglasses and beamed back to the users phone.

I love the tie-in with the real product, and shooting it for real really brings this idea to life in way that feels really tangible. It also ties in beautifully with retail, allowing people to see the machine working in real-time alongside the shopping experience. Great social idea with the product at the heart. Nice work RayBan!

Google unveils Project Glass This project has been bubbling away...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:37:32 +1000

Google unveils Project Glass

This project has been bubbling away for a while now, and finally we are getting a few more details about it. These new wearable internet-enabled glasses are poised to change the way you interact with the world around you. Using the latest tech, you can search using your eyes, create videos in real time and share them with friends, and even invite you friends to see the world through your eyes. You can’t deny how cool this is. You can sign up now to be one of the first to get one. My only question is, does it come with prescription lenses?

Sydney lets you explore it in 360 The latest campaign from...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:15:49 +1000

Sydney lets you explore it in 360

The latest campaign from Destination NSW lets visitors from all over the globe experience Sydney like never before. They have created a series of videos in beautiful 360, showing off some of the highlights of the areas in and around the city. Taking it social, you can upload an image of yourself and add yourself into the experience. Here’s me surfing in Bondi (of course if it were me in real life, there would be considerably more wipeouts!). It’s a nice virtual tourism piece, and a fantastic way of letting potential visitors experience it before they arrive.

Have a go for yourself here.