27Letters

GettyImages have just released a really sweet application to allow you to keep up with current visual trends from across the interweb. 27Letters will display the 27 most talked about, referenced and reproduced images for the month. Getty say it covers everything from “advertising to art, through to politics and celebrity.”

If you like, there's also a facebook group that you can join.

Chrome's Viral Goes To TV

I posted last week about Google's 11 short films that had been produced in a bid to push the Chrome browser. In a follow up, Google wanted to see if they could take a recently produced Japanese Google short and release it to a larger audience to promote Chrome. After speaking to their TV Ads team, on Friday Google announced that they'd be using Google TV Ads to run the "Chrome TV ad" on a number of TV networks from this weekend. Unfortunately this is all US based, but stay tuned, I wouldn't be too surprised if we saw it on our screens in the near future. For everyone who can't wait, here you go...

Our Rock Stars

Maybe it's because I'm a geek, but this is totally hilarious...

An Expression of Joy

BMW have just launched their latest marketing campaign for the BMW Z4 Roadster - “An Expression of Joy”

The ambitious campaign centres around a massive and very unique art project, bringing together video, outdoor, print, mobile and digital elements. The campaign features a painting two football fields in size created by artist Robin Rhode and filmmaker Jake Scott.

Utilising 160 litres of paint and 45 cameras, the pair filmed two Roadsters fitted with paint jets mounted behind their wheels, drifting and racing around the immense canvas, to create both a 30-second ad and a 30-minute documentary.

The documentary will be shown in the US on Discovery HD today, May 10 at 8:00pm. Repeats are scheduled throughout May and June, as well as a transition cross the water for airing on the European Discovery network. The 30-second ad will be used both on TV and onlin through MSN’s expandable video unit. This is the first time the unit will be used for a digital marketing campaign, allowing users to see the ads in full-screen mode.

In addition to MSN, video banners will also run on a number of high profile sites including CNN and Yahoo. Print ads are set to include an eight-page insert in Vanity Fair’s June issue, and coverage in several top end art and interior magazines. Outdoor will center on 10 international airports around the US.

However, beyond all this activity, the most interesting element of the campaign is the campaign microsite - “An Expression of Joy” which shows the filming process through a dynamic video interface, and features the mobile game, “BMW Z4 – An Expression of Joy”. The game has been developed for the iPhone and iPod Touch and has been available for download since March. An impressive 500,000 downloads have already been recorded. times.

Monster Waves

I absolutely love nature - I love the outdoors and everything about being outside. Living in Ringsend I spent quite a bit of time down around Sandymount. Sometimes just walking or maybe taking photographs. I have always dreamed about living beside the sea - there's something about the ocean that draws me in, and completely inspires me.

I just stumbledupon this article on BBC about Bali Strickland (seriously renowned cameraman) and Huw Cordey (top producer and director), and their mission to film big waves. Definitely worth a read, but also check out the video too...