Hula Hoops: A World of Their Own

Check out the latest ad for Hula Hoops, around their 'A World of Their Own' campaign concept. It's pretty cool work by the 'puppeteer' to be able to move his fingers so freely. On the back of this, the campaign also features a microsite, calling on the public to produce their own 'finger puppet' short film. Fun stuff, and there already seems to be a lot of entries. Definitely worth a look.

No More Locked Doors

How many times have you been playing a first person shooter and you quickly start to realise that the huge sprawling city that the game occupies, is in fact block after block of locked buildings. You can't enter them and they play no significant role in the game other then as landscape. Unfortunately the cost/resources etc. to develop and render an entire city would be astronomical. What if, hoewever, there was a cheap and effective way to do it.....



This is potentially the biggest breakthrough in gaming technology.

Brainwave @ Krystle Nightclub

Rick O'Shea made the call and I hope you all answer it! Rick's asking for 2 favours, and they're not big asks either so lets just do it.

Rick is patron of the charity Brainwave and, as part of this years Horse Show Week, the charity is having a huge night out in Krystle Nightclub (replacing the old Horse Show Ball). We all know about the unspoken 'R' and the hard times that we're all in, but this really is worth it. Basically the entire club will be taken over for the night and there's space for 1000 dapper gents and beautiful ladies. In short, it's the perfect excuse to put the glad rags on and listen to some craic'n tunes from top DJs and an awesome live band.

All proceeds from the night go to Brainwave and will help them do what they do, so very well, over the next twelve months.

Tickets are now available on Tickets.ie - here

Ok, so that's the first thing. The second favour Rick asks is that you do exactly what I've done. POST IT! Do a write up, link it, and get the message out there.

Thanks folks :)

McDonald's Appoints VCCP

Yesterday Brand Republic carried a marketingmagazine.co.uk article by Joe Thomas, about McDonald's appointment of VCCP to manage its employment brand and recruitment advertising. The appointment came after a three month pitch process, with VCCP facing down DDB in the final round. Leo Burnett remains McDonald's lead agency in the UK.

VCCP's recent work includes O2's rubber duck tv ads (including an Irish version) and my favourite campaign of the year - Compare the Meerkat.

Nike: Love Fifteen

It's not the first time that Nike have been able to push out an ad almost before the final whistle blows, but this time they did it even better then usual. No sooner had Roger Federer taken home his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam win, Nike was on the tv (including BBC immediately after the match!) paying homage to the achievement. In true Nike fashion however, they didn't do it alone. Step forward Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, John McEnroe, Serena Williams and Pete Sampras.

It takes a big brand to do that and, quite simply, there is no one bigger when it comes to sports. This is an amazing piece of marketing. In the most subtle of ways Nike manage to reinforce their brand, their positioning, and enhance public perception. How?

Well, what does the ad tell us? Nike support winners. Winners support Nike. Winners use Nike. Nike are not bigger then any one person, and are humble enough to congratulate victory. That's powerful stuff. Also consider that they're capable of getting a 30 second ad on BBC - that's even more powerful stuff!