Vodafone: Mission Magic

Vodafone NZ have just launched their latest digital campaign to promote their HTC Magic phones. The campaign, called “Mission Magic“, is a treasure hunt being run across the entire country, offering users the chance to win one of 20 HTC Magic phones. From next Friday, 19th June, users have to figure out clues about the phone locations, and they can also subscribe to additional clues by text. Using an onsite interactive Google map, users track campaign progress and can see where and when a phone has been found. On top of the phone, winners get tickets and flights to Auckland for the Black & White Magic party on the 24th June.

In conjunction with the microsite and txt based prizes, The Rock radio station is also giving away a phone each day between today and Friday

Galactic Center of Milky Way

I Stumbledupon this great video of the 'Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party'. I love how fluid the stars look. This gives a real sense of how the every star moves independently of each other, while still having an impact on each other. Perhaps it's just the geek in me, but this is totally cool!

Contagious on Display Advertising

I was pretty surprised to read this article in Contagious about Display Advertising. Chris Kempt-Salt, MD and founder of Kempt, talks about the future of display advertising and how he sees the market changing.

Chris states that "display advertising online is doomed. Users don’t notice it, click-through rates are poor and I hear that even advertisers are wising up and spends are falling fast."

I understand that Chris is coming from a UK point of view but I don't see there being very much of a difference between the UK and Ireland, and I think he's completely wrong. While he does go on to clarify his position, and says that it's all a case of there being too much advertising online, I still find myself coming back to his statement that clickthrough rates are poor and spends are falling. I would say nothing is further from the truth. On at least 4 of the last 5 advertising campaigns I've worked on, the CTRs have not only exceeded industry standards but have done so by 350% to 500%. I see CTRs going up, I see conversions increasing, and I see spends growing. Display advertising isn't just alive, but it's well and truely kicking.

One thing that I do agree with Chris on is his analysis of display advertising density. Chris takes the example of FHM.com and how display advertising features on a typical page. On a typical page there could be three different ad positions: banner, skyscraper and an MPU sitting around a 300 to 400 word article. This translates to the following:

• Above the fold on a 1024x768 screen, the content takes up 195930 pixels while the ad positions take up 143340 pixels
• That equals 42% of the combined area being used for ads
• Consider that TV advertising in the UK is restricted to seven minutes of advertising per hour (11%)
• In the US, television uses 27% of airtime for advertising

Those are crazy stats. 42% is a huge amount of space. However, I don't think that it's correct to compare online display advertising to tv. They're not the same, at all. If instead you consider press advertising, the figures are an awful lot more similar. I just picked up a glossy film magazine and at least 35%/40% of the entire thing is advertising.

So what does it all mean?

My experience is that display advertising is not dead or dying, and as for the amount of space used - I don't have a majot issue at all. The death of online display ads will only come through a lack of creativity and innovation from advertisers. Push boundries, use AR, incorporate games and interactive engagements, or simply create stunning visuals. Advertising is built on innovation and creativity, when they die, advertising will die.

Live Display Ads

A really interesting advertising campaign from SOL in Norway. Essentially copywriters monitor site content within a live environment and create comments and illustrations in real time. To give the whole thing a personal touch, everything is presented in a handwritten style, copy and drawings.



Thanks to Claire for passing this on.

Numa Numa on 'American Idle'

Gary Brolsma decided to give 'American Idle' a go!

Interactive Display Ads

Spotted these two ads from Burger King advertising thei new late night opening. Fun and engaging for a fastfood chain. Worth a look.

Augmented Reality: Shopping for Glasses

It would seem that the new buzz tool in town is Augmented Reality. Yesterday we had a great mobile shooter game, last week we had the music video and the week before the Papa John's Camero AR experience. So what next? Well yesterday evening I spotted this cool AR app from the guys at Glasses Direct.

This is also extremely practical (as demonstrated by several people in the office who immediately emailed around themselves in stylish new frames!).

Basically, Glasses Direct, a company who sell prescription glasses online, have launched an augmented reality app that is designed to help users choose the right pair of glasses. By accessing their Glasses Direct Video Mirror, users use their webcam to watch a live video of themselves wearing any of the available glasses on the site. Nifty! So in full 3D you can see how the glasses suit you without having to get up from your pc.

Using facial recognition software, the app places a virtual pair of glasses on your face. Then you can move your head around and see the glasses from every angle. You can also use their app to post your picture to Facebook to get friends' opinions on your new frames.

The app was created by FittingBox.

The Viral Video of a Viral Dance

Cheers to my mate Nick who sent this to me. You have to watch the whole thing, and note the growing enthusiasm that people have to get involved as the whole thing builds. Just brilliant.

Mobile Augmented Reality Game

Unfortunately the voice-over is terrible, but the application looks awesome. Admittedly it seems somewhat basic but none-the-less I can see great potential.

Arnie Wants The World Cup

The Californian governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has launched himself onto the Social Media circuit to bolster the Californian bid for the Fifa World Cup in 2018 or 2022. As the newest member of the board of directors for the USA Bid Committee, Schwarzenegger has created a video message in support of the committees preparation to apply to get the Fifa World Cup back to the USA.

Schwarzenegger says, "Soccer is the world's most popular sport and California has been home to some of its most exciting games, and I am proud to be a part of bringing the World Cup back to the United States."

Eight other countries have formally declared their intent to host the Fifa World Cup in 2018 or 2022.



Interestingly, Schwarzenegger revealed his new role on Twitter.

The Black (Pixel) Truth

Here is a great article from Nick Burcher, discussing the reality of black screens vs. white screens when it comes to energy consumption.

Greenpeace Brazil: Black Pixel Project

Greenpeace Brazil have just launched a great new campaign called ”Black Pixel Project” to promote the energy saving potential of turning off a single pixel on your computer screen. The campaign, which has been created by Almap BBDO, is based on users installing a simple little program that creates a single black pixel over all the windows on your monitors. For convenience the pixel can be moved around. Users also have the option to view real time stats about how many people are using the program and how much energy is being saved.

The campaign objective is to show that for every pixel installed, a few watts of power are saved. Unfortunately it doesn't work on LCDs, only CRTs and Plasmas.

Facebook Username

I got an interesting email from Facebook this evening to inform me that from 13 June Facebook will allow users to choose a username for their Facebook account. In their own words, this will allow you "to easily direct friends, family, and coworkers to your profile."

To choose your username just go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ any time after 05:01 on 13 June.

Pix.ie Photo Upload Record

Pix.ie is one of those services that works in every way. With a clean, fast and easy to operate interface, combined with an excellent backend system, Pix.ie proves that not only are there alternatives to Flickr, ImageShack and Photobucket, but they're Irish! To cement their position as the best photo hosting service around, Pix.ie recently set itself the daunting task of achieving the fastest upload of any amount of photos to a single website. The event was developed in conjunction with the WDC-sponsored (Western Development Commission) competition being run on the site. The competition called for users to upload photos taken during the Galway Volvo Ocean Race Festival.

Although the competition doesn't close until this Thursday, 11th June, Pix.ie have already smashed the record for uploads with 10,140 photos from the Volvo Ocean Race Festival already uploaded to the site. The overall photo competition offers users the chance to win a host of prizes, including top-of-the-range digital camera equipment worth €1,500.

Pix.ie has run the record attempt in conjunction with the WDC to promote the West of Ireland internationally.

The Original Social Networking Site

A rather bizarre ad that I've seen in several different places over the weekend. Coleman's set themselves up as the 'Original Social Networking Site' in a rather poor play on the word 'site'?? This is perhaps the worst example I've seen of anyone jumping on the Social Media bandwagon that has started to emerge. In my opinion the only thing going for this ad is the fantastic Sam Elliot type voice-over, and even that's only because I'm a fan of The Dude.



Do let me clarify my 'Social Media bandwagon' comment. I believe strongly in Social Media and in the various other ways that Web2.0 has driven collaborative, convergent social interaction, but the fact that something can be successfully used in marketing does not mean that it MUST be used. This is a place it did not need to be used!

It's Better to Mix Things Up!

I love this ad, and I've been meaning to post it up for some time simply due to it's hilarity. Anyways I saw it three times this weekend so I took it as a sign!

Orange: Spot the Bull

Orange have launched their latest digital campaign, which offers visitors to the campaign microsite a chance to win tickets to Glastonbury. So what do you have to do win these much sought prizes?

Just spot the bull. Seriously.

Orange present a digital representation of a real field, a live webcam of said field, and a graphic representation of their bull, Desmond. There is also a slidable timeline at the bottom, of the screen that allows you to see where Desmond has been in the field throughout the day. Then all you have to do is pick one of the squares that the field has been divided up into.

Genius stuff - simple, easy to understand, easy to play, highly addictive and by its nature a huge draw on return traffic.


As you can see, the site is minimally branded and requires little concentration to see exactly what is happening, and what has to be done. The draw takes place every day at 3pm and visitors are free to make their guesses up to 2pm.

The site also has a cool loader (below), and I love when people go to the trouble of doing something a little different and rememberable with their loaders. The little details like that make a site for me.

Mad Avenue Blues

An absolutely hilarious 'must watch' video for anyone involved in marketing, media or advertising. Brilliant work!

Dutch Display Ads

For Some Reason Facebook thinks I'm Dutch and keeps showing me Dutch ads. Funny thing is I kinda like them.

These two Heineken ads are stupidly simple but extremely eye-catching.

Then on the other hand, you have these two Vodafone ads. A lot more going on, with a huge amount of interactivity, but all of it geared towards a direct response online sale. Brilliant work - take the website and bring it to the customer.

Facebook + Election Canditate = Problems

This was covered fairly extensively in some of the National press but a lot of people seemed to miss the story entirely. Don't get me wrong, if this was an ordinary Joe Public I'd be the last to republish the story, but they're not, and I feel that this is a prime example of the pitfalls that the unsuspecting can encounter when it comes to Social Media.

Emma Kiernan, one of Fine Gael's rising young stars found herself in a spot of bother when a photo of Ms. Kiernan out with some friends hit the press. I don't think there's much to say, it's all fairly obvious. If you're running for election, at any level, bear in mind who is taking your photo, and what you're doing in that photo.





The stupid thing is, that in the grand scheme of things, this is a completely harmless and innocent picture. In my honest opinion all it does is show that she's twenty-something girl who goes out and has a bit of fun with her mates. She's not obviously drunk. She's not smoking or doing anything illegal. Seriously, I don't really see an problems. In fact if this was the worst picture that anyone had of you, I'd be pretty happy!

Augmented Reality Music Video

This is definitely a new one for me! Really cool idea.

The Beatles: Rock Band

My love of Guitar Hero and Rock Band is no secret, and I've posted about both before. Forget all of it - everything that went before. Those games folk have truly done it this time!

The Beatles: Rock Band

Basically every song is amazing. You will know every song, be able to sing to every song, and if you can play a real guitar then you can probably play some of the songs. This is the music game for everyone. This is the game that gives you the chance to become the greatest band that ever was. Experience the Beatles’ rise to fame, as four English lads took on the world and won! Become the band and make music history.

Whether you play as John, Paul, George or Ringo, this game will blow your socks off. The real fun, however, come when you get your mates around. This will be the first game to offer harmonies, custom-built models of the instruments and awesome graphics that document the key moments in Beatle history.

Confirmed songs include:

• I Saw Her Standing There
• I Want to Hold Your Hand
• I Feel Fine
• Day Tripper
• Taxman
• I Am The Walrus
• Back In The U.S.S.R.
• Octopus’s Garden
• Here Comes The Sun
• Get Back

And this is the amazing intro video for the game:

Tories Launch Facebook App

I'll admit, the idea intrigues me. However, I'll also admit that I had the same idea last Christmas when brainstorming a campaign I was working on at the time. Get people to donate their Facebook statuses or Tweets. Simple and yet the immediate potential to reach hundreds upon hundreds of people. Certainly interesting to say the least.

Well, in the run up to the European elections, the British Conservative Party has launched a new Facebook App and is asking its supporters to donate their Facebook statuses. The application allows the party to takeover your status and feed in its own message. Obviously all campaign orientated. At the same time, users can still update their statuses manually.

This is just the latest example of the Tory party moving online and capitalising on the cost-effectiveness of digital media. They have also recently used Google AdWords (PPC) to target searches relating to MPs expenses, and David Cameron has participated in Q&A sessions via CoveritLive and Twitter.

To counter all this online activity, the Labour has launched a website, cameronsconservatives.co.uk, to bolster their on-going campaign theme that David Cameron will cut public spending. However, all-in-all, the Labour party has focused far less attention online then their opposition.

This is the video that Labour produced:

Worst Job in the World

One of Brazil's most popular job sites, Emprego Certo, has just launched a new online campaign to highlight their service. Here we are shown the horrible story of a man whose occupation is not regulated, has no union, doesn’t allow weekends off and makes him work up to 14 hours day.

Shocking stuff.....

1930's Fashion Predictions for the Year 2000

Not sure it's worth saying anything - just have a look.

Chinese Government Blocks Twitter

News broke today that the Chinese government has begun blocking access to social networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Blogger in the aproach to the June 4th 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Since last Tuesday, Chinese people started reporting sudden outages in web services. The problems were found on both the sites themselves and through third party applications.

Strangely enough, many Chinese people don't even comment on these types of outages due to the regularity with which the government controls/changes access to social networking websites in the lead up to politically sensitive dates.

D-Day 65 Online

The Royal British Legion has enveiled their new site, www.dday65.org.uk, created by The Gate. The site is geared towards this Saturday's D-Day remembrance activities, and allows visitors to plant a virtual flag on a Google map of the Normandy beaches, with an accompanying message. The online activity will mirror the offline activities that will take place on the beaches themselves. Interestingly, users that plant a flag will recieve an email with the necessary link/embed code to add 'their flag' to a number of different social networking profiles.

Friends of Glass

This is, without doubt, the oddest recycling campaign I've ever seen. The campaign has been put together by The European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) and centers around the Friends of Glass website, the Blog in a Bottle and the Singing Bottle Hank.

Hank's Microsite offers visitors the chance to watch Hank's video (also embedded below) and send letters of petition to a number of celebrities and organisations, due to Hank's catchphrase, "I'll be back".

An oddity for sure!



The European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) is an international non-profit association founded in 1977. It currently counts 59 packaging containers and machine-made glass tableware members operating in 23 European countries.

The federation represents the glass container industry at the international, and especially European, level and serves as a forum for examining common questions. FEVE maintains a dialogue with the European institutions and agencies on environmental, trade and other important issues. The federation promotes glass packaging and glass recycling, complementing the activities of the glass industry at national level.

Still Worried About the Blackholes?

It's not so long ago that the world was all a flutter about the LHC in CERN and the speculative talk of blackhole creation ending the world. I heard one person on Sky say that it was a 1 in 200,000 chance that the experiment would all go horribly wrong. I wonder if it's all going to start over again?

It was announced on Friday that the National Ignition Facility (US) has created a super laser with the power to burn as hot as a star. This is the first real chance for scientists to carry out lab research on safe fusion power. During a dedication ceremony to the new laser, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said "We have invented the world's largest laser system, we can create the stars right here on earth. And I can see already my friends in Hollywood being very upset that their stuff that they show on the big screen is obsolete. We have the real stuff right here."

I wish I had a video or audio feed of the speech.

The NIF's new high-energy laser system is located inside the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory outside San Francisco, and is made up of house-sized sphere that focuses 192 laser beams on a small point, generating temperatures and pressures that exist at cores of stars. When the lasers hit hydrogen atoms suspended in the chamber, they will trigger a fusion reaction that will produce more energy than was required to prompt "ignition".

According to NIF director Edward Moses, "This is the long-sought goal of 'energy gain' that has been the goal of fusion researchers for more than half a century" adding, "NIF's success will be a scientific breakthrough of historic significance; the first demonstration of fusion ignition in a laboratory setting, duplicating on Earth the processes that power the stars."

Scientists at the NIF also promises groundbreaking discoveries in planetary science and astrophysics, but the biggest achievement will be that the electricity derived from fusion reactions could help humanity's growing appetite for green energy.

"Very shortly we will engage in what many believe to be this nation's greatest challenge thus far, one that confronts not only the nation but all of mankind -- energy independence," said lab director George Miller, "NIF has the potential to revolutionize our energy system, teaching us a new way to harness the energy of the sun to power our cars and homes."

In my opinion, this is fantastic news. We're looking at the potential to have all the earth's energy needs satisfied. This could be the end of all fossil fuel requirements.

The Kilkenny Push

As part of our 10 year birthday celebrations in Cybercom we made a commitment to work with a number of charities. The first charity we've been working with was Moving Mountains. I have posted several times already about Moving Mountains, and its founder Gavin Bate's, recent Everst climb.

Richie Fitgerald, one of the two lucky Cybercom staff who were selected to go to Everest to support Gavin in his attempt, is going an extra mile (81 extra miles actually!) this weekend to raise money for Moving Mountains. Richard and a team of 30 are moving a 10ft polystyrene mountain from Dublin to Kilkenny. Yesterday while Richie hit the road at 9am to start running to Naas. Then today it was on through Castledermot and Carlow, to get to Kilkenny. All day tomorrow the crew will hard at work in Kilkenny to raise as much as possible. On Firday some of the Cybercom crew took to Grafton Street to do some collecting.


If you pass the guys anywhere along the way be sure to give them a beep or make a donation to the cause. For more information on the charity, visit www.movingmountains.org.uk and to support the event visit www.justgiving.com/cybercom_moving_a_mountain.

Augmented Reality Pizza

This is by far one of my favourite Augmented Reality campaigns to date. It's really slick. Just log-on to Papa John's Roadtrip, download and print an icon of founder John Schnatter's 1972 Camaro (that he sold 25 years ago to open his first restaurant), pop it front of your webcam and virtually drive the car. What's really good is that instead of a standalone driving game, while driving you get access to exclusive discounts for Papa John's, displayed on virtual billboards along the virtual road.

In June, Papa John's will also be adding the icon to the bottom of pizza boxes - the first time a brand has made augmented reality available at point-of-purchase.

"Augmented reality is consistent with our continued emphasis on exploring technology in ways that provide better value and connection to our customers, as well as enhance our ability to engage them in ways above and beyond the transaction," said Jim Ensign, Papa John's vice president of marketing communications. "We were at the forefront of online ordering and text ordering, and augmented reality takes our digital marketing approach to a new dimension."

Vinnie's Bis-quits

I can't imagine anyone who doesn't love the Fox's ad on tv at the moment with Vinnie the panda. Though I'm not sure I can watch Criminal Minds with a straight face anymore! Anyway, I got an email today to let me know that Vinnie's role has been expanded and he is now the panda to head Fox's social media campaign. Vinnie will be live on Facebook and Twitter, answering any and all biscuit related questions.

Vinnie will also be writing a blog on the Fox's website, as well as providing visitors with the option to create and send audio and video messages to your friends on Facebook and Twitter, or via email or text. The site also promises a host of online apps that let you chart Vinnie's tour of the UK as he travels to various ‘business meetings'.

Ultimately Vinnie promises to 'sort out' anyone who messes with your biscuits!

Green Crisp Packets

This is an online ad that ran recently on a number of networks. The ad itself isn't ground breaking or anything but to be perfectly honest, I just think it's seriously cool that a company has gone to the trouble to develop this kind of packaging. Kudos!

Malibu 'Island Melon' Update

Just a quick update on my recent Malibu Rum post.

This is the latest of their ads, and is promoting the free 'Island Bowling' mobile game. Hilarious stuff - I have to say it's a pity that these aren't showing on Irish tv (to the best of my knowledge). They also have ringtones for downloading and a Facebook Page that you can follow it all on.

Display Ads: All About the Font

I spotted these two display ads earlier and they really caught my attention. It's nice when you see something really simple yet extremely eye-catching. The two ads were sitting on the same page (with a 468x60 banner that I declined to include as the size would mess with my page structure) and were definitely part of a network-buy (the page was an online media converter that I use and definitely not a site you'd single out for inventory).

The ads clickthrough to www.visitlondon.com - unfortunately a site decidedly less attractive then the ads.

Forget Kumo, Welcome Bing

I wrote on Monday about various happenings in the world of search. The biggest bits of news were around Yahoo! and Microsoft's new search offerings, both set for release shortly. In an update, following a very in-depth article on AdAge yesterday, there are several really interesting bits of information to share about Microsoft's Kumo and the massive advertising campaign rumoured to be behind it. For starters, Kumo is no more. Kumo, as it turns out, was just the in-house operations name that Microsoft were using for their new engine during trials. Bing is the name of Google's newest rival.

According to AdAge and other sources, Bing's $100m advertising campaign, through JWT, will target the web, TV, print and radio. However, although some stories circulating the web have suggested that Microsoft plan a full-on attack campaign (similar to the 'I'm a PC' that targeted Apple directly), it has no been reported that their will not be specific mention of any competitor, Google, Yahoo! or otherwise, and the campaign will instead concentrate on getting users to rethink how they search, questioning if the "other" search engines actually deliver what they want.

The main thinking behind the campaign follows a series of research initiatives by Microsoft to determine how and why users search the web, and how they treat the results they are given. Their research concluded that 42% of searches needed additional input following a users first attemp, 25% of clicks are the back button, and only 65% of users are satisfied with the search engine they currently use. Oddly this data may be seen to be villified by Google's recent Search Options, which added several ways for users to refine their searches, following an initial attemp.

Beyond this, an extremely interesting analysis that has come to light is the breakdown of advertising spends by Google and Microsoft last year. According to TNS Media Intelligence, Google spent just over $25 million on all its advertising. Microsoft, on the other hand, spent $361 million.

How crazy is that?

Eminem's Relapse Augmented Reality

Last week I posted about the launch of Eminem's new album and the massive Social Media drive behind its promotion and launch. Some seriously cool stuff.

I was doing some early morning surfing today and I came across this new Augmented Reality addition to the campaign by the guys over at Outside Line. Basically, in a new section of the site, users can partake in an online AR talent competition. What the heck is that I hear you ask. Just pop over, log in, create a 3D “E”, and spray paint with your personal design. Then enter your design into the running for some really sweet prizes.

Last week they gave away a trip to Detroit. Round two is now open and they're promising an equally slick prize to the best design.

Check out this video to see exactly what you need to do...

Google Wonder Wheel

I posted on Thursday about Google's new Options for Search. Google produced a nice video about the new features, and hopefully you all watched it, so I didn't go into a great deal of detail. However, having had a good play around with the new features, I thought that the new Wonder Wheel function deserved a bit of elaboration.

Wonder Wheel is one of the new tools allowing you to refine your search and find alternative keywords. Once you've performed a search, click on the new 'show options' link in the top left hand side of the results window. Towards the bottom of the list is Wonder Wheel. Clicking on the link will reveal a keyword cloud. In the below example I searched for 'Marketing'.

The main reason I thought that Wonder Wheel deserved a bit more attention is because I realised it's a great tool for developing SEO and PPC keyword alternatives, through Google's own suggestions. Obviously you can pop into your AdWords account and use the kyword tool but this is a fast and simple way to generate keyword lists in seconds. Definitely worth keeping in mind, especially when preparing initial proposals.

Changes in the World of Search

Following Google's recent Searchology event, where the search giant unveiled a number of new search features, both Yahoo! and Microsoft have revealed their plans to change the way we search the web.

Following much speculation and chatter on the web, Microsoft confirmed it is ready to launch its newest search engine, code named Kumo, this week. Microsoft is expected to launch Kumo during the Wall Street Journal 'D: All Things Digital Conference'. The name Kumo which literally translates to “cloud” or “spider” was among a host of names which have been mentioned in relations to a possible rebranding of Live Search. Yahoo! on the other hand has announced that they want to restructure its offering to actually change how we search. Sources at both Microsoft and JWT have confirmed that the launch will be driven by a major advertising campaign created by JWT.

Yahoo! described their new approach as "a distinct move away from the '10 blue links', or the standardised text-heavy search results page," instead they [Yahoo!] "envision the web as a series of 'objects' as opposed to 'pages', making for a more engaging user experience." Essentially they think that the results they deliver should be a collection of relevant information i.e. searching for a restaurant would deliver reviews, opening hours, menus, contact information etc.

Although Yahoo! never describes it as such, this is clearly a move towards a Semantic Web. This is great news. Instead of simply delivering a collection links that have been determined by a search algorithm working on text, users would receive information that is determined through its actual meaning. Yahoo! has referred to this as an arrangement of "about-ness".

Yahoo! gave the example that a search for Beyonce would display the singer's home page, but also a list of her albums and links to tracks hosted on its music site Rhapsody.

The overall project is not new however. Officially referred to as the 'Search Monkey project', it is now over a year old and still under rigorous testing. The major downside (imho) is that the system is based on companies sending Yahoo! the data they want included in their search results. This is a system based on control. Where does UGC content fit in? Where do the bad reviews end up? To me this seems very much like a 'big brother' defined index of 'good' information - you get to see what you are allowed to see.

Regardless of how each companies search 'improvements' turnout, it's not surprising that they are each trying to improve, innovate and extend their offerings. Recent ComScore data (April this year) showed that Google has gained half a point to 64.2% of US search market share, while Microsoft (8.2%) and Yahoo! (20.4%) have both fallen.

On the Google front, there is also the up-coming release of their newest offering Google Squared (due end of May). Although many details remain a mystery, Google have described the new service as providing search results in a spreadsheet format rather than a typical links page, emphasising pure information instead of just related content. This sounds very much like a Google knowledge engine, perhaps similar to Wolfram Alpha. As such, this is probably the most exciting search news here.

Havok May Locate New Team in Dublin

Havok, the Emmy Award-winning Irish software company (owned by Intel), responsible for some of today's top games, is currently deciding between San Francisco and Dublin to locate their software development team for the next gen of games consoles.

After ruling out lobbies from agencies in Britain and Singapore, David O’Meara, Havok's managing director looks certain to locate the new team in one of its current centres. Unfortunately David has warned that Ireland's tax rate of 55% makes it an unattractive location for software developers. Havok's headquarters are currently located in Dublin, and the firm has confirmed that it has no intentions of moving out of the capital.

“We need world-class talent so that means we either go to the universities or get it from abroad,” said Mr O’Meara. “This talent is mobile so a high tax rate here makes California more attractive to them. Effectively we will let our staff decide where we locate.”

Havok’s special effects tools are used in production of both games and movies by the world's largest developers. Initially the company developed a physics engine that ensures the laws of the physics are maintained by digital objects, however Havok has confirmed their intention to develop a complete games development engine.

“Developers would not have to use any technology other than Havok’s,” said O’Meara. “The system will be modular so they will be able to use their own or third-party technology with our games engine.”

Twitter: The Movie

Filmmaker Frank Kelly has announced his plans to create a feature-length documentary inspired by Twitter users' experience. The film, 140, will consist of 140 different filmmakers, each shooting 140 seconds of film that represent what connects the filmmaker to their home. Overall the film's theme is connection.

Frank described the project, saying "I'm asking the filmmaker what it is that connects them to their home. It can be anything they want, a landscape, cityscape, a sunrise, a wife, husband, child... doesn't matter. But it has to be captured in 140 seconds and at the same time as everyone else." Adding, "The idea came from being able to communicate with a lot of people at once, and the fact that you could actually synchronize something: You put a message up, and everyone who's following you gets it instantly."

The project is currently recruiting it's 140 filmmakers through various Social Networks and Twitter, obviously.

"There are a couple of students, one in Utah who is 18 years old," Kelly says. "It goes from him all the way up to commercially successful, award-winning short filmmakers and documentary filmmakers. I wasn't going to tell anyone no, because the main thing is to get across the filmmaker's point of view. Just because they weren't established didn't change the fact that they had a personal connection with something."

Read the full story here, or tweet Frank yourself.

Sophos Release Klingon Anti-Virus Version

I can't really explain this one to be honest. Sometimes things simply defy explanation.

Sophos explains, "Use Sophos's Klingon Anti-Virus to quickly perform an on-demand scan and find viruses, spyware, adware, zero-day threats, Betazoid sub-ether porn diallers and Tribbles that your existing protection might have missed. The software can be run without deactivating your current anti-virus software. Phasers can be left set to stun."

I think it makes more sense to just watch the video!

No 'Call To Action' Display Ad

This is a first for me. Sprint ran the below ad for an extended 8 week campaign. It does not feature a 'Call To Action' - there's no clickthrough. I have never seen anyone do this before. Is it the stupidest idea ever or perhaps brilliant. It certainly has the potential for massive engagement times and huge amounts of offline and online conversation, but could it achieve real results?

Let me know what you think.

BBC Blast Studio

I'm not sure why, but I hate when I wind up with lots of post that have videos. I dunno, it seems like cheating or something. Anyways, this one had to be shared because it's pretty incredible.

Fallon London and The BBC have just launched, what they call, "a simultaneously digital and experiential event". Blast Studio is a mix between an art installation and an online interactive experience. In real time, children engaging with the site will be able to control the studio itself. The whole thing will then be filmed to create TV ads. At the same time actual artists are going to be invited to express themselves in the studio together with the online audience.

So check this out...

Google News

Seems google has come to my attention on several fronts in the last week, so rather then write about them too much, I'm going to give an overview of the three developments that I think are most interesting.

Google Supports Newspapers
In a recent letter to the Office of Fair Trading (in the UK), Google has called for a relaxation of the rules governing newspaper mergers. Quoted as saying, "the present laws do not reflect the increased competition publishers face from search engines and internet companies". The letter went on to say that Google would be completely supportive of publishers such as Trinity Mirror or Johnston Press, were they to investigate merging their operations with local or regional newspapers.

Google's call has been seconded by senior executives at the Local Media Alliance, who are also asking for a relaxation of merger rules. Their own opinion being that present laws do not take account the large impact the internet has had on newspapers. Ultimately, they have said, a relaxation of the merger rules would allow newspapers to diversify their offering, increase their reach, enhance their content and reduce their overall costs.

Google's stance is understandable considering that it currently provides one of the largest news services in the world, through search listings, that it pays nothing for and receives advertising revenue (in the form of PPC ads appearing alongside the listings). Only a month ago Rupert Murdoch publicly asked, "Should we be allowing Google to steal all our copyrights?". In an extremely harsher statement, Wall Street Journal managing editor Robert Thomson recently said, "Google devalues everything it touches" and "it divides content quantitatively rather than qualitatively".

The Office of Fair Trading currently has these rules under review as part of the Digital Britain report. An announcement is expected in June.


Google Search Options
Google recently announced the addition of search options to your Google search results. This is their way of allowing users to refine their search results through an easy to use interface, without any knowledge of the standard Google search definitions. Google describe the new options as "a collection of tools that let you slice and dice your results and generate different views to find what you need faster and easier. Search Options helps solve a problem that can be vexing: what query should I ask?"

The easiest way to understand what Google Options has added is with this nice video:



For the general public I think these are great additions, but beyond the novice user I'm not sure they've add anything that I haven't already been able to do. Though I do like to write my blog posts directly in HTML so maybe this was never aimed at me.

Interactive Display Ads Hit Target Market Perfectly

To promote the New Zealand tv show Girl Racers, Tribal DDB created the following two ads. I'll be honest I was very much in two minds as to whether they were a bit too much to post, but when it comes down to it I considered the target audience that the tv show probably attracts and realised that these may be some of the most suited ads I've ever seen.

Seriously.

Think about who watches a tv show about girls who wear tight spandex onesies and drive really, really fast cars. In my opinion these ads hit the target market nail firmly on the head. I hope you agree....

A Blurred Line Between ARG And Viral Social Media

It all started back in November 2008. Following a 5 year hiatus from the music scene, information started leaking out that Eminem was working on a new album. In and off itself the news attracted some online chatter but nothing was confirmed. However, within a very short space confirmation of the forthcoming album, "The Relapse", began to pop up on various Social Media platforms. Although not in isolation, the most public tool in service was Twitter.

Use of Twitter or other Social Media platforms wasn’t a new move by any means, but the approach most definitely was. Over the course of the following 6 months Aftermath / Interscope Records created a stunningly impactful and captivating campaign. Flitting between Eminem's troubled public past and the new terrifying imaginary world from his latest album, the marketing team dragged fans into an eerie game of hide and seek. Using Twitter, a mix of disturbing thoughts and weblinks were filtered out to the digital community. All of this revolved around a fictional mental institution, Pompsomp Hills, in which the rapper was housed.

Besides the stark and grim mental images tweeted by the star, a number of images were also posted. These included a link to the album's cover, a collage of pills forming Eminem's face; screenshots of an iPhone game set in Pompsomp Hills; and a link to the following trailer for the album’s first single "3 A.M.".



Clearly set in the fictional institution, the video is both disturbing and frightening, as if some sort of demented cross between the Blair Witch Project and a Japanese underground horror. This was the precursor to albums microsite and interactive experience. Both these elements coupled with a “real” looking, amateurish website for Pompsomp Hills brought to life a stunning narrative that almost begged to be real.

Without doubt this was an integrated effort on several key fronts that started a long time before anyone was aware of where it would take them. And although the ‘clues’ were never hard to figure out, and sometimes as simple as a straight forward link, the campaign still stands out as one of note. Fans have been engaged and interacted with on a level that has not only created an exceptional amount of online chatter but ultimately an anticipation that will drive record sales.

Of course this isn't the first time an ARG has been used to promote an album. Most famously, Trent Reznor masterminded (of Nine Inch Nails) the "Year Zero" album release in 2007, that expanded the album's dystopian story line into a full blown audio, visual and mental experience, driven by hidden messages and microsites littered through out anomalously posted images and videos. Unsurprisingly perhaps, recent news has alluded to the concept being turned into a TV show.

Cadbury's Creme Egg: Twisted

In an integrated offline and online startegy, Cadburys have created an absolute craic'r of a campaign. The Cadburys Creme Egg Twisted campaign pulls together a great offline DM invitation with a Social Media driven online fulfillment. The campaign launched with ‘security strongboxs' being sent to all hardcore fans who have been talking about Cream Eggs on various Social Network sites.

The box contained 2 Cream Egg Twisted bars and an empty wrapper. Behind the empty wrapper, fans found a hole in the bottom where a third Twisted Bar had escaped. The boxes challenged the fans to visit the (then) exclusive campaign microsite and become agents of Cadbury's Intelligence Agency. Their task was to then track down the escaped Twisted Bars. After an initial exclusivity for the hardcore fans, online ads also went live directing users to the site.


The microsite utilises a Google Maps interface and clues via Twitter that agents would need to solve to locate the 16 targets, which all needed to be ‘gooed'. Agents were up with a chance to win a holiday in Morocco or a cash prize of £20,000.

The campaign has been developed by CMW, and represents my favourite work of theirs to date.

Dark Night of the Soul

This isn't necessarily the most digital thing I've ever posted about but I had to share. I first stumbled upon Dark Night of the Soul earlier this year through a couple of extremely vague blog posts. Even though information was scant, I will admit that I was seriously excited about what I read. Not only did it seem that the whole project was fronted by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, two of my favourite artists, but the third major influence and driving force was to be David Lynch, my favourite director of all time.

Essentially Dark Night Of The Soul is a project album with songs written by Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and a bucket load of the industries most respected singers (with all elements contributing to the overall composition and production). David Lynch comes in providing the 100+ page book of photography that provides the backdrop and narative to the whole project. The album was initially planned to be packaged with the book of photographs and released by the beginning May, but unfortunately in now looks like an offic release has been suspended.

A spokesperson for Danger Mouse has said, "due to an ongoing dispute with EMI" the book of photographs will "now come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: 'For legal reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.'"

A pity that's for sure, considering that the artists involved, in addition to Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, include James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.

You can order the book or poster, both without music, from the official Dark Night Of The Soul Web site. If you want to listen to the album (obviously I reccommend that you do!), yopu'll need to pop over to NPR Music.

Star Trek Alternative Reality Game

I've posted several times about the various ARGs that have been created recently. Unfortunately the Star Trek ARG was not something I participated in, and I really wish I had - it looks like it was incredibly well done. Check out this video run through of how the game played.