Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity

There aren't very many brands that turn 250 years old, and there are even fewer brands that have an entire nation is willing to stand up and applaud, both for their heritage and for their synonymy with their own culture. Guinness is in many ways the epitome of Irish-ness, the prime example of who we are as a nation - hard-working, everyday folk with a strength of character to see us through. As a brand, Guinness is surely one of the best. A globally recognised powerhouse of advertising, design and innovation. Guinness extends beyond a simple beverage and has developed itself into sport and the arts. Guinness has done what many brands not only fail at, but never even realise to try. Guinness gives back.

In a changing modern digital world where the consumer is savvy and they have realised that the power to effect corporations and businesses is their's, Guinness have embraced change and strived to promote what I call 'an age of reciprocity'. The question is not how do I make you buy my product, the question is what can I do for you so that you love my brand. In a market where consumers will travel, bargains will be hunted for, and there is always an alternative, it is more important then ever to understand that the educated consumer can be either your friend or foe.

Social Media has opened up the world, democratised data, and given every single one of us the power to speak our mind and broadcast our opinion. Those with their thinking caps firmly in place, however, have come to realise this is in fact a good thing. The modern consumer is not naïve, they understand the buyer/seller relationship and they are, in most instances, happy with it. So long as everyone keeps their word, what is paid for is received, and the status quo of the relationship remains even, happiness will prevail.

As a brand though, it is easy to take this equilibrium and subtle sway it in your favour. Not by any underhandedness but simply by going that bit further, providing the little bit extra, by doing more to ensure that the customer is more then just happy. Of course, being a savvy shopper, this is noticed, and as long as the motives are clear, this will be looked on very favourably by the consumer. We like to feel that our patronage is being rewarded. We like to feel that we are part of the process. We like to feel special.

The nature of Reciprocity is that while there is a clear understanding that the buyer buys and the seller sells, there is also a deeper understanding that both parties are appreciative of the other. This relationship is by its nature symbiotic. Without one the other can't exist. So with that knowledge in hand, the seller goes a little step further. The best example that I have seen to date was Arthur’s Day. To celebrate 250 years of business and to thank the public for 250 years of patronage, Guinness put on a huge event filled with music and entertainment to a scale that had simply never been done before in Ireland. While the gigs/events weren't free, they were very reasonably priced, and the money that was taken in in ticket sales went to charity. So the public get to have a great time, they get to donate money to charity, and Guinness get to give back to the community. And sure, there were thousands upon thousands of pints of Guinness drank that day, but that's nothing to complain about.

Reciprocity is more then a passing trend in my opinion. Reciprocity is the natural evolution of the consumer/supplier relationship. Reciprocity is what has happened to the market through the prevalence of Social Media, the explosion of mobile technologies and the expansion of always-on, super-fast broadband. Reciprocity is a cultural revolution of consumerism. Above all though, Reciprocity is a great thing.

In the case of Guinness, however, the question now becomes where to next?

Well it just so happened that earlier today, Guinness announced details of a spectacular live TV ad to be broadcast on RTÉ 1 at 17:59 on New Year’s Eve, marking the end of the 250th anniversary celebrations and the establishment of the Arthur Guinness Fund.

The 60 second spectacle will feature a visual recreation of Arthur’s famous signature in a dramatic way, which will not be revealed until the broadcast at exactly 17:59 on New Year’s Eve.

In this instance, Reciprocity is simply going beyond the standard advertising message. It is the innovativeness to be creative, the daring to not directly push a product, it is the doing what the other guy isn't because it's exciting.

John Kennedy, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland commented, “New Year’s Eve marks the end of a very special milestone for the Guinness brand, from 1759 when Arthur signed the 9,000 year lease on the St. James’s Gate brewery to today, where Guinness is a truly iconic brand, enjoyed in 150 countries around the world. It was remarkable to see so many people participating in Arthur’s Day, the peak of the 250 celebrations. Guinness & Co also want to thank all the people who went to their local pub to lend their support and more importantly, their signature to the Guinness “Signature” campaign, which helped to create a €2.5 million Arthur Guinness Fund.”

Kennedy continued, “The ‘Here’s To You’ campaign and the live TV ad will not only mark the end of a remarkable year for the brand, but it’s also a gesture to Irish people who helped to create the Arthur Guinness Fund, the next philanthropic step from Guinness & Co., which will help to create sustainable community projects around the country from 2010.”

And it is on that sentiment that I can happily raise a glass to a man and his legacy; to Arthur!


Don't forget to check out the following links for more Guinness information:
Guinness Facebook Page
The Arthur's Day on-line petition
The Arthur Guinness Fund

Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur

Last Friday I had the absolute pleasure of being invited along to Brady's Pub in Shankill. Admittedly Shankill isn't a place I spend much time, in fact I believe I've only been there 5 times previously, discounting driving through. So what exactly was I heading out to Brady's for? Well, as it turned out, a really great night!

As part of the Guinness 250 celebrations, back in November, Guinness held a “Guinness Unplugged” competition calling on bars from around the country to capture their Arthur’s Day celebrations. The prize would be an exclusive gig with a top act. As I'm sure you can guess, Brady’s of Shankhill were crowned the winners. There prize was a free gig by ‘Noah And The Whale’, which was held last Friday.


Speaking about Guinness Unplugged, Karen Murphy, Brand Manager, Guinness said,”On the 24th September pubs all around Ireland joined in the worldwide celebrations for Arthur’s Day. Many pubs went to great lengths to ensure their customers were fully immersed in the unique Guinness experience, to mark the signing of the 9000 year signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759. For us, Brady’s in Shankhill really stood out. The team really excelled in delivering a fantastic night with their 1759 theme. It was clear that a lot of hard work and thought had gone into their Arthur’s Day celebrations and all the staff came together to create an unforgettable night for their customers”.

The entire bar, including the bar staff, the furniture, the decor and even the food was transported back to the 1700’s, as tribute to Arthur Guinness and his enduring legacy. The Brady’s staff even donned 17th century costumes and owner, John Brady, arrived in a full Arthur Guinness style costume on horse and cart to mark the occasion. It didn't stop there though, that evening the entire bar and all its customers were treated to a “pig on a spit” feast.

Owner and publican, John Brady commented, “We are delighted to have won the Guinness Unplugged competition. We all had a really fantastic time on Arthur’s Day. Everyone is still talking about it, the atmosphere in here was electric and everyone made such a big effort to mark the occasion. We are delighted to be hosting such a big act as ‘Noah And The Whale’ in our pub as a thank you, and no doubt we will all raise another toast to Arthur at 17.59 on the night of the gig!”.

So....... to Arthur!


p.s. a huge thanks to Carol Ann for the photos :)

Smirnoff - BE THERE

I wrote recently about the Smirnoff Masquerade Ball, which was the first Dublin event in Smirnoff's 'BE THERE' calender. 'BE THERE' is Smirnoff's mission to inspire, facilitate and enable people to create more one-of-a-kind experiences. To create those experiences that you just have to be there.

To kickstart the whole initiative, the Smirnoff have launched two really cool ways for you to become part of Smirnoff 'BE THERE'; the new Smirnoff Creative Grants Initiative and the Smirnoff Consumer Competition. Both these activities are looking to engage the public, find out what we want and, ultimately, to ask for our advice on what Smirnoff should be doing next.

The Smirnoff Creative Grants Initiative enables creatives and promoters to make there vision and idea of an original, one-of-a-kind experience become reality. Smirnoff will be awarding a grant of €10,000 to one lucky person for the most unique proposal for a one-of-a-kind experience/event. The grant is open to applications from Ireland, USA, Canada and Brazil, and is as simple as pie. Just submit a 100-word proposal to the Smirnoff Facebook page. The winner will be handpicked by the Smirnoff global panel of experts, also including Brazil’s Bonde do Rolê, Canada’s Ryan Kruger (DAMN! Management, founder Cutting Edge Music Festival), USA’s Damon DeGraff (dGi Management).

Don't sit around just thinking about it though - the closing date for entries is 18th December. Winners will then be announced on 20th January, with the event taking taking place in March.

This is a seriously cool promotion and definitely worth entering if you are in any way creative. Just think of an event. It's that easy.


The second 'BE THERE' activity that has launched, the Smirnoff Consumer Competition, is equally as cool. Essentially, Smirnoff is challenging people across the world to get creative and answer the question “How would you create a New Year’s Eve revolution?” This is the first in a series of monthly competitions that will be run through the Smirnoff Brand Site and their Facebook Page. All you need to do is give a tweet-sized 140 characters describing how you would overturn New Year’s Eve convention to create a revolutionary end-of-the-year event. Smirnoff will be giving one lucky person US$1,000 and a Flip Mino HD video camcorder.

Again this is going to require some quick moving, but again it's well worth it. The closing date for the first competition is next Thursday 17th December, and it is open to Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Canada, US and Venezuela. The top five entries for a one-of-a-kind, New Year’s Eve experience will be selected by Smirnoff's esteemed global panel of entertainment industry experts, including Ireland’s very own Declan Forde (Pod Entertainment and The Electric Picnic) and Australia’s Brett Robinson (Future Promotions, Summadayze).

The best thing here is that even if you're not lucky enough to win the top prize, no one goes away empty handed. For everyone who enters there is a free download of the Simian Mobile Disco track “Turn up the Dial” featuring Young Fathers (Stankonia Mix). So remember to enter before the 17th December and then get yourself over to the Smirnoff Facebook Page between the 23rd and 29th December to vote on which of the top five entries should win.


About the Smirnoff BE THERE campaign
Most of us have been a part of experiences that are truly unforgettable and extraordinary. We talk about these experiences for years to come and revel in the fact that ‘we were there’. The word ‘there’ is often used to talk about amazing events or happenings. How many times have you heard someone say: I was there!? / Were you there? / I can’t believe you weren’t there! / Are you going there? / You’ve got to be there?!

Smirnoff’s global campaign is all about inspiring and enabling consumers to seek and create these unforgettable and extraordinary experiences – to BE THERE.

Advertising In The Noughties

If you work in advertising or marketing, or simply have an interest in the industries, Brand Republic just covered a great article by Campaign, which should be essential reading!

Campaign put it that due to the massive leaps that technology has made in the last 10 years, in comparison to the 40 before them, the communication of marketing messages have also drastically changed at the same speed. With that in mind, Campaign have created a fantastic overview of 'Advertising in the Noughties'. So, without any needless stalling, here are the lists:

• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 posters
• Advertising in the Noughties - Top 10 virals
• Advertising in the Noughties - Top 10 TV and cinema ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 press ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 regional press ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 DM campaigns
• Advertising in the Noughties - Top 10 digital ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Advertising agency of the decade - Mother London

The big news here is obviously Mother's winning of the prestigious accolade of Campaign's Agency of the Decade. Serious congratulations to everyone in Mother.

Here are the reels for Mother and the two shortlisted agencies, BBH and Fallon London:
Watch the Mother London reel
Watch the Fallon London reel
Watch the Bartle Bogle Hegarty reel

Guinness Storehouse: Weather Cam

This week saw the launch of Guinness Storehouse's brand new 360 degree, online, live streaming weather cam. The newest addition to Ireland's number one visitor attraction, offer a stunning view from the highest viewpoint in Dublin City - The Gravity Bar. Now people from all over the world can enjoy a bird’s eye view of Dublin city in real time.

Speaking about the weather cam, Valentina Doorly, Guinness Storehouse Marketing and Sales Manager, said, “The Guinness Storehouse is known all around the world for the panoramic views available from the Gravity Bar. With the introduction of this new, innovative technology we are delighted to be able to bring this view to everyone in Ireland and throughout the world.”


Beyond just a simple view, as stunning as it is, the weather cam also provides a real time weather report. Fitted alongside the 360 degree cam is a host of weather instruments showing current weather conditions, temperature and wind speed. What makes the weather cam truly special, however, is the unique features that the weather cam is equipped with - such as an automated wiper that detects levels of rainfall and the 360 degree rotation that covers the entire city of Dublin.

A big hat tip to my colleagues in Cybercom who worked on the project. A great idea and a really nice addition to Dublin's best tourist spot. All that's left to do now is to pop over and check it out!

In related news, Guinness Storehouse has also introduced an “Interactive Dublin City Tour” on their website, which allows you to get even closer to the city and its treasured landmarks. The virtual tour features 24 city landmarks, viewable from the webcam including Christchurch Cathedral, Aviva Stadium, the Wellington Monument, Croke Park and the Spire. The City Tour also shows views of the St. James’s Gate Brewery, Wicklow Mountains, the Sugar Loaf Mountain and Howth Head.


Weather cam facts:
The Guinness Storehouse weather station can operate from -10 degrees C to +50 degrees C.
The weight of the weather cam is 7kg.
The weather cam is a Ganz C-AllView equipped with a low light level CCD sensor.
The weather cam has a 36x optical zoom facility

About Guinness Storehouse
Guinness Storehouse welcomed over 1 million visitors in 2008 from over 25 countries making it Ireland’s number one visitor attraction.
Guinness Storehouse spans across seven floors shaped around a giant pint, which, if filled would contain 14.3 million pints of Guinness.
The highlight for many visitors is the Gravity Bar, symbolically the ‘Head of the Pint’, where visitors can enjoy unparalleled panoramic views
of Dublin city.

Specsavers: Christmas Viral

Following on from Specsavers highly popular Postman Pat viral, this is there Christmas offering for 2009.




Agency: Specsavers Creative
Advertiser: Specsavers

Project name: Xmas Viral 2009
Client: Richard Holmes, Marketing Director
Brief: Seasonal fun
Copywriter: Simon Bougourd / Neil Brush
Art director: Simon Bougourd / Neil Brush
Planner: In-House
Production company: In-House
Director: Chris Denton
Post-production company: In-House
Editor: Chris Denton
Audio post-production company: In-House

Google's Real Time Search

There's been talk and speculation for quite some time now, and various blogs and news services have "leaked" information about Google's next 'big thing', Real Time Search. For those of you perched on the edges of your seat for the last year or so, good news, you can now sit back and relax. Not only is it solid news but it is coming straight from the horses mouth.

Google has launched Real Time Search integrated into its search results pages. Now you can use Google to see real-time updates of various things happening around the Web, including tweets, Yahoo Answers, news articles and Web pages. What's also pretty cool is that this will also work mobiles (well, iPhone and Android anyway).

For many, however, the real use of Real Time Search comes through in Social Media. Thankfully Google has confirmed that deals have been signed with Facebook and MySpace to allow Google to pull in live data. For Facebook this will be limited to public Facebook Pages (though that's still excellent news for businesses and brands using the platform). For MySpace it will cover any data stream that is publicly available.

All of this is of course on top of the partnership that Google went into in October with Twitter.

For an example of Google Real Time Search just click here. Alternatively Google have also created this video to show how it will all work.

Sony to Show World Cup Matches in 3D

Sony has announced that they will be using next year's World Cup to showcase their new 3D television technology. To do this, Sony have agreed to film as many as 25 of the tournaments matches using 3D cameras. Sony will then screen these games in seven cities, including London, Paris and Berlin. These special showcases will be called Fan Fests and will be hosted by Fifa. Sony has also said it will be demonstrating the technology in its stores.

Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe, said: "3D will undoubtedly transform the way we enjoy content in the living room."

Following this news, announced their own plans for the launch of a 3D channel next year.

Starbucks (RED) Love Project

Last Friday Brand Republic reported that Starbucks will be running the world's biggest Facebook ad campaign ever. The campaign is Starbucks (RED) Love Project

The campaign aimed to bring the world together to sing about the one thing we all have in common; love. People from all over the world were able to log on to the campaign microsite and sing-along to The Beatles, All You Need is Love, on 7th December 7. The global karaoke is part of Starbucks efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa. The campaign microsite also allows you to watch streaming videos of everyone who submitted a video of their contribution. There is also a gallery of drawings that people submitted to the Love Gallery. For each drawing or video added, up to one million, Starbucks and (RED) donated five cents to the Global Fund.

The is the campaign promotional video:


On Saturday over 16 countries saw Facebook ads go live for the advertising campaign to promote the microsite, including the US, UK, Canada, Turkey, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Brazil, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. For the two days, every user logging on to Facebook for the first five times would have seen the ad.

Planet Hollywood 'Phamous' Flash Mob

At the end of Novemeber over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Planet Hollywood marketing department and Shay Carl got together at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to organise a flash mob. The flash mob was produced by Midi Mafia and based around a choreographed dance to their song "Phamous".

Vlogger and comedian Shay Carl, took part in the flash mob and was joined by YouTube celebrities KassemG, Lisa Nova, MysteryGuitarMan, Denise Vlogs, Rawn and a variety of other dancers and performers. None of the employees on duty at the time had any knowledge of the stunt.

This is the video...




Directed by: Justin Purser (website & twitter)
Produced by: Christian Heuer (website & twitter)
Choreogrophy by: Kris Mohfanz (website & twitter)

Carlsberg: The Secret

Yesterday saw the launch of the latest Carlsberg ad for the Irish market, but this was no ordinary ad launch. Not only does the new ad, "The Secret", move away from the style of advertising that we'd all be used to with the premium larger brand, but the ad was premiered on Facebook.

The ad aims to highlight the secret of Carlsberg’s brewing success, celebraing the fact that Carlsberg are responsible for perfecting the secret of brewing consistently quality lager. As the ad tells us, back in 1883 Professor Emil Chr. Hansen discovered the method of isolating pure yeast culture. The resulting yeast was called saccharoymces carslbergensis - the secret of Carlsberg’s brewing success. First to isolate pure yeast, and with a discovery that would revolutionise the brewing industry, Carlsberg didn’t keep its findings to itself but rather shared its knowledge with other master brewers. It still forms the basis of all lager brewing today!

And why give it away? Because Carlsberg knew that the original could not be beaten.

The ad itself mirrors more of a Guinness style ad, with huge production value and stunning creative. The story follows a horseman’s epic journey as he races across 19th century Europe, delivering the newly discovered brewing yeast from Carlsbergs to a rival brewer. This epic quest is brought to life in something more akin to a Hollywood blockbuster then a tv ad. It is simply stunning.

The ad was developed by Peter Owens Advertising and directed by Johnny Green. It was produced by Knucklehead and post produced by Framestore. The music for the ad was specially composed by Paul Raeburn.

Speaking of the new advertisement, Justine Donohoe, Marketing Manager, Carlsberg said, “This is an epic dramatisation of a true story, which gives consumers another reason to believe why Carlsberg is probably the best lager in the world!”




Interesting Carlsberg facts you may not have known...

• Carlsberg’s process to isolate a single pure yeast culture was verified in person by Louis Pasteur who visited the Carlsberg lab on a number of occasions. Pasteur had a history in this area having worked on a similar process with the wine industry & written a book on beer – ‘Etudes des biers’
• Carlsberg developed the ph scale
• Carlsberg developed the method for calculating the protein content of substances ranging from foodstuffs to fertiliser and fossil fuels. The Kjeldahl method, was developed in the Carlsberg labs by Johann Kjeldahl, head of Chemistry, and is still the standard method used worldwide today
• Carlsberg pioneered steam brewing & refrigeration techniques
• Carlsberg founder, JC Jacobsen (1811-1887) and his son Carl (1842-1914) made an immense contribution to the architecture and cultural life of Copenhagen, and inspired the construction of many monuments and buildings including; The Little Mermaid, the Danish Museum of Art and Design and the impressive Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, which houses one of the largest collections of antique art in Northern Europe
• Carlsberg is run by a Foundation - One of the first acts of the Carlsberg Foundation was to fund the rebuilding of Frederiksborg Castle and establish the Danish National History Museum
• Each part of the Carlsberg logo, designed by Thorvald Bindesbøll in 1904 for the launch of Carlsberg pilsner, is constructed from the body part of an elephant!

Smirnoff Masquerade Ball - I Was There

When it comes to events that stand out, that make you wish you could do it all again, and that definitely were something that you had to be there, Smirnoff get full marks! The Smirnoff's 'Be There' Masquerade Ball last Thursday was absolutely brilliant. Aside from being a great excuse to dress up and go have a bit of fun, this was an evening that offered the unexpected at every corner.

From royal footmen at the front door to exotic stilt-walkers around the dance floor this was a veritable cornucopia of burlesque eye candy and creative adventure. The dress code may as well have read 'Desire' - everyone made an effort and the entire building was an array of fantastic gowns and stunning suits. Everyone was either masked or for those without a Venetian mask at hand, their were face painters at hand to create one-off works of art. Around the main ballroom there extraordinary performers moving and dancing to the sounds of DJ Alex Donald and Smash Hits. The drink of choice was obviously The Smirnoff Mule.

Richie and I in full masquerade garb

All-in-all, if you missed this all I can aptly say is, you needed to Be There!

Check out Smirnoff Ireland on Facebook to stay tuned to all their upcoming events.


Hat tip to DJ Spider for this video.

Friskies: 'Free Running' Cat

Pet food brand Friskies, who are part of the Purina group, will be launching there latest ad tomorrow (Tuesday 1 December). The ad will be used for TV, cinema and online, and was created by DDB London. The documentary-style ad follows Bobo and his 'crew' as the ‘world's best free-runners'. Of course this mighty accolade is all thanks to them eating Friskies.

Unfortunately the Englishe version isn't up on YouTube just yet but you can watch it here.





'Have You Seen This Cat?' Viral

You may feel a slight bit of déjà vu over this ad, which wouldn't be surprising. Back in August Friskies launched this viral:

Experience RE

This is really cool - great work for a renewable energy company. Just Click play...


The video can also be watched here.

ISPCC Twibbon

I wrote on Tuesday about the launch of the ISPCC Christmas Appeal, and hopefully you've all gone out and bought yourself a Holly Sprig. However, many of you may not have been able to pick one up yet for one reason or another so why not show your support by adding a Holly Sprig to your Twitter Avatar in the form of a Holly Sprig Twibbon.


Just click here and you'll be given the option to preview your new Avatar with added Holly Sprig. Then just follow the simple onscreen instructions and you're done.

It's a small thing to do but if it helps bring even a little bit of awareness to this extremely important Christmas appeal it'll be worth it. So come on folks, add the Holly Sprig to your avatar and make sure to tell your friends exactly why you did it.


ISPCC Christmas Appeal
The ISPCC are calling on people to make a donation now and make Christmas a happier time for children in need. Donations can be made through the ISPCC website www.ispcc.ie, by calling 1850 50 40 50, or by purchasing an ISPCC ‘Holly badge’, available nationwide for €2 through ISPCC street collections and shopping centres in the run up to Christmas. What’s more, the ISPCC offers a range of low-cost Christmas cards and gifts with a difference in their online Christmas shop.

ISPCC Annual Christmas Appeal Launches

Last Christmas, 40% of children’s calls unanswered due to severe lack of resources.

As I've gotten older I've realised that there are some things in the world that are in excusable. Some things that should never be allowed to happen. Cruelty to children is top of the list. Thankfully here in Ireland we have a huge number of people who dedicate their lives to helping those who are incapable of helping themselves. People who work for a number of organisations trying to do the right thing. The ISPCC is such an organisation.

Unfortunately, last year, due to a lack of funds, ISPCC was unable to answer almost 40% of calls made to its Childline service on Christmas Day. What's even more tragic is that in the last 12 months the demand on the service has only increased.

So yesterday the ISPCC launched their annual Christmas appeal to raise the vital funds necessary to ensure that thousands more children can access the services they need. The ISPCC relies on the Irish public for the vast majority of its funding, and while we as a nation are great givers, in the approach to Christmas we need to give more. As the saying goes, no gift is too small to make a difference.

Speaking at the launch of their Christmas appeal today, Ashley Balbirnie, CEO of the ISPCC said; “I know many Irish people are experiencing tough times with the ongoing recession but we must be mindful of those who are worse off than us and in particular children who are in abusive situations, alone and calling for help. We need to think about what is important to us at Christmas and how we can help others who truly need support. Throughout the Christmas period we see an increase in calls from children seeking help and it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of Christmas and forget about those less fortunate. Christmas is a time for giving and a time for sharing, donations to the ISPCC are essential to support our efforts to help these defenceless children.”


The ISPCC has already received over 665k calls for assistance this year from children all over Ireland. That's an increase of 35k calls over this time last year. With many families hit hard by the economic downturn, those experiencing financial worries is only going to be worse then last year. All the additional stress and tension may inadvertently find itself taken out on children.

“Ireland is going through a challenging and turbulent time, with many people finding themselves out of work or experiencing a reduction in pay or hours of work. It’s not easy and it can be a hugely stressful time for people, particularly with the added financial pressures of Christmas. Children are not immune to such family tensions and worries, and for many children this stress can impact negatively on their own well being.” Balbirnie concluded.

The ISPCC are calling on people to make a donation now and make Christmas a happier time for children in need. Donations can be made through the ISPCC website www.ispcc.ie, by calling 1850 50 40 50, or by purchasing an ISPCC ‘Holly badge’, available nationwide for €2 through ISPCC street collections and shopping centres in the run up to Christmas. What’s more, the ISPCC offers a range of low-cost Christmas cards and gifts with a difference in their online Christmas shop.

For information on ways to support the ISPCC this Christmas, please log onto www.ispcc.ie.


ISPCC Childline Service
The ISPCC Childline service is available 24/7 on 1800 66 66 66. Support for young people can be accessed through the Childline website on www.childline.ie. The ISPCC offers a range of face to face, telephone and web based supports for young people and parents through its ChildFocus and TeenFocus services. For details of services in your area please contact the ISPCC on 01 676 7960 or view the ISPCC website www.ispcc.ie.

Philips Design Probe - SKIN:Tattoo

There is some seriously cool stuff being done by the Philips Design Probe, and this is by far one of my favourites. I love the idea of this...

Tattoos and physical mutilation are amongst the oldest forms of personal expression and identity. Subcultures have used tattoos as a form of self representation; a visual language communicating personality and status. Philips Design examined the growing trend of extreme body adornment like tattoos, piercing, implants and scarring.

The Electronics Tattoo film expresses the visual power of sensitive technology applied to the human body. The film subtly leads the viewer through the simultaneous emotional and aesthetic transformations between two lovers.

Augmented Reality: LG Chocolate & Avatar

As part of LG's strategic partnership with the new James Cameron Avatar movie, the company has teamed up with T3 and Total Film to bring a little bit of Augmented Reality to their December issues.

As part of their global partnership with 20th Century Fox, promoting the launch of Avatar, LG Electronics have teamed up with media group Future (publishers of T3 and Total Film) to feature an exclusive augmented reality gatefold ad in their December issues. The campaign is designed to promote both Avatar and LG's new Chocolate BL-40 widescreen mobile phone.

LG's own media agency, Mindshare, were responsible for brokering the deal.

The 6 page ad promotes the stunning widescreen cinema-aspect of the new LG handset by offering users a sneak peak at video from the movie. By holding the ad's AR icon up to your webcam, you can access a special Avatar trailer that plays on an onscreen 3D model of the new handset. Coupled with this is a host of in-magazine features that bring to life both the movie and handset.

John Barton, sales and marketing director at LG, said: "We're delighted to be working with Future on such an exciting campaign. Both 'Avatar' and the new LG Chocolate BL40 represent innovations in their respective industries which this campaign will bring to life by delivering a cutting edge platform to interact with our customers."

Malcolm Stoodley, sales director at Future, said: "As Future's first augmented reality campaign in the UK, this is an exciting new format for advertisers that really brings this campaign alive for our readers. With an audience of influential movie and technology advocates, the exclusive 'Avatar' footage showcases this pioneering new film and LG's new mobile phone to T3 and Total Film readers like no other medium can deliver."

Khoda

“Khoda” is a fantastic animated video project by Reza Dolatabadi using 6000 paintings that were specifically created for the 5 minute film. Each time you pause the video you see a new painting.

Over 6000 paintings were painstakingly produced during two years to create a five minutes film that would meet high personal standards. Khoda is a psychological thriller; a student project which was seen as a ‘mission impossible’ by many people but eventually proved possible!

Calvin Flakes

Last week Calvin Harris tweeted about a gift that arrived for him from Kellogg’s.

Basically Harris had been doing a lot of tweeting recently about his breakfast preferences, about his choice of cereal. Picking up on this, Kellogg's sent Harris his very own breakfast cereal with the strapline ‘50% cornflakes, 50% branflakes – the perfect mix’. This is superb marketing. Simple, low cost, and yet highly, highly effective. Instant Brand Ambassador!

The Web In 5 Years, According To Google

Revolution Magazine carried a great article last Friday about an interview that Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, gave at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Orlando 2009.

While the interview is initially about Google, where it's come from and where it's going, Eric Schmidt also gives an overview of how Google sees the web changing in the next five years time. Schmidt outlines a 'radically different' internet that will be dominated by the Chinese language and Social Media content, and delivered to us by super-fast broadband.

By far one of the most interesting points that Schmidt raises is that brands should be listening to youth consumers when planning their marketing strategies. He simply points out, "Talk to a teenager about how they consume media and remember in five years they'll be your employee".

This is an overview of Schmidt's vision compiled by ReadWriteWeb:

1. Five years from now the internet will be dominated by Chinese-language content.
2. Five years is a factor of ten in Moore's Law, meaning that computers will be capable of far more by that time than they are today.
3. Within five years there will be broadband well above 100MB in performance - and distribution distinctions between TV, radio and the web will go away.
4. "We're starting to make significant money off of Youtube", content will move towards more video.
5. "Real time information is just as valuable as all the other information, we want it included in our search results."
6. "We can index real-time info now - but how do we rank it?"
7. It's because of this fundamental shift towards user-generated information that people will listen more to other people than to traditional sources. Learning how to rank that "is the great challenge of the age." Schmidt believes Google can solve that problem.

This is the interview:

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Last Thursday saw the trailer go live for the new Capcom "Resident Evil" game. Essentially this is the lastest in the popular zombie killing series of games, featuring all the blood, guts and gore that would be expected.

What wasn't expected was the takeover video ad that turned an otherwise normal webpage into a zombie rampaged mess. Allowing users to both watch and play the new game. This is seriously cool...



Mona Hamilton, VP-marketing at Capcom, said "This is the first time users can interact and actually play the game inside the trailer, it really allows people to experience that surprise horror and fear. ... It was designed to take the experience to the next level."

GameTrailers.com, part of the MTV Networks entertainment unit inside Spike Digital, and JVST, San Francisco, worked with Capcom to create the interactive trailer. Unfortunately the interactive nature of the trailer means that it is only available on the GameTrailers site, however, there is an impressive advertising suite backing up this element of the campaign across the US market. Unusually, all this advertising is driving users to GameTrailers.com rather then a dedicated campaign microsite.

Brad Winters, general manager for GameTrailers.com, said "It's a captive audience with people coming to the site for nothing other than to watch game videos. ... This engages the audience more than just watching a video and if you can get them involved in the content, it's going to make more of an impression."

This is the first interactive trailer that GameTrailers.com has hosted, and while Winters doesn't see it taking over the traditional trailer, he did say "I think we'll see this kind of interactivity more and more as part of marketing plans. ... And not just for video games and movies, but it's an opportunity for anyone creating video content [for their brand]."

Augmented Reality: Esquire Magazine

Last Monday Esquire revealed that they would once again be pushing the boundaries of print. As I'm sure everyone will remember, Esquire's first foray into enhanced print was with their ePaper 75th Anniversary issue, and following that they did their brilliant split cover. This time, however, it's Augmented Reality that is their enhancement of choice.

For their December issue Esquire have developed an Augmented Reality cover featuring none other then Robert Downey Jr.. Downey introduces the issue and does a brief plug for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie. The real fun comes in with a host of bonus content that is accessed and controlled on the Esquire website by installing an app and interacting with the Augmented Reality marker.

In the following video, Editor-in-Chief, David Granger, runs through the features. An example given is for the issue’s fashion features, which, by tilting the magazine in different directions, allows you to adjust the the weather in the shots with the model's changing to suit the new conditions.

Facebook & Sports

For most Irish (and indeed French) people, there is only one thing to think about today - where will I watch the match? Of course if you were lucky enough to grab yourself a ticket to Croke Park your question is already answered, but what about the rest of us?

Perhaps Facebook is the answer?

Seriously!

Let me back track to late October. On the 22nd October, Nike did something really cool. They invited Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas to take over the Nike Facebook page for an interactive Q&A session with fans from around the world. For 90 minutes Cesc answered questions about Arsenal's Champions League match against AZ Alkmaar. The event also featured behind-the-scenes photos from the game that were posted to the Facebook page.

With 3 days to go before the event even took place, over 800 people had signed-up to participate, with a further 400 plus questions lined up for Cesc to answer. So even though Cesc is a Nike football ambassador and is regularly featured on TV spots and advertising campaigns (see the video below for the recent Total Control campaign), this was without question a new move for Nike and AKQA, who worked on the project for them.



But what does any of this have to do with today's World Cup Qualifier play-off between Ireland and France?

Well, as I said: Facebook.

Nike aren't the only brand to be pushing the boundary on what Facebook can do, and what it can provide for its users. Carlsberg are doing an A1 job on providing engagement and interactivity in a way that is absolutely brilliant.

For today's match, the Carlsberg Facebook Page is giving fans the ability to follow the match live, give their views and opinions through a live match chat and opinion polls, and give real-time reviews of each players performance through an interactive rating card. This is seriously cool, and aside from being a great example of what Facebook as a platform can do, this is a clear indication of how the public's viewing habits have changed in the last 12 to 24 months.

People crave interaction. No one wants to be a spectator, they want to be a participant. They want to share their opinion, become part of the event, and feel like they are actually involved. Social Media is allowing that. Social Media is giving everyone, everywhere, all the time, the ability to take part. In many ways it's the perfect tagline or brand ident - 'Take Part'. And lets face it, it's only going to get better.

Lonely Planet Google Wave App

Google Wave has exploded in the last month with round after round of invitations growing its user base rapidly. However, one thing has alluded the service and driven a charge of companies to be the first to overcome it: the introduction of a Wave App.

Following a number of beta trials, it looks like Lonely Planet may be the first to get there. The guidebook maker has created a trip planning tool that works through Google Wave, to allow users to create trip itineraries in real time with advice and collaboration from other users.

The application, Trippy, loads a map that contains Lonely Planet recommendations and reviews. Then using a drag and drop interface, points of interest can be selected and assigned dates and times for your trips.

Chris Boden, Lonely Planet's director of mobile and innovation, said, "The Trippy gadget turns trip planning into a collaborative activity, enabling a group of users to create itineraries together in real time."

Lonely Planet has also recently launched a series of augmented reality apps for Google Android handsets. The apps provide Compass Guides that highlight points of interest in various cities, through a visual real time interface. Combined with Android's GPS, the app detects your exact location with the internal compass determining where you are looking. These apps are, unfortunately, only available in the US via the Android Market.

Eyeblaster Research Global Benchmark Report 2009

When it comes to display advertising there are a multitude of different formats that can be used; different dimensions, different formats, different engagement techniques. However, when it comes to producing really special, highly engaging, richly interactive ads that users will remember long after a campaign has ceased, there really is only two words to remember - Rich Media.

Rich Media refers to ads that have a much higher file size (300kb plus) then standard flash ads. They usually incorporate interactive and engagement techniques that focus on delivering in-banner content. This may be video or gaming, or any number of other interactive techniques that were once confined to websites. The downside is of course that Rich Media adserving is generally much more expensive. So you're left with a decision: do I spend more on development and adserving?

Well the question then becomes, what are the real advantages of using Rich Media when it comes to cold hard engagement metrics. Basically, how much better will I engage with my target audience if I use Rich Media?

A new study conducted by Eyeblaster reinforces the idea that video and 'expanding' are the key factors in driving increased engagement. The Global Benchmark Report 2009 shows that expandable ads have the highest interaction rate of all rich media formats. The report goes on to show that keeping content fresh by continually changing the imagry, copy and sound or video, will increase your interaction rates even further.

The report is divided into two parts: The first provides an analysis of the benchmark’s numbers in the context of a prevalent industry question. The second provides a general overview of the benchmarks and a review of changes from the last edition. The report was written based on the analysis of data from more than 250,000 ads in all sizes and formats served in the 12 months starting July 2008. The full report can be downloaded here.

LinkedIn & Twitter Join Forces

Yesterday LinkedIn announced the formation of a new partnership between LinkedIn and Twitter. In the following video, Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone, gives a run through of why the partnership is so important to both companies, and what uses can expect to get out of it. Joining Stone, Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, describes the partnership like peanut butter and chocolate. For those of you who don't like peanut butter, the rest of us think this sounds delicious!

In the last year the adoption of Twitter by businesses and marketing agencies is well documented and the number of case studies starting to come out of the woodwork shows numerous highly profitable ways for Twitter to add real value to campaign activity. Moving on from this, Twitter has spent a considerable amount of time in the last year looking for different avenues to integrate Twitter with other platforms and services, and it looks like this might be the one. Stone remarks, "[Twitter is used on a] personal level in business and that Twitter has essentially become part of your resume". He adds, "The general idea of putting a little twitter in everything is being able to inject into LinkedIn a little bit more of this fresh here's what's going on with these other things, but with a little bit of a curated sense in terms of your professional life."

So what exactly does this partnership mean?

When you change your LinkedIn status you can now tweet it too. Simple really. Over the next few days LinkedIn will rollout the service and it will be available through two touchpoints:

1. On LinkedIn
First you need to connect your Twitter and LinkedIn profiles, allowing them to share articles you’re reading and alerting people. Doing this will be fairly easy by ticking the Twitter box on the LinkedIn homepage.

2. On Twitter
When setting up your connection you can choose to either send all tweets or selected tweets to your LinkedIn profile as a status update.

Augmented Reality: Tele Scouter

The Japanese consumer electronics company NEC have unveiled something seriously cool. You probably know how excited I got about Nokia's recent Augmented Reality concept, and even the slightly more bizarre Augmented Reality Contact Lenses I recently wrote about, but this is a practical everyday application of AR that actually works, and that's better then anything concept.

Meet the NEC Tele Scouter...


The Tele Scouter is NEC's Augmented Reality glasses, which project real-time language translation directly into people's eyes!

The system translates conversations in real time, and projects the translations directly onto a user's retina as a stream of 'subtitles'. Using built in voice recognition,the self-contained translation programme allows you to complete cut out the need for human translators. The system is also capable of delivering audio translations. Tele is due for release in Japan next November, and will be sold (initially at least) in packs of 30, at a cost of €65,000.

The Golden Age of Video

This is just about one of the best YouTube videos that you will ever see!



Ricardo Autobahn has spliced together a whole heap of movies from every genre and decade of the last 60 years to create an original song. The beat, the rhymes, the rhythm; all of it perfectly pulled together. This is just brilliant. What makes it even more fun is if you can spot all the movies, and name them.

Apple Approve “Hitler Book” App

I spotted this article over on The Next Web and was totally dumbfounded. Just days after Apple banned an app for using the word iPhone, Apple have approved an app of a book written by Hilter. To make things worse, the app also includes a Swastika as its application icon. The book, Mi Lucha, was written by Adolf Hitler. It is a mix between an autobiography and an essay on the political ideology of National Socialism.

Videogioco

Videogioco is a stunning animation by Donato Sansone, with sound by Enrico Ascoli.



Cheers to @RobReid for sharing this one :)

What iDon't, Droid Does Part 2

Last month I wrote about Verizon's new advertising campaign targeting Apple's iPhone. The campaign isn't straight forward however, and the phone has yet to be shown in plain view. Instead the teaser campaign has concentrated on promoting it's use of the Google Android operating system.



The ad does not feature the campaign URL (www.droiddoes.com),the countdown in non-recognisable numerals, or the previous tagline - "Do you wish you had a robot sidekick that moved at light speed and lived in your pocket? Input your e-mail and Droid will notify you when compromise has been deactivated." All in all, very strange.