The Carphone warehouse Campaign To Highlight Cyber-Bullying

Yesterday the Carphone Warehouse, partnering with Professor Mona O’Moore of the Anti-bullying Centre in Trinity College, launched a campaign to highlight the risks posed by cyber-bullying. The campaign offers tips to parents to prevent and deal with the different ways that children might suffer from cyber-bullying.

Cyber-bullying is when a person or group makes use of electronic communication devices, particularly mobile phones and the Internet to deliberately harass, intimidate or humiliate another individual. According to The Handbook of Aggressive Behaviour Research, one in four girls (24%) and one in six boys (16%) in Ireland have been involved in cyber-bullying either as a victim, bully or both. These incidents ranged from threats, insulting and embarrassing or humiliating messages, to pictures or video clips. The bullying itself can be prejudice based, expressing racist, sexist, homophobic and other forms of discrimination. Text messaging is the most common form of cyber-bullying among both boys and girls in Ireland with over 57% of all cyber-bullying incidents originating from mobile phones. Nearly one third of girls (31.4%) and over one fifth of boys (22%) in Ireland reported receiving nasty text messages in and out of school.

The campaign features an information leaflet that is available in the 76 Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide and a special offer on the vMad.com Bully Stop application. Now retailing at just €5 (RRP €20) this application is downloaded to a child’s phone allowing parents to control who calls or sends them text messages. Parents can view the content of any blocked text or call and ensure that their child will not be bullied via their mobile phone.

Professor O’Moore commented on the launch of the campaign, saying “Cyber-bullying must not be treated lightly as it can destroy a child or teen’s emotional and social life as well as causing them to dislike school and to underperform academically. Parents can make a difference by looking out for the signs of cyber-bullying such as a child becoming withdrawn, moody or depressed, and taking action when they suspect that their child or teen is targeted or indeed, is getting at someone else in an abusive and intimidating manner. Talk to your child or teen about cyber-bullying. Do not wait till it happens. Inform yourself about how you can help to prevent or counter it. Make use of blocking devices. Most importantly reassure your child and teen that you are there for them as there is no shame in being bullied. The problem lies with the bully. It is critical that your child or teen knows that it is wrong to bully and equally what steps they need to take should they ever experience cyber-bullying.”

300 Years of Smithwick's

I've written more then once about Guinness' landmark 250 year birthday celebrations but what many people don't realise is that Guinness isn't Ireland's oldest pint, and St. James's Gate isn't Ireland's oldest brewery! 2010 marks the 300 year birthday for the Smithwick's St. Francis Abbey Brewery in Kilkenny. To celebrate the colossal milestone, the brewery has thrown open it's doors and is inviting the public to tour the brewery.

The latest addition to the rich cultural offering of Kilkenny, allows members of the public to experience a fully guided tour of the famous site, walking in and around the buildings and areas of the Brewhouse where Smithwick’s is actually brewed. The tour also takes in the stunning medieval St. Francis Abbey which sits on the site of the brewery and dates back to the 13th century.

Ian Hamilton, Operations Manager at St Francis Abbey Brewery commented: “For many years, visitors to Kilkenny and locals alike have wanted to take a tour of Ireland’s oldest brewery. In celebration of our 300 year anniversary this year, we are delighted to be able to open our doors to the public, and give them a rare glimpse behind the historic walls of St. Francis Abbey Brewery”.

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited down to Kilkenny to experience the tour myself and see exactly what it's all about. The first stop on the Smithwick's tour was The Cellar Bar where we met our lovely tour guide, Suzanne.

From The Cellar Bar, Suzanne brought us out into the original brewery courtyard and gave us a run through of the history behind the Smithwick's family's long brewing heritage and the various ups and downs that the brewery experienced in 300 years. From here we were shown out and around the main building to St. Francis Abbey. The abbey itself is a beautiful building, though obviously in ruins, that really gives a sense of history and contrast to the modern building around it.


The next stop was the Tasting Room, where Smithwick’s official tasters check and ensure the quality of every brew. Here there's a short video explaining the brewing process. After the Tasting Room it was on to the brewery floor to see the fermentation and maturation processes in action before finally finishing up the tour up with a tutored tasting session back in The Cellar Bar with a complimentary pint of Smithwick's.

For our particular tasting session we were lucky enough to have Ian Hamilton and Billy Power, Global Quality and Program Director, on hand to help us out. Basically we had the two single most qualified people possible to bring us through the subtlety and complexity that sits before you in a pint of Smithwick's. To say I felt lucky is a complete understatement. Ian and Billy were full of craic and happy to answer any and all questions that our group had, from what Smithwick's target customer is to what to look for in taste, aroma and appearance in a pint (see here!).


Beyond the tour itself, the brewery also now offers visitors the chance to experience the story of the evolution of the St Francis Abbey Brewery. From the founding of the Abbey in the 13th century to the present, the story is brought to life through visuals, artefacts, pictures and audio in the new exhibition space. The exhibit covers the generations of the Smithwick’s family involved in the Brewery, the ingredients & brewing processes, the prestigious brewing awards won since 1892, and the advertising and packaging of Smithwick’s.

In short, there is a whole lot to see and experience and every bit of it is well worth it. Smithwick's have developed a really great attraction here and something that I would highly recommend to every visitor, not just to Kilkenny but to Ireland.

Tour Details
The Smithwick's brewery tour takes approximately 1.5 hours, is fully guided and includes a complimentary drink in the Cellar Bar. Tours run from Tuesday to Saturday inclusive at 12:30, 13:00, 15:00 and 15:30 daily. The tour is closed on Sunday and Monday. Admission is €10 and all visitors must be over 18.

Booking Office: Call +353 (0)56 779 64 98.
E Mail: smithwickstours@diageo.com
Advance booking recommended.

Wheelchair Access:
St. Francis Abbey Brewery is a production facility. Therefore, we regret that we cannot cater for wheelchair users or persons with impaired mobility due to the structure and layout of our 300 year old site.

Footwear:
For your safety, please wear appropriate footwear (i.e. no high heels or open toe shoes).

Full details can be found at www.Smithwicks.ie

Adidas Originals Street Art Competition

Champion Sports have just launched a pretty cool competition to find Ireland’s most talented urban artists to create an original piece of street art that will embrace the theme of ‘celebrating originality meets street art’. The prize is a masterclass with Krooked Type and the chance to get your art displayed on your own billboard. The competition is part of the launch campaign for the brand new adidas Originals clothing and footwear range.

The winner will get a two-day masterclass featuring Maser, Albert Hooi and Fraher, which should be a dream come true to any budding young artist. Or even a 30-something scribbler to be honest ;) Krooked Type will be judging all entries.

The new adidas Originals range is driven by adidas' history and looks to bring the spirit of adidas’ past and present to life in a fresh and modern range. The range combines typical adidas quality and materials with creative and luxurious street fashion, creating urban wear that blends timeless and modern designs echoing the brand’s heritage.

Coinciding with the competition, and offering a great place to pick up some inspiration, adidas and Champion Sports have specially commissioned a new collection by Maser. His ‘Originals-inspired’ street art installation can be seen at The Bernard Shaw, Richmond Street, Dublin 2, as part of the launch of the new adidas Originals range.

Speaking about the campaign, Emily Barry, Marketing Executive, Champion Sports said, “We are truly excited at the launch of the adidas Originals range in our stores. It has been a great experience to work with Krooked Type on the installation, which we feel really celebrates the spirit of both the Champion Sports and adidas Originals brands. We’re looking forward to receiving lots of entries to the Street Art competition and working with the winners to create their very own billboard!”

To enter simply email your artwork to celebrate@champion.ie before Friday 8th October. Submitted entries will be uploaded to the Champion Sports Facebook page, as they are received. The three winning finalists will be announced on or around Monday 11th October.

Arthur's Day 2010: More Bands, More Artists & More Tickets

The last time I posted about Arthur's Day 2010 I was able to confirm venues and artists but the specifics weren't available. Since then not only have tickets gone on sale, and sold out!, but all the venues obviously had their respective artists finally confirmed. Unfortunately though, as I said, ticket sales were exceptional and many venues sold out almost straight away. Today, however, I am happy to pass on the very good news that Guinness has announced that a limited number of additional Arthur’s Day tickets for all studio venues will be released for sale at 9am tomorrow (Tuesday, 24th August) via Ticketmaster.

What could make this news any better? Guinness have also announced over 15 additional artists that have been added to the Arthur's Day line up including Manic Street Preachers, David Gray, Cathy Davey and Oscar-winning actor turned musician Tim Robbins & The Rogues Gallery Band. There have also been several new talents added to the line up such as Ty, The Courteeners, Biffy Clyro and Bitches with Wolves.

Speaking about Arthur’s Day, Manic Street Preachers said, “Some of our greatest gigs have been in Ireland; we really do have very special memories of playing there. From a tiny show for our first label Heavenly to playing Slane Castle and everything in between. The atmosphere will no doubt be amazing and we’re proud to a part of what is fast becoming one of Ireland’s biggest days of the year”.

While David Gray commented that "Coming back to Ireland is always a great experience for me and the band, particularly being back in Galway! It was amazing to be part of the celebrations last year and to support the Arthur Guinness Fund. We are really looking forward to getting the chance to play some of the new tunes as well as some old faves in such an amazing location. Cheers Arthur!"

New additions to the Arthur’s Day line up:

Studio Artists Manic Street Preachers David Gray Tim Robbins & the Rogues Gallery Band Biffy Clyro The Courteeners Ty Cathy Davey

Pub Artists David Kitt Oliver Cole Fight Like Apes Keywest Bitches with Wolves Ryan Sheridan Carly Connor

New Arthur's Day Artists

Orla Flanagan, Guinness Brand Manager said, “We are excited about the new acts added to the line up. We wanted to hold back some tickets so that fans of our newly announced artists including Manic Street Preachers and David Gray got an opportunity to see their favourite bands. The real magic of Arthur’s Day is that all the studio artists will also make a surprise appearance in an Arthur’s Day pub venue. Fans that purchase pub tickets will not only see great pub artists but also see artists like Brandon Flowers, Snow Patrol or Paolo Nutini play in a pub for €5 which is an exciting element of Arthur’s Day”.

The Arthur's Day celebrations will begin at 17:59 at St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin on 23rd September. The celebration will then continue with activities and events at various locations in Ireland and throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. The full line up now stands as follows:

Studio Venues	Artists
St James’ Gate	Snow Patrol Manic Street Preachers Biffy Clyro Our Thursdays Winner
The Academy	Brandon Flowers Plan B José González Slow Club Tim Robbins & The Rogues Gallery Band
Olympia Theatre	Carbon/Silicon Cathy Davey The Chapters Our Thursdays Finalist
Vicar Street	The Maccabees The Hoosiers Eliza Doolittle The Courteeners
The Village	Kelis Tinie Tempah Example We Have Band Ty
Folan Quay, Galway Harbour	David Gray Newton Faulkner The Magic Numbers Sharon Shannon Our Thursdays Finalist
Savoy, Cork	Paolo Nutini Kt Tunstall The View Fortune O Emperor Our Thursdays Finalist

PUB VENUES	Each pub will also welcome a surprise performance on the night from a studio artist
Dublin
The Baggot Inn	Heathers David Kitt
The Bank	Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band
The Brazen Head	The Shoos Sparrow and the Workshop
Bruxelles	Sparrow and The Workshop Heathers
Dakota	The Milk Bitches with Wolves
Doheny & Nesbitt	John Spillane The Boy Who Trapped the Sun
Fitzsimons	Pilotlight Ryan Sheridan
Flannery’s	Molotov Jukebox
The George	Bitches with Wolves Dirty Epics
Hogans	RoySeven
Odeon	Oliver Cole Butterfly Explosion
O’Donoghue’s	David Kitt The Chapters
Oliver St. John Gogarty’s	The High Kings Oliver Cole
The Palace Bar	The Boy Who Trapped the Sun John Spillane
Pygmalion	The Dirty 9s The Rags
Sinnotts	Fight Like Apes Pilotlight
The Stag’s Head	The Rags Ryan Sheridan
The Temple Bar	Broken Records The High Kings
Whelans	Dirty Epics Butterfly Explosion
Galway
Kelly’s	Duke Special
Róisín Dubh	A Band Called Wanda Plus Special Guest
Taaffes	Johnny Flynn Plus Special Guest
Tigh Cóilí	A Band Called Wanda Johnny Flynn
Cork
Crane Lane Theatre	Carly Connor Keywest
Old Oak	Director Simon Fagan
The Pavilion	Mick Flannery Simon Fagan
Reardens	Mick Flannery Carly Connor
SoHo	Keywest Director

Further Information: Arthur Guinness Fund
The Arthur Guinness Fund supports the emerging sector of social entrepreneurship in Ireland. In April this year, Guinness assigned €1 million to ten social entrepreneurs with each of their projects receiving €100,000 and additional support and expertise from Diageo Ireland and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. A further €1.5 million will be used to support future Irish social entrepreneurs in the coming years.

Cee Lo Green: F**K YOU

This is one of the best examples of Kinetic Typography, and a severely catchy tune to boot. Listen and love!

Golden Pages iPhone App Viral

Following on from my post about the Golden Pages event on Wednesday to promote the company's 40th Birthday and the launch of their new iPhone App, the Golden Pages have released the following video. Fairly slick and awesome imho. Check it out...

Ray Bans & Augmented Reality

Nice bit of extended Augmented Reality from the chaps at Ray Bans. Check it out...

Happy Birthday Golden Pages

Next Wednesday the Golden Pages is unveiling an exciting new development. I'm not sure what it is just yet but it looks like it's going to be a cool evening. Stay tuned...

Arthur's Day 2010

Back in June I posted about the return of Arthur's Day this September. With ticket sales well under way (and sold out in many cases! - but check www.ticketmaster.ie for full details) it looks like the 23^rd September is going to be just as huge as promised. The biggest news so far, for most people, was probably the announcement that The Killers’ Brandon Flowers will be topping the list of the 20 or so artists that have been added to the star studded line-up. The list (below) is a whopper one too, and includes the likes of Newton Faulkner, Plan B, KT Tunstall, José González, The Magic Numbers and Kelis, as well as homegrown talents like Snow Patrol and Paolo Nutini.

The main difference with this year's celebrations is a focus on making the pub the heart of the celebrations. This is being done by using 28 different pub venues to host an artist to kick off the celebrations after the toast to Arthur Guinness at 17.59. Basically this means that Pub ticket holders will get to see a great artist in the comfort of their favourite pub, however, there will also be a surprise performance from one of the studio artists too. For Studio ticket holders there will be up to five international and Irish artists performing at each studio venue.

Speaking at the Arthur’s Day announcement, Orla Flanagan, Guinness Brand Manager said “We are delighted to add more fantastic artists to our Arthur’s Day line up. Studio tickets to last year’s Arthur’s Day celebrations last year sold out in one hour so we are anticipating huge interest again tomorrow morning. With the great acts who are involved in Arthur’s Day this year, the 23^rd of September looks set to be another remarkable celebration of Arthur Guinness and his lasting legacy. I’m really looking forward to raising a glass to the man himself on the day”.

Studio tickets and the outdoor Galway music event will cost €10 and the 28 pub venues will cost €5 with proceeds from all Arthur’s Day ticket sales benefiting the Arthur Guinness Fund.

Arthur's Day Artists

Studio Artists Snow Patrol Paolo Nutini José González The View We Have Band The Hoosiers Slow Club The Maccabees The Magic Numbers Sharon Shannon Brandon Flowers Eliza Doolittle Example Fortune Kelis KT Tunstall Newton Faulkner O Emperor Plan B Tinie Tempah Carbon/Silicon

Pub Artists The High Kings The Chapter The Dirty 9s Heathers The Milk Broken Records Mick Flannery The Rags John Spillane Dirty Epics A Band Called Wanda Butterfly Explosion Director Duke Special James Vincent McMorrow Johnny Flynn Molotov Jukebox Pilotlight RoySeven Simon Fagan Sparrow and the Workshop The Boy Who Trapped the Sun The Shoos Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band

Arthur’s Day Venues*

Dublin Studio Venues St James’s Gate Brewery The Academy Vicar Street The Village Olympia Theatre Pub Venues The Bank Odeon Bruxelles Oliver St. John Gogarty’s Dakota The Baggot Inn Hogans The Stag’s Head O’Donoghue’s The Temple Bar The George Doheny & Nesbitt Sinnotts Whelans Fitzsimons The Brazen Head Pygmalion The Palace Bar Flannery’s

Galway Outdoor Music Event Folan Quay at Galway Harbour Pub Venues Róisin Dubh Kelly’s Tíg Cóilí Taaffes

Cork Studio Venue Savoy Pub Venues The Old Oak Crane Lane Theatre Reardons The Pavilion Soho

*Subject to licence


Previous Arthur's Day and Guinness 250 Celebration posts:

• Guinness 250: New Year's Eve
• Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity
• Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur
• Applications Open For The Arthur Guinness Fund
• To Arthur!
• The Arthur's Day Petition
• Countdown to Arthur's Day
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update 2
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations

Digital Communications

I was sent this diagram by a friend as a 'good overview of the various types of communication that exist within the modern world'. The funny thing is, what this diagram made me think about... the iPhone4. I didn't think about the iPhone4 because of some wondrous new feature that it bestows on the world or that it pulls together almost all of the above scenarios as core functions. Instead I thought of the iPhone4 because of a term that Steve Jobs has started using: FaceTime.

Looking that the above 10 communications examples I found myself thinking that it is perhaps slightly odd that only two of them involve seeing the person you are talking to, and only one of them involves being in the same physical place as that person. I started thinking about the repercussions that real-time, trans-global communications has on our communications habits and how it is now more natural to communicate with someone in a non-face-to-face manner.

Something else to bare in mind is the frightening speed at which this situation has come about. Most of these technologies / platforms weren't in existence ten years ago.

What does all this mean though? Am I suddenly shunning technology and calling for a reversion to a less technical age? Far from it. I embrace technology and everything that it can do for humanity. However, I think that it is important not to lose sight of the human connection. Not to forget that there is a person on the other end of that Tweet, Facebook Status update, or Txt Message. As a result of technology, many people make less of an effort to have face to face contact with friends or family. Most worrying is that this is very much a self-perpetuating theme as the more real-time platforms and technologies presented to us the less time we have to physically meet people.

For me, the big issue here isn't that I may loose touch with the real world or forget that there are more reasons to meet someone in real life then to talk to them online. The issue is when you consider that anyone currently eighteen or under, has not known a world without the internet. Consider something like Chatroulette, which almost as soon as it was launched became filled with nudity and exhibitionism. Is a Surrogate-esque future with people plugged into machines living solely through a digital representation, with there being no clue as to a persons true 'self', an actual possibility?

The answer, in my mind, is yes. It could easily happen. I don't doubt that there are plenty of people out there who would jump at the chance to live that way, and that saddens me. It saddens me because I see the role that the media, marketing, public relations and 'big business' has to play in that. Don't forget that there's a real world out there. Don't forget that not everything should exist as solely digital. The digital infrastructure and associated communications and entertainment technologies that we have at our disposal should be used to bridge the gaps between people, and bring them closer together, in real life. Use technology to help organise, to help communicate, to help facilitate. But at the end of the day, meet up with people. Talk. Exchange ideas. Share funny stories, or personal heartaches.

Digital communications should be used to talk to people face-to-face!

What the F**k is Social Media NOW?

A brilliant presentation from Marta Kagan, Managing Director at Espresso. Not only does this give a great overview of where Social Media is but it also does the important job of re-enforcing just how mainstream and 'real-world' Social Media has now become. It's all around us and is constantly finding new ways to move deeper into our everyday lives. This is highly recommended viewing!

The Social Network

In my honest opinion.... I can't wait. I think the movie looks really good. The casting is brilliant and my original fears of a documentary style approach have been firmly quashed. Role on October...

Old Spice

Every now and again a marketing campaign comes around that manages to cross an imaginary boundary that exists between ‘the industry’ and ‘the outside world’.

What I mean is, we (members of ‘the industry’) will often comment and discuss the brilliant merits of a particular marketing campaign from the point of view of creativity, technical merit or results. However, everyone else (‘the outside world’) can often be oblivious to these things. Brilliant metrics and results simply don’t affect their individual, everyday lives. Then along comes a campaign that taps into something special and hits all the right notes. A previous example was Compare The Meerkat, which I have posted about several times, but what has happen here is even better.

Top notch admen Wieden + Kennedy have taken a brand that many perceived as old and dated, and not only won a Cannes Film Grand Prix but created a Social Media frenzy. Their campaign for Old Spice launched in February during the Super Bowl and has gone from strength to strength to strength. Featuring former American Football star Isaiah Mustafa, the campaign is all about just how awesomely manly he is, and how ‘your man’ could smell like him.

The campaign saw immediate success with millions of video views of the ads on YouTube but the real success, imho, has been the personalised responses that have been created for everyone from celebrities to renowned bloggers to ordinary folk who published questions or comments to the campaigns various touchpoints (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook etc.). These personalised video messages are all viewable on the Old Spice YouTube channel and are absolutely hilarious. The campaign has been so successful in fact that the Old Spice YouTube channel is now the most viewed sponsored channel on the video platform.

The question of course that still remains is weather this online goodwill translates into sales. I can’t imagine it won’t but for now that’s just my opinion. Stay tuned and I’ll update with news as it comes out.

Samsung: Redneck Hunter

Check out this video created and produced by Cheil Worldwide to promote Samsung bluetooth headsets.

7 Harsh Realities In Social Media

This is an excellent presentation from Bart De Waele that I picked up from Robin Grant over in We Are Social. Well worth a couple of minutes of your time...

Plaid Nation Humongo Tour 2010

Yet again I feel myself thinking how crazy it is that's it's been a year since the last Plaid Nation Tour. What's even crazier this year is that it isn't The Plaid Nation Tour at all. Welcoming [drum roll] The Humongo Tour!

What you ask?? Well, back in March this year, Plaid was acquired by Source Marketing, an MDC Partners company, and Humongo was born.

So......

It's Humongo Nation time!

For the fourth year in a row the guys will be hitting the asphalt on their annual agency road tour, with their patented celebration of creativity and innovation across the American highways. Down the East Coast US, starting in Maine the team will be taking their Ford Flex all the way down to Miami.

The tour will take in:

• Portland, ME
• Boston, MA
• New York, NY
• Washington, DC
• Raleigh, NC
• Asheville, NC
• Atlanta, GA
• Savannah, GA
• Daytona Beach, FL
• Miami, FL

The tour is still 24 days away, but stay tuned and I'll keep you up to date on what the guys are getting up to :)

Humongo Links:
Humongo
About the Humongo Nation Tour
The Humongo Nation Blog
Humongo on Twitter
Humongo on Facebook

The State Of The Internet

Just watch...

Biodiversity Campaign

This is the best video I've seen this week. Brilliant!

The link goes here.

Fuse Finds Launches

Not so long ago I had the utmost pleasure of doing an LMI course in the company of a number of brilliant people. One of these people was Danielle Mac Innes. Danielle is a particularly skilled Interior Designer and owner of Fuse Interiors. This week I was really excited to learn that Fuse Interiors has launched an exciting new store, Fuse Finds! The store offers mid century and vintage furniture that Fuse has sourced themselves. The items are absolutely stunning and the service opens up a world of home and office design opportunity that your average person simply would never have.

What I find particularly cool about the Fuse 'Finds' concept is that it is very much based around sustainable design, with each item having been handpicked by Danielle from various travels around the world. These items are then either sold as they were found or revamped in the company's Dublin studio. The studio, which has just opened on Lad Lane in the city centre, is a one stop shop for all your interior design needs. By appointment you can pop along and view any of the 'Finds' and avail of Danielle's expert advise. There are also some pretty cool plans by Fuse Interiors to launch a series of pop-up shops later this year.

This is all really just tip of the ice-berg though. I highly recommend taking a look at Fuse's website and blog - both of which are 100% must read if you're into design, interiors or furniture!

Other ways to keep up to speed on what Danielle and Fuse are doing is to:

• 'like' Fuse at facebook.com/fuseinteriors, or
• 'follow' Fuse at twitter.com/fuseinteriors

There's also a Fuse newsletter that you can sign up to on the website, or download the full press release available here.

Malibu First Day of Summer

Malibu recently went to the SXSW Festival and asked a few folk whether or not June 21 (first day of summer) should be an international holiday - check out the Shout Out Outs, Diplo, The Antlers and other artists' answers here:

The Return Of Arthur's Day

Last September saw the birth of what has now been confirmed as an annual event: Arthur Guinness Day. This is the newest annual 'holiday' in the Irish calendar and a celebration of one of Ireland's most famous people, Arthur Guinness. To celebrate the man responsible for creating the world's most famous stout last September saw Dublin transformed into an epicentre of music, celebration and excitement. Literally thousands of people all came together to enjoy live music in over 33 venues across Dublin; including a special concert at St. James’s Gate brewery. Judging by yesterday's launch event at Bruxelles Bar on Grafton Street, this September 23rd will be no different.

Not only have Guinness confirmed that Arthur's Day is back this year but they also announced an expansion of the events to include Cork and Galway, as well as other festivities happening throughout the country. This year there will be one-off performances in unique locations from some of the world's biggest recording artists, with over 40 amazing bands to be announced during the summer months. To top this off, Arthur's Day will also be looking for 100 up and coming Irish acts to be part of the Arthur's Day line up in other Irish cities. So for every Thursday from mid July through to early August, Guinness will be running music events, called 'Our Thursdays', in pubs across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, giving emerging Irish music acts the opportunity to showcase their talents. Full information on the selection process is available on the Guinness site.

As before all proceeds from Arthur's Day ticket sales will be donated to the Arthur Guinness Fund. Full ticket information will be announced in mid July and I'll have all details here as soon as I hear them.

Previous Arthur's Day and Guinness 250 Celebration posts:

• Guinness 250: New Year's Eve
• Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity
• Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur
• Applications Open For The Arthur Guinness Fund
• To Arthur!
• The Arthur's Day Petition
• Countdown to Arthur's Day
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update 2
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations

Samsung 3D Projection

On Thursday 20th of May Samsung was the first company to introduce a large-scale commercial Outdoor 3D-projection. At the Beurs van Berlage, in Amsterdam, the public was able to view the addition of a new dimension to this historic building. The projection interacts with the historic architecture of the Beurs van Berlage, creating a spectacular 3D visual and audio experience for those present. The new dimension takes the viewers into an alternate reality in which the building exposes some of its mysteries inside.

The event was promoted through 3 Social Media channels:

• Foursquare
• YouTube
• Twitter

Starcom (part of Starcom/Publicis Group) was responsible for the strategy, concept and implementation of the campaign. While MUSE Amsterdam was responsible for the concept, design and production of the 3D event.

Director - Play Pretend

Last year I had the opportunity to work with the insanely talented Eoghan Kidney on the shoot for Director's newest release, Play Pretend. This is the video...

Directed by Eoghan Kidney.
Edited by Conor Ryan, Eoghan Kidney and FlordeOro Tejada.
Taken from the album I'll Wait For Sound.

Portfolio Night Comes to Dublin

Tonight sees the first Portfolio Night in Dublin giving any and all emerging creatives an opportunity to showcase their portfolios to twenty of Ireland's top Creative Directors. The event is taking place in Ogilvy's Dublin office and kicks off at 5.30pm. It costs just €20 to participate but you must register online at http://portfolionight.com/

JP Donnelly, CEO Ogilvy Group in Ireland, said: "We are delighted to support such a worthy event which is a clear demonstration of our commitment to putting creativity at the heart of our industry and providing a thriving environment to nurture the best and brightest young talent available. Ireland has a great reputation for creative talent and Portfolio Night is an important step towards building for the future and attracting the best creative minds into the advertising industry. If we are to genuinely develop a smart economy, we need to invest in Ireland’s creative talents."

Background on the event:
The concept, which was devised by Toronto-based ihaveanidea.org, is the world's largest simultaneous advertising portfolio review event. Portfolio Night sees advertising's top creative talents come together to review the portfolios of students, emerging creatives and freelancers in a 'speed-dating' setting. Each participant will receive three 15-minute portfolio review sessions with three of the country's most prominent Creative Directors, who will offer them advice on improving their portfolios. Portfolio Night will be held simultaneously in almost 40 cities around the world.

The Google Job Experiment

Pretty much want to try this right now, just to see if it would work...

The World of Socialnomics

Just watch, Social Media is definitely not a fad!

Augmented Reality: “I am Iron Man 2″

As far as Augmented Reality experiences go, this is one of my favourite to date. Based on Total Immersion’s technology, the AR uses a number of functions like Face Tracking and Movement Detection to let you experience the Iron Man HUD (Heads Up Display) used by the Marvel hero. You can also capture the video stream of your experience and share it out through your Social Media channels.

Google Goggles: Translation

I'm sure you've heard of Google Goggles at this stage. What you may not have heard of is Goggles new translation feature. Plain and simple, anyone who is traveling to another country will find this invaluable. Imagine sitting in a café in France but not having a single word of French. With the new Goggle service all you need to do is aim your phone at a word or phrase on the menu, use the 'Region of Interest' button to draw a box around specific words, take a picture, and if Goggles recognises the text it will give you the option to translate it. Then just press the 'Translate' button. Brilliant!

The first prototype of the service was unveiled at the beginning of the year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona but it only worked with German. The service has now been upgraded to read English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and can translate these into many more languages. All in all the service is still limited to Latin-based languages but Google's goal is to eventually provide a service that will read non-Latin languages (such as Chinese, Hindi and Arabic) too.

Google Goggles is currently available on devices running Android 1.6 and higher.

Carlsberg: The Secret - The Music

Back in December I posted about the launch of the Carlsberg ad, The Secret. The ad premièred on Facebook and proved to be hugely popular. What was particularly interesting was the buzz that sprung up around the ads music. Well I am delighted to announce that I have been able to get a clean sample of the tune!

Either play it below or download it here...

In case you can't remember it, this is the ad itself...

Vodafone Italy Domino Effect

A fantastic ad from Vodafone Italy to show their latest 'Smart' tariffs. Using a very elaborate Rube Goldberg Machine mechanic, the ad uses a brilliant domino effect to show a variety of cool apps interacting to bring the campaign tagline to life - 'piu smart conVodafone' (Smarter with Vodafone).

Calvin Klein & Chatroulette

Chatroulette, the online chat platform developped by Russian student Andrey Ternovskiy, has spurred a number of high profile 'virals', all equally hilarious. however, the platform is also widely seen to be bursting with sex and nudity. So in a fun advertising campaign Calvin Klein now offers a small program that scans for nudity on Chatroulette and then hides it with Calvin Klein underwear. Brilliant!

Lonely Planet Offers Free iPhone Guides

Every now and then a company does something really cool. This is very much one of those times. With so many travellers stuck in foreign locations due to the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, the Lonely Planet has made 13 of its city guides available on the App Store for free. The move has been made so that these unfortunate folk might be able to make the most of their “unexpected” holiday.

Tom Hall, Lonely Planet Travel Editor, commented on the Lonely Planet "Volcano Relief Sale", saying:

“Travellers stuck in unfamiliar places need access to practical information as well as suggestions on what to do while stranded.”

These iPhone apps are usually priced between €10 and €15 but have been made available for free for the next four days (until 11:59pm GMT Thursday 22/04). The 13 free Apps are: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London,Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, and Vienna.

Don't get me wrong, I fully understand, and appreciate, the marketing here - 4 days of free downloads could potentially generate huge later sales as users come to realise the quality and value of the Lonely Planet Apps, as well as generating public positive sentiment through the campaign. All that said, I still think this is a great initiative and something that other companies could learn from. I don't advocate profit from misfortune, but I certainly think that temporary goodwill gestures (whether they could have future positive sales impacts or not) are a very good thing.

Fair play Lonely Planet.

Nike Free Run+ & DJ Daito Manabe and co.

It seems that I've posted a lot of videos etc. all stemming from shoe and clothing companies. The truth is though, that's simply because it seems to be fashion labels that are pushing digital. It's fashion brands that are using digital as their primary and key communications channel. And so here we have yet another genius piece of marketing from a fashion label, this time Nike.

This is the new Japanese campaign for Nike's Free Run+ shoes. This is a smart and stunning collaboration with DJ Daito Manabe and co., and sees the crew pumping out the 'chunes' in the oddest of ways. Using specially outfitted runners equipped with the newest flex sensors (the new sensors change resistance when bent), the pair achieve awesome effects controls. Check this out, and try not to be imptressed!

(via Gav via Engadget)