Coca-Cola Launches Move to the Beat London

Last week, Mark Ronson and Katy B unveiled a giant 25m wide, 10m tall new piece of urban art right in the center of London in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium. The artwork marks the launch of Coca-Cola's Move to the Beat campaign and their London Olympic sponsorship. It was created by Neil Edward, Hadley Ever and Smug, and is situated in Hackney, East London. The Beat Wall, as the piece of art is known, tells the story of how the sounds of sport and music were fused together by Mark Ronson with lyrics and vocals by Katy B, to create the official Coca-Cola song for the Olympic Games.

The song, Anywhere in the World, will provide the soundtrack for mobile and digital platforms and all Coca-Cola events during the games. The Beat Wall is the visual dramatisation of how Mark Ronson travelled the world searching for the inspiration to create it, while meeting young athletes and recording the sounds of their sport to use in the song. The campaign itself is Coca-Cola’s global campaign, focused on teens, to celebrate the beat of London 2012. The campaign ambition is to bring teens closer to the Olympic Games by encouraging their passion for music, and drawing inspiration from London’s musical heritage.

“As the longest continuous supporter of the Olympic Games Movement, our ambition at Coca-Cola is to bring teens closer to the Games and to sport in general,” said Sanjay Guha, Marketing and Olympic Games Director for North West Europe & Nordics. “The Move to the Beat™ campaign is all about bringing the Olympic Games to life in a way that engages a teen audience, bringing the social side of the Olympic Games to teens everywhere by tapping into their passion for sport and music live online and providing access to fantastic content via Track the Beat.”

The unveiling of the Beat Wall also marked the launch of the Beat Facebook app and the Move to the Beat television commercial. The Track the Beat app engages teens by encouraging them to ‘collect beats’ through Facebook to gain access to exclusive content and prizes. Teens will be able to discover the beats that feature in the Move to the Beat song, download wallpapers and screen savers of imagery from the wall. The Move to the Beat TV ad, which features the song, will be broadcast globally and sees Mark Ronson and Katy B performing alongside some of the international athletes whose sporting sounds have been used to provide the beat of the track.

The athletes whose sounds form the beat of the track and whose images appear on the wall, are:
Darius Knight, 21, table tennis player from Great Britain
David Oliver, 29, 110m hurdler from the United States
Kseniya Vdovina, 24, 400m sprinter from Russia
Dayyan Jaffar, 17, archer from Singapore
Maria Espinoza, 23, taekwondo athlete from Mexico

'Paid Owned Earned: maximizing marketing returns in a socially connected world'

Yesterday I got an email from Nick Burcher about his new book. Nick describes the book, 'Paid Owned Earned: maximizing marketing returns in a socially connected world', as an "exploration of the different aspects of Paid Owned Earned and how everything links together - with the text split into individual chapters around 'Listening', 'Community Management and Content Hubs', 'Content', 'Optimization', 'Seeding and Distribution', 'Broadcast', 'Performance', 'Responding' and 'Measurement'".

He goes on to say, "[that] Paid, Owned, Earned is about the complexity of media channels confronting brands, agencies and advertisers. With a multitude of case studies and original thinking it provides a clear framework on how best to approach the fragmented media landscape."

I was absolutely delighted to find out that Nick has released a free editorial sampler featuring excerpts about linking paid owned and earned media together as well as an exploration of how TV and social can be linked.

Paid Owned Earned by Nick Burcher


The full book blurb:
“The complexity of media that now sees multiple channels accessed through multiple devices has created major challenges for today's marketing and advertising professionals. Consumer time is split between TVs, laptops, iPads, X-Boxes and smartphones, with traditional media, websites, videos, social networks and apps all competing for attention, meaning it's difficult for brands to decide how best to reach and engage their audiences. Paid, Owned, Earned defines the constituents of each area of 'paid', 'owned' and 'earned' media and shows how they are linked together. It proposes a blueprint for how to think and navigate across this space using a framework made up of key elements such as communities and content, social media optimisation, seeding and viral distribution, broadcast mass media, social performance media and measurement.”

Paid Owned Earned is available for pre-order now with an official on sale date of the 3rd March 2012 from from both online and offline retailers.

Smirnoff Blueberry

If you're a Smirnoff fan like myself, you'll be delighted to here that this week Smirnoff announced the launch of Smirnoff Blueberry. Smirnoff's berry flavoured vodka will be joining Smirnoff's two other flavoured varieties: Green Apple Smirnoff and Lime Smirnoff. As with all Smirnoff's flavoured options, Smirnoff Blueberry is crafted using award-winning triple distilled pure Smirnoff No.21 vodka.

“We’re really excited to be launching Smirnoff Blueberry in Ireland. Set to hit the shelves just in time for Spring, it’s one of our most popular flavours thanks to its refreshing yet subtle blueberry notes. Best served with lemonade over ice, Smirnoff Blueberry is a great tasting long drink,” says, Carol McHugh, Marketing Manager Western Europe, Diageo.

Smirnoff Blueberry is available in all major Irish supermarkets.

Did you know?
• Blueberries were once called ‘star berries’ because of the star-shaped
formation on their skin left from the flower that formed the fruit
• Blueberries are one of the only natural foods that are truly blue in color
• At least 50 different species of blueberries have been identified
• Blueberries won't ripen once they are picked
• Fresh blueberries are available for nearly eight months of the year

1,000 Tickets To Czech Republic Friendly In Aviva For €10 Each

‘Three loves football’

Today, 13th February, Three and the FAI (Football Association of Ireland) announced something extremely, extremely cool. Together the two have created the ‘Three loves football’ special ticket offer. The ‘Three loves football’ is a celebration of Ireland’s qualification for EURO 2012.

But what is it?

Tomorrow, 14th of February at 3pm, Three will release 1,000 tickets for Ireland's friendly against the Czech Republic in Aviva Stadium on February 29th for just €10.

Seriously, €10!

Get over to the Three football Facebook page, tomorrow afternoon for full details of how the 1,000 tickets will be distributed on a “first-come, first-served” basis.

This isn't Three's only Irish Football activity. In recent months, Three has launched a number of initiatives such as their “Dare to Dream” affinity scheme offering Football Association of Ireland-affiliated clubs across the country the chance to earn cash when their members switch to Three which helps support the development of grass roots football. Last August Three also launched their ‘Go green with pride, pull on the jersey’ campaign. This saw Three give fans the chance to trade-in their old Republic of Ireland football jerseys and get €20 off the brand new Ireland home jersey.

Sky Rainforest Rescue 'Amazon' Exhibition

This week, Sky (in association with WWF and the Gallery of Photography) announced the Irish premiere of ‘AMAZON’. AMAZON is an exhibition in aid of the Sky Rainforest Rescue which features the work of two award-winning photographers - Sebastião Salgado and Per-Anders Pettersson.

The exhibition aims to highlight the plight of the Amazonian rainforest and its peoples. Through the two beautiful and distinct photography collections of xxx and xxx, the exhibition showcases the work of Sky Rainforest Rescue, the three year partnership between Sky and WWF. Sky Rainforest Rescue itself is aiming to help save one billion trees in the state of Acre, North-West Brazil.

The exhibition, which had a critically acclaimed six-week run at Somerset House, London in November 2011, is curated by Bakul Patki and will be accompanied by a programme of talks and events. For further information and updates see www.galleryofphotography.ie.


Exhibition Dates: 1 – 31 March 2012
Location: Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday 11am - 6pm and Sunday 1pm - 6pm
Admission: Free

The Interest Graph

A great piece here from Gary Vaynerchuk discussing the explosion of Pinterest, something Gary predicted at the start of the year. While Facebook may be king of the Social Graph, Gary sets out his belief on how Pinterest, and indeed Tumblr, are both offering users interest driven experiences. Well worth a watch...

Lyons Tea

Hopefully you enjoyed the three previous posts I've written on Lyons Tea and the ads in their ‘Master Blender’ campaign series. First up was 'Footie Talk', followed by 'All Talk' and then 'Rich Talk'. Now I'm delighted to share the fourth and fifth instalments in the series: 'Girl Talk' and 'Wild Horses'.

The most popular of the first three ads was 'All Talk'. It featured two loveable characters in an office, having a tea break and talking about their experiences in the gym. I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear that 'Wild Horses' sees the return of these characters. Just watch...

48 Go Conquer

Ireland has a new mobile service provider on the scene in the form of 48. The company, which piggybacks on the O2 network, offers a seriously discounted offering, uniquely, to the 18 to 22 year old market only. Based on an 'all you can eat' style offering, 48 seems to have a really good proposition.

For €10 a month you get all your calls and texts to any mobile network. There is also an introductory offer of unlimited data (reasonable usage policy of 500mb) for two weeks for €2. Essentially that's everything all in for €14 per month. Fairly tasty if you ask me, and certainly something I would have loved when I was a poor 18 to 22 year old student.

Of course we didn't have smartphones or text messages back then but that's another story… ;)

48 have just launched a new tv ad that was created by Brando.

Electric Ireland ‘Office Energy Expert’

Electric Ireland helps businesses make savings of up to 20%

Yesterday Electric Ireland launched an innovative first to market tool designed to help business customers save money. The tool allows businesses to implement a managed approach to eliminating electricity waste. In a few simple steps, the Office Energy Expert, can reduce electricity costs and consumption. The SEAI commented that by using the tool, a company could reasonably achieve a 20% reduction in their energy bills by 'good housekeeping measures' alone.

The Office Energy Expert tool will take a detailed look at office energy use and make energy efficiency accessible, simple and affordable. From there the tool highlights the opportunities available to easily and simply include energy efficiency and sustainability in the day-to-day routine of both managers and employees. The tool is perfect for all business types both large and small, and works across industries. To try the Office Energy Expert click here.

Liam Molloy, General Manager, Electric Ireland said; “Electric Ireland is working hard to empower our customers to make choices to suit their energy consumption and energy efficiency needs in these challenging times. A tool like the Office Energy Expert is free and easy to use. Companies do not need to incur large costs to make a real difference to their energy costs, with savings of up to 20% wholly achievable by using this tool.”

Patricia Callan, Director, the Small Firms Association (SFA) welcomes the new application which will assist small businesses to improve efficiency: “The Office Energy Expert is a welcome tool for Irish businesses as being mindful of the need to monitor and use energy more efficiently can only be good news and I suspect it will gain plenty of support among small to medium sized business when they see what it can mean for them in terms of savings.”

If you would like to know more about Electric Ireland or their range of products visit www.electricireland.ie.

Heineken: Long Story

Heineken Ireland have just launched their latest ad campaign, the Long Story. The campaign is driven by a brand new, Irish-made TV ad described as "a punchy but light-hearted look at how one man finds himself making the most of an unexpected circumstance and the fun that can be found in every moment."

The ad is a short narrative of one man’s adventure to recover his unfinished drink, 'cleaned up' by an eager waiter. In his attempt to reclaim his last mouthful of Heineken the hero inadvertently finds himself trapped on an express train from Paris to St. Petersburg. Here he entertains his fellow passengers with his story of woe and has a bit of fun along the way. Once he gets to St. Petersburg everything almost starts over again.

To celebrate the launch of the ad, Heineken will be putting on a special event this Thursday (2nd February) at the Old Harcourt Street train station, The Odeon. As well as stepping the Odeon back in time for the evening, Heineken will also have Ryan Sheridan, who wrote and performed the track featured on the ad, on hand to give an intimate, acoustic performance.

Anyone who would like to attend the event can apply for tickets on the Heineken Facebook page.

***Update***

Here is footage from the evening Heineken hosted in The Odeon with Ryan Sheridan.

Chinese New Year And Kildare Village

It's hard to believe it's been a year already, but Chinese New Year is here again and Kildare Village is right in the middle of celebrations for the year of the Dragon.

This year, for the year of the dragon, Kildare Village has launched a really cool augmented reality smartphone app*, the “Chic Dragon”, to celebrate the festival. The app, which marks the first use of augmented reality by a luxury outlet retailer, is free to download and features an animated dragon that takes users on an interactive journey through scenes of the nine Chic Outlet Shopping Villages. Customers just scan the code on posters around the Village and watch the dragon come to life on their screens. In addition, everyone who interacts with the app and watches the “Chic Dragon” video are in with a chance to win a €500 shopping spree.

Beyond the app and competition, no Chinese New Year would be complete without the official ceremonies that surround the festival. Kildare Village is getting into the spirit again this year by decorating the pedestrian streets of the Village in their festive best. Fortune cookies will also be distributed in the boutiques, restaurants and the tourist information centre from Friday 27th until Sunday 29th January.

Over the weekend of the 28th and 29th January there will be a number of traditional and contemporary entertainment acts in the Village such as vibrant Lion and Dragon Dance displays and Chinese opera performers. For further information on Dublin Chinese New Year Festival please visit www.cny.ie and for events happening at Kildare Village please see www.kildarevillage.com.


* The Chic Dragon app for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android is free to download from the App Store and the Android Market from 16 January 2012.

Talk To Joe With Lyons Tea

RTÉ Radio 1 announces Lyons Gold Blend Tea as
new sponsor of RTE Radio 1’s Liveline with Joe Duffy

You may have noticed that I have a bit of a soft spot for Lyons Tea - you can find several posts on their recent work here on Digitology. So I'm delighted to announce that Lyons Tea has joined forces with RTÉ Radio 1’s Liveline. The Lyons Gold Blend brand – “the richer tasting tea” – will is now the sponsor of the country’s 2nd most listened to radio show (398,000 listeners) with an exciting 12 month sponsorship deal.

Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea commented: “We are thrilled to be the new show sponsor. Lyons Tea has long been associated with the art of conversation through its ‘Talk’ campaigns and there is no better talker or facilitator of talk than RTE Radio 1 presenter Joe Duffy – it’s the perfect pairing.”

Tara Farrell, Sponsorship Manager, RTÉ Radio said: “The Lyons Tea Liveline sponsorship is a significant one for RTÉ Radio 1. Lyons Tea, of course, is an institution, and so is Liveline. We look forward to a successful year ahead for both partners and, yes, lots of talk!.”

The sponsorship package includes six sponsor credited stings per day, a 12 month presence on the Liveline home page, podcast sponsorship plus sponsorship of all Liveline Funny Friday outside broadcasts.

100 Things To Watch In 2012

Great presentation from JWT

LG - Smart Thief

LG launched this on Youtube on 28th December to promote their new OLED Ultra Slim LED television, which they claim is the world’s slimmest TV screen.

Check out the number of views already...

Guinness Storehouse Still Ireland's No.1

With its visitor numbers increasing by 10% in 2011, it's no surprise that The Guinness Storehouse has announced it attracted over a million (1,025,677) visitors through its doors last year. Not only does this see Guinness Storehouse retain its position as Ireland’s no.1 international visitor attraction but also as the fourth largest brand visitor attraction in the world.

Speaking at the announcement today, Managing Director, Paul Carty said: “We are delighted to announce we are still the no. 1 international visitor attraction in Ireland with over 1 million people passing through the Guinness Storehouse doors last year. Over the past number of years, the Irish tourism industry has been under severe pressure and we are proud to have played a part in enticing overseas visitors to Ireland and encouraging domestic visits too.”

Mr Carty continued “all eyes were on Ireland during the high profile state visits of US President Obama Barack Obama and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II last May and this had a positive impact on our visitor numbers. A very successful St Patrick’s Day festival and the launch of FIVE, an entirely new experience dedicated to Guinness and Food at the Storehouse also contributed to helping us achieve our second highest footfall figures ever recorded.”

Welcoming the Guinness Storehouse figures, Alex Connolly, Head of Communications at Fáilte Ireland emphasised: “Visitor attractions play a vital part in growing both tourism revenue and visitor numbers and these figures today reflect an increase in overseas visitors last year and maybe also a royal bounce from the Queen’s visit. If we can maintain this momentum in 2012, there is every reason to believe that the Storehouse, and all our other key tourism attractions, can further increase visitor numbers this year. That will be good for tourism and great for our economy”.


Visitor Breakdowns:

• 92% of all visitors to the Guinness Storehouse are from overseas.
• Visitors from the USA, Germany, the UK, Ireland and Italy were ranked as the top five visiting nations to Guinness Storehouse.
• German visitors were up 17%
• US visitors were up 14%
• Irish visitors were up 14%
• Italian visitors were up 5%
• August was ranked as the busiest month in the history of the Storehouse with 116,021 visitors.

Guinness Storehouse Facts:

• The Guinness Storehouse is ranked the fourth largest branded visitor centre in the world after Hersheypark in Pennsylvania; Autostadt, the Audi/Volkswagen Centre in Wolfsburg, Germany; and the Coca-Cola Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
• The Guinness Storehouse has welcomed over 9 million visitors since opening its doors in 2000
• 92% of all visitors to the GUINNES STOREHOUSE are international. The top 5 nationalities who visit the Storehouse are (1) USA (2) UK (3) ROI (4) Italy (5) Germany.
• Approximately 150 people are employed at the Guinness Storehouse
• 1 in 2 holiday-makers who visit Dublin, visit the Guinness Storehouse
• The building is 125 feet high, 170 feet long and 151 feet wide.
• It would take 14.3 million pints of Guinness to fill the giant glass atrium in centre of the Guinness Storehouse building
• Over 1.6 million visitors have tasted Guinness for their first time
• Over 400,000 visitors have learned how to pour a pint of Guinness
• Gravity Bar is the highest bar in Dublin located 44 metres off the ground

Ross O’Carroll Kelly Named Ireland's Favourite Book

---Press Release---

‘The Oh My God Delusion’, Ross O’Carroll Kelly, tops Eason’s book poll as the nation’s favourite read

Wednesday 21st December: Dublin 4’s best-loved resident Ross O’ Carroll-Kelly has certainly captured the heart of the nation as ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ from the series written by author Paul Howard has been crowned Ireland’s Favourite Book.

As part of their 125th anniversary celebrations, Eason, Ireland’s leading retailer of book stationery, magazines and much more launched a search to find the nation’s favourite read as voted by the people of Ireland. For weeks, thousands have been casting their vote via Eason’s new look website, www.easons.com, from a list of 125 top titles but it was Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ that came out on top, competing with classics as such James Joyce ‘Ulysses’, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ and childhood favourites such as Roald Dahl’s ‘BFG’.

Speaking about Eason’s search to find Ireland’s favourite book, Maria Dickenson, Head of Book Purchasing at Eason said “What a diverse bunch of readers we are in Ireland! Thanks to everyone who voted, it’s been incredibly interesting to watch the votes coming in and gaining an insight into what makes us tick when it comes to reading – we each take away something unique from each book we read. Ross O’Carroll Kelly was a certainly a strong contender throughout and we’re delighted to have an Irish book come out on top. Congratulations to Paul for a great win and we trust Ross will be occupying our book shelves for years to come!”

Commenting on his prestigious win on Newstalk’s Tom Dunne show, Paul Howard, author of the Ross O’Carroll Kelly series said, “I am thrilled that ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ has topped Eason’s poll to find the nation’s favourite book. I’ve been writing Ross O’Carroll-Kelly books for 13 years now and it’s very gratifying that readers still find the books relevant and funny. ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ is the tenth novel in the series, which I began writing as a way of poking fun at middle class rugby culture but which became a means of satirising Celtic Tiger Ireland.

“This book was the first recession era book, tracing the descent of Ross and his circle of friends from affluence to penury. It’s great that readers have stuck with the story and are still laughing. And God knows we need a laugh in these grim times! I’d like to say a very special thanks to Eason, who have huge supporters of Ross since the very first book, and everyone who voted”, continued Paul.

The top ten books included:
1. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly: THE OH MY GOD DELUSION, author Paul Howard
2. To Kill a Mocking Bird, author Harper Lee
3. Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
4. Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
6. PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
7. Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini
8. Room, author Emma Donoghue
9. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
10. Catch 22, author Joseph Heller


Individual Counties’ Favourite Book:

Carlow (tied first)
Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Cavan
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien

Clare (all tied first)
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini

Cork To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee

Donegal (all tied first)
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Dublin
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Galway (tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Kerry (all tied first)
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern

Kildare
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Kilkenny
My Sister’s Keeper, author Jodi Picoult

Laois
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Limerick (tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Longford (tied first)
Time Travellers Wife, author Audrey Niffenegger
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, author Susan Clark

Louth (all tied first)
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Circle of Friends, author Maeve Binchy
Handmaids Tale, author Margaret Atwood
Life of Pi, author Yann Martel
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

Mayo (all tied first)
Catch 22, author Joseph Heller
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
The Notebook, author Nicholas Sparks
We need to Talk About Kevin, author Lionel Shriver

Meath
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne

Monaghan
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Offaly
The Alchemist, author Paulo Coelho

Roscommon (tied first)
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee

Tipperary (all tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Waterford
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Westmeath
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne Boyne

Wexford (tied first)
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Wicklow
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Axe Wishes You A 'Merry Hot Christmas'

Axe's latest campaign comes in the form of a Facebook application Christmas e-card. I'm not going to say anything, just clickthrough and take a look.

Beer enthusiasts quench their thirst for knowledge

---Press Release---

ThisIsBeer.ie has arrived. Thisisbeer.ie is Ireland’s newest online beer hub built to celebrate the natural goodness of beer. Some of the best beer brands in the world have come together to create a platform where enthusiasts and novices can discuss, learn about and experience beer to its fullest.

Over 40,000 beers worldwide are made of just three natural ingredients; water, hops, and barley, making beer a natural match to food. ThisIsBeer.ie offers up a wide range of beers with delicious recipes, in keeping with the fast growing global trend of matching food.

With regular blog contributions from a wide range of experts in beer, nutrition and food, Thisisbeer.ie is the perfect place for budding beer aficionados to keep up to date on news and facts about beer. Thisisbeer.ie delivers video blogs, true or false beer quizzes and tips on how to pour, store and cool beer for the discerning beer drinker.

David Forde, Managing Director at Heineken Ireland said “This website is a great opportunity for both beer enthusiasts and those who enjoy an occasional beer to get the best out of the most refreshing drink out there; beer. With its natural ingredients, a beer is the perfect accompaniment for food and ThisIsBeer.ie offers the perfect combination of creating a meal to complement your favourite beer, while also showing how beer enhances your food.”

The website is a Heineken Ireland initiative and features the wide range of beers available from Ireland’s number one lager company. Heineken Ireland’s portfolio includes beers from around the world such as Ireland’s number one lager; Heineken, Tiger, Coors Light and a full range of specialty beers which includes Paulaner, Moretti, Affligem and Zwyiec.

ESB Electric Ireland - Tweet 'em Home For Christmas

Last Thursday and Friday saw Twitter abuzz with the ESB Electric Ireland Tweet ‘Em Home for Christmas campaign. The campaign, which was a huge success, saw over 47,000 tweets generated and a total of €80,000 donated to charity!

Concern Worldwide (Team A supported by RTE 2FM's Hector and www.culch.ie) ultimately won with the greatest number of tweets for their hashtag #ESBElectricIrelandTeamA. The team generated over 18,000 tweets and secured an additional donation of €20,000 for the charity.

Following a phenomenal initial response from the general public and Twittesphere ESB Electric Ireland set a new challenge on the second day of the campaign: to reach a target of 25,000 tweets. This target was achieved and an additional €10,000 was donated to each of the three charities involved bringing the total to €20,000 for each charity and an additional €20,000 for the winning charity.

The teams were as follows:
Team A: Musician Mundy and Comedian Joe Rooney, with support from 2FM’s Hector and www.culch.ie
Charity: Concern Worldwide
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamA

Team B: Comedian Andrew Stanley and RTE Presenter Katie Van Buren, with support from 2FM’s Rick O’Shea and www.joe.ie
Charity: Irish Cancer Society
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamB hashtag

Team C: Magician Keith Barry and Rugby Commentator Brent Pope, with support from 2FM’s Will Leahy and www.entertainment.ie
Charity: ISPCCwill
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamC


For further details on ISPCC visit www.ispcc.ie, on Irish Cancer Society visit www.cancer.ie, and on Concern Worldwide visit www.concern.net.

Irish Language Social Media Site

---Press Release---

Abair Leat!, the world’s first social network exclusively dedicated to a minority language – Irish – will be launched on to the Irish market in the New Year.

In the run up to the launch, Abair Leat! is calling on anyone with an interest in the Irish language or interested in learning Irish to become beta testers and try out the new social media site. This will provide the company with useful feedback on the workings of the site. Those interested are asked to log on to www.abairleat.com and create an account with Abair Leat! - to be one of the first people to use the new social network outside the company.

AbairLeat! will be the world’s first social network / user generated content application exclusively dedicated to Gaeilge. The online network has the immediate effect of transforming learners into users. Abair Leat! uses custom made software that checks the percentage of Irish language content in all updates and posts. The network will be extremely useful for student with built in translation and spell check support. The site is also a great way for students to interact with each other in Irish in preparation for their Leaving Cert or college examinations.

Abair Leat! came about when staff of Irish college Coláiste Lurgan in Galway wished to work with new developments in IT to enable students to prepare for a cúrsa Gaeilge on their home PCs. The Abair Leat! project was then undertaken by web designers Block 5 Design to develop a series of online Irish games. Since then, Abair Leat! has gone from strength to strength with a new partnership emerging in 2011 with world renowned US-based online business Fantasy Interactive (FI) to create a unique social media site for the Irish Language.

FI is one of the world’s leading interactive agencies based in New York. Fantasy Interactive specialise in interactive design, mobile and application development and social media for some of the biggest brands in the world such as Google, Red Bull, CNN, and Fox. With such an extensive resume behind them, the team is happy to say they have created something completely unique to the social media world.

Abair Leat! aims to have up to 50,000 users by the end of 2012. Be one of the first to sample this unique IT experience by logging on to www.abairleat.com , create an account and get corresponding ‘as Gaeilge’.

ESB Electric Ireland - Tweet 'em Home For Christmas

Yesterday ESB Electric Ireland announced that Mike Carey, Liz Cotter and Ian O’Flynn were selected as the lucky drivers who will help Tweet ‘em Home for Christmas. Each of the drivers and their “star navigator” will receive €10,000 from ESB Electric Ireland for their chosen charity and will also have the chance to win an additional €20,000 for the winning charity by competing to generate Tweets using the three team hashtags.

Team A: Musician Mundy and Comedian Joe Rooney
Charity: Concern Worldwide
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamA

Team B: Comedian Andrew Stanley and RTE Presenter Katie Van Buren
Charity: Irish Cancer Society
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamB hashtag

Team C: Magician Keith Barry and Rugby Commentator Brent Pope
Charity: ISPCCwill
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamC

The teams will travel from Dublin to Galway and back again this Thursday and Friday, December 8th and 9th in a Renault Trophy, a DeLorean and a New York yellow taxi cab. The teams will compete in a number of challenges in various towns along the way to earn additional Tweet energy for their cars.

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager, ESB Electric Ireland commented, “ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Em Home for Christmas is just around the corner now. It gives people the chance to give something to charity this year in a fun and engaging way by simply using social media like Twitter and Facebook. We want to urge everyone to help our three teams by tweeting or by liking on Facebook using the relevant hashtags to power the cars as they drive across the country on Thursday and Friday!”

People can follow the progress of each of the teams in real time using the Facebook App on the ESB Electric Ireland Facebook Page

For further details on ISPCC visit www.ispcc.ie, on Irish Cancer Society visit www.cancer.ie, and on Concern Worldwide visit www.concern.net

The Saba Cookbook

If you're a regular reader of Digitology you'll know that I love Thai food, and in particular I love Saba here in Dublin. So you can imagine how incredibly delighted I was to hear that Saba have just launched a cook book, The Saba Cookbook. To tell you the truth, this isn't a new idea and has very much been on the cards for Tweesak Trakoolwattana (known as Tao), Saba Executive Chef, and Saba’s owner Paul Cadden for some time. The two have always wanted to create a cook book that would showcase their restaurant's authentic Thai food.

What makes this a particularly noteworthy endeavour, beyond the absolute deliciousness of the offerings therein, is that all proceeds are to be split between an Irish charity, Our Lady’s Hospital for sick children in Crumlin, and a Thai charity, the Thai Red Cross (who help with the recent floods in Tao’s hometown, Bangkok).

The book will offer us budding Thai cooks nearly different authentic 100 recipes and will cover everything from Tao's tasty Thai soups and salads to his now famous curries and stir fries. You'll also find some desserts in there to create the perfect, complete Thai meal.

I definitely recommend this as the perfect gift this Christmas for anyone you know who loves Thai food!

Ireland's Favourite Book

This Tuesday, Eason launched the search to find Ireland’s Favourite Book. As part of their 125th anniversary celebrations, Eason has compiled a list of the top 125 books over the years and has invited the public to cast their vote to crown the nation’s favourite book of all time.

Speaking about Eason’s search to crown Ireland’s favourite book, Maria Dickenson, Head of Book Purchasing at Eason said “As part of our 125th celebrations we have carefully compiled a list of the top 125 books over the years which includes a wide range of favourites from the childhood classic Roald Dahl’s ‘BFG’, William Goulding’s modern classic ‘Lord of The Flies’, much loved Irish fiction Patrick McCabe’s ‘Butcher’s Boy’, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ and Cecelia Ahern with’ PS. I Love You’ and many more.”

Maria continued “We are a nation of book lovers and our team at Eason’s are really excited about hearing from the people all around Ireland as to what their most loved book is. Books often evoke very vivid memories or milestones in our lives. The fun is thinking about all the books that we have read and why it made such an impact on us – it can often tell a lot about a person when they reveal their favourite book so we are really interested to see what comes out top as the nation’s choice.”

Some of the much loved authors who feature on the list of 125 books have shared their personal favourites with Eason;

“I will say that I could die happy if I'd written ‘His Dark Materials’ by Philip Pullman” - Emma Donoghue author of Room

“I’m a sucker for doomed romance – ‘Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald-” - Patrick McCabe, author of Butcher Boy

“I feel honoured and so incredibly proud to be included in this list of 125 favourite books. Every day I appreciate how people have welcomed PS I Love You into their hearts. My favourite book of all time is ‘The Time Traveller's Wife’ by Audrey Niffenegger - it's a modern classic, a quirky love story which is so beautifully written” – Cecelia Ahern, author of PS I Love You .

“One of my favourite books is John McGahern's masterpiece ‘Amongst Women’. I love its quiet faith, its insistence on its own terms. It conjures a world that is absolutely specific to itself, down to the most minuscule, seemingly inconsequential detail, but in so doing manages the alchemy of saying something about every life. The family it depicts is somehow every Irish family of a certain era, held together by its secrets, bound by its evasions, by a web of loyalties, only one of which is love.” - Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of The Sea

Eason’s is now calling on people throughout the Island of Ireland to have their say and vote for their favourite book by logging onto their new look website www.easons.com/bookpoll. Each voter will automatically be entered into a draw where one lucky winner will walk away with the entire collection of 125 books! Entry is open until Sunday 18th December 2011.

‘S’Up Santa?’

Back in August I posted about Three Ireland's latest campaign, 'S'Up'. The advertising campaign featured Jedward and saw the two pop stars become advertising foremen for the mobile brand.

Now as Christmas quickly approaches Three have launched their seasonal campaign, which also features the duo and promotes their limited edition Jedward handset. The handset, a limited edition Samsung Galaxy Europa I5500, will be the brands Christmas hero handset and feature prominently on all advertising. The above the line campaign of which commenced last Monday (14th November) and runs for six weeks until 22nd December 2011. This consists of 20 second TV advertisements on RTE, TV3, 3E, Sky packages, Comedy Central, MTV E!, Living and E4, and on Video on Demand on 4OD.

The TV ad was directed by Damien O’Donnell, who has directed the films; ‘East is East’, ‘Heartlands’, and ‘Inside I’m Dancing’, and produced by Russ Russell of Russell Curran Productions. The campaign was developed by McCann Erickson.

The Samsung Galaxy Europa I5500 handset is available from all 3Stores and stockists and online at Three.ie from now. The handset comes in a giftbox with some additional Jedtastic goodies including; a signed Jedward postcard, a Jedward phone sock and a limited edition ‘S’Up’ badge!

Commenting on the launch, Sales and Marketing Director, Elaine Carey at Three, said: “We at Three are very excited to be launching an exclusive ‘Jedward’ Samsung Galaxy Europa Christmas gift pack, for just €69. This Christmas we have something for everyone, from handset offers to broadband and bundle offers. Given the popularity of the Jedward ‘S’Up’ phrase in the last instalment of the campaign, we expect lots of people to be asking ‘S’Up Santa?’ in the run up to Christmas.”

Andrea Galligan, Senior Account Manager at McCann Erickson commented ‘All of us at McCann Erickson are very excited to bring Jedward back for Christmas. Jedward and Santa on the same couch, you know it’s going to be magic! We really think this campaign captures the festive mood and we have a feeling that the limited edition Jedward Samsung Europa will be on quite a few wish lists this Christmas.’

Via the 2.8” Capacitive touch screen and Android Froyo 2.2 on board, the Samsung Galaxy Europa is ideal for social networking with direct photo upload to Facebook, Twitter and Picasa Web Albums and direct video upload to Youtube for instant sharing on the move. The handset features a 2MP camera with 4X digital zoom, an MP4 video player, GPS, WiFi, and a music player and comes with a 3.5mm stereo headset.

For further information on Three visit www.three.ie.

ESB Electric Ireland - Tweet 'em Home For Christmas

Last Thursday, 17th November, ESB Electric Ireland announced the launch of their latest campaign, ‘Tweet Em Home for Christmas’. The campaign sees three teams, each representing a different charity (the Irish Cancer Society, Concern Worldwide and the ISPCC), taking part in a two day drive across Ireland on the 8th and 9th December in cars powered by tweets and likes.

As part of this campaign, ESB Electric Ireland are running a competition on Facebook to give three people the chance to drive one of three teams of ‘star navigators’. The teams will include broadcaster Brent Pope, musician Mundy, comedians Andrew Stanley and Joe Rooney, magician Keith Barry and ‘Juice’ presenter, Katie Van Buren.

Team 1: Concern – Mundy and Katie Van Buren in the DeLorean
Team 2: Irish Cancer Society – Andrew Stanley and Joe Rooney in the New York Taxi
Team 3: ISPCC – Brent Pope and Keith Barry in the Ecar

Full details are on the Facebook Page with a closing date for entries of the 1st December 2011.

Each of the charities will receive €10,000 from ESB Electric Ireland and then the three teams will compete to receive an additional €20,000. The celebrity teams will compete to generate Tweets using a hashtag, with the tweets powering their cars as they cross the country. People can show their support for one of the charities by tweeting or posting on Facebook to top up their “tweet tank”.

The teams will be assigned one of three fantastic vehicles for the drive; an Ecar, a DeLorean and a New York yellow taxi cab. The vehicles will travel from Dublin to Galway and back again over two days with ‘star navigators’ taking it in turns to help the drivers cross the country and to generate power using their own social media channels. The teams will compete in a number of challenges along the way to earn additional Tweet energy for their cars and additional details will be announced in the coming weeks. People can follow the progress of each of the teams in real time using the Facebook App on the ESB Electric Ireland Facebook page.

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager, ESB Electric Ireland commented, "ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Em Home for Christmas gives people the chance to have some fun while also supporting charities - particularly important at this time of year - simply by using social media like Twitter and Facebook. The use of Tweets to power the cars makes this extremely innovative, and we’re delighted to have so many personalities on board for the drive as well as three incredible cars, which will be a sight to behold along the three routes from Dublin to Galway and back."

For further details on ISPCC visit www.ispcc.ie, on Irish Cancer Society visit www.cancer.ie, and on Concern Worldwide visit www.concern.net.

TV Guide Ireland iPhone App

"What's small and smart and sits open on 40,000 sofas every evening? Yep, the new and improved TV Guide Ireland Version 1.1 from entertainment.ie which now includes programme reminders and is iOS5 compatible."

TV Guide Ireland, which launched two months ago and has over 40,000 users, has undergone an upgrade and released a new version. The latest iteration of the popular app now features integrated programme reminders. This is an awesome new feature and completes the app in my opinion - not only can you check TV listings for over 60 channels but with the new reminders feature you won't miss them!

The app includes a 7 Day TV listings guide with full programme details and descriptions. It also allows you to create a personalised channel list. The app's most popular section, "Now & Next", is still there and tells viewers what's on each channel 'now' and what's coming up 'next'. For those of you that are on Twitter the app is also fully integrated.

Managing Director of entertainment.ie Julian Douglas said, "It's fascinating to see how this app has become an indispensable companion to TV watching in the evenings. It's a really useful app, has strong usage and traffic and is a powerful tool for both users and advertisers."

Download the latest version of the app here.

Lyons Tea Calls On All ‘Mugs’

Trade in your old mug for Lyons Tea special edition Gold Blend mug as part of Christmas mug giveaway

Lyons Tea last week announced the details of their first ever 'Mug Scrappage Scheme' taking place this Thursday, 17th November, at 11am on Dublin’s South King Street (top of Grafton Street). The Scheme offers tea drinkers the chance to trade in their most unwanted mug and walk away with the much-coveted Lyons Gold Blend mug.

Every tea drinker has their favourite mug. It's the right shape, the right weight and it always makes the perfect cuppa. However, since the airing of Lyons Tea Gold Blend television advertisement, tea drinkers all over Ireland have been itching to get their hands on the now famous red Gold Blend mug featured in the ads. On top of that everyone has an unwanted mug that they would love to get rid off. Perhaps it harbours unhappy memories from a past love, is too thick-rimmed, too big or too small - the reasons are endless. So, between these two situations the 'Mug Scrappage Scheme' was born.

Don't worry though, if you can't make it into the city centre this Thursday, you will be able to get your own red mug with every purchase of Lyons Gold Blend 160 pack this Christmas.

For those that can pop in, the Lyons Tea Team will be on hand to accept all unwanted mugs and of course hand out the popular Gold Blend mugs in return, with lots of Gold Blend tea sampling for everyone who comes along.

What happens to all these unwanted mugs you may ask. Well, as part of its Mug Scrappage Scheme, Lyons Tea has teamed up with Age Action Ireland to put all tea drinkers’ unwanted mugs to good use by selling them in their charity shops.

Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea comments, “Tea drinkers place almost as much importance on their mug as they do on the actual tea within. There has been so much demand for our red Gold Blend mugs that we thought a mug scrappage scheme would be a fun way to distribute the sought-after mugs. We hope to see everyone on Thursday 17th trading in their unwanted mugs and in doing so helping to support Age Action.”

Tea drinkers can also add to their mug collection through Facebook where there's a chance to win Lyons Gold Blend red mugs in the lead up to Christmas.


About Lyons Tea
· Lyons Tea employs expert master blenders and tasters to select the best blends and combination of some of the finest teas from Kenya, Assam from India and Ceylon from Sri Lanka to produce the highest quality tea. Lyons Tea is available from leading supermarkets and retailers nationwide.
· Lyons is Ireland’s number one tea brand with 43.9% market share***; Lyons is an iconic Irish brand with more than 100 years of tradition in Ireland, having started business in Dublin in 1902 near Christ Church Cathedral. It is now owned by Unilever Ireland.
· Lyons Tea is Ireland’s favourite tea. The Lyons Tea range includes Lyons Gold Blend, Lyons Original Blend, Lyons Gold Blend Reserve, Lyons Kenya Blend, and Lyons Decaffeinated Tea. Lyons Green Tea is available in original, with Lemon and with Mint. For further information on Lyons Tea visit www.lyonstea.ie
· Lyons tea is currently working with the Rainforest Alliance - independent experts in sustainability and by 2012 all our tea will only come from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.

***AC Nielsen October 2011

A taste of Thailand with the Smirnoff 'Bangkok Collins'

In preparation of Smirnoff's upcoming Night Life Exchange Project and to honour the brands long standing history of drinks inspired by different cultures, Smirnoff have decided to share with us a delightful new cocktail: The Smirnoff Bangkok Collins.

The drink, inspired by the tastes of South East Asia, will remind anyone who has visited Thailand of some of your favourite Thai places. It includes traditional Thai ingredients that will make you want to experience the Thai culture for yourself.

Create this delicious drink at home using the following method:
Ingredients:
Smirnoff No. 21 - 35.5ml
Lemon juice - 15ml
Ginger syrup - 5ml
Soda - 100ml
Lemongrass stick - 1

Method:
Pour lemon juice, syrup and vodka into the base of a highball glass with crushed ice
Fill the glass with cubed ice
Top with soda and stir
Bash the thick end of lemongrass as it helps to release the flavour
Garnish with lemongrass, lemon wheel and a straw

For the chance to have one of these delicious drinks made for you by a Smirnoff Mixologist, make sure to grab your ticket for the Nightlife Exchange Project, which are now on sale exclusively through the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page.

Carlsberg Wants To Upgrde Your Visit To The O2

Carlsberg offers their Irish Facebook fans the chance
to upgrade their night to a VIP experience at The O2

Carlsberg are all about great night out. Of course then it's not surprising that they teamed up with The O2 to become the concert venues to be their official beer. What might surprise you though is that Carlsberg want to offer you the chance to upgrade* your night to The Premium Club at The O2 for selected gigs through the Carlsberg Ireland Facebook page.

If you're a Carlsberg Ireland Facebook fan with tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers on Novemeber 4th, Kasabian on November 26th, Duran Duran on December 20th, Primal Scream on December 29th, Snow Patrol on January 20th and 21st or Noel Gallgher on February 17th, you have the chance to upgrade your night and enjoy a Carlsberg VIP after party in The Premium Club @ The O2.

From November 4th, you and up to five of your friends** will be greeted at The Premium Club @ The O2 entrance by Carlsberg hostesses. You will have access to the club pre-gig where you can hang out with your friends and enjoy party beats and the luxury surroundings of The Premium Club.

Then after the gig you can pop back to The Premium Club for a Carlsberg after-party and live set by Irish DJ Mo Kelly. Finally, to make the whole night truly unforgettable, you will also be picked up by a complimentary taxi and brought back to the City Centre* at the end of the night.

Dawn Allison, Brand Manager Carlsberg, Diageo Ireland, said “We are delighted to be bringing a brand new and exclusive experience to our Irish Facebook fans through the Carlsberg Upgrade Your Night campaign. Starting from the first gig on November 4th, we plan to bring a series of exclusive experiences to Carlsberg fans across Ireland and give concert ticket holders the chance to enjoy true VIP treatment.”

Carlsberg Ireland Facebook fans will be able to upgrade their night on a first come first serve basis through the Upgrade Your Night’ Tab on Facebook.com/CarlsbergIreland.


* Upgrades do not include tickets to selected gigs.
** Friends must also have tickets to the selected gigs to gain access to The Premium Club.
** O2 gigs included in the upgrade are Red Hot Chili Peppers on November 4th - Kasabian on November 26th - Duran Duran on December 20th - Primal Scream on December 29th - Snow Patrol on January 20th and 21st
Upgraded guests are allowed to bring up to five friends with tickets for the gig to the Carlsberg experience in the O2 Premium Club.

Counting Down to Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

The count down is well and truly on. There's now just three weeks until the 2011 Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project. In preparation for the event I was lucky enough to be invited to a special Smirnoff experience last Thursday night at in The Grafton Lounge. The event saw Kenji Jesse, Smirnoff Global Ambassador, dropping into town to create and demonstrate an array of impressive Smirnoff cocktails. Ahead of the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project, Kenji wanted to give a taste of what was in store for guests. His creations on the night included the Smirnoff Thai Collins, Smirnoff Big Apple and Smirnoff Lemon Lime Bitters, as well as a few Smirnoff favourites like the Moscow Mule.

The real fun on the evening came, however, when the guests got to try our hands at creating our own Thai cocktail. I'm fairly proud to say that Jules and I were joint winners with our Lychee-nee-tini. First we crushed Lychees and Kaffir Lime leaves, and blended them with a dash of Lime juice and Lime and Ginger syrup. Then pack the glass with ice cubes and pour over a measure of Smirnoff. Finally, top it all off with soda and a sprig of mint.

This year's Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project will be held in Dublin's CHQ Building on Saturday 12th November. Tickets can be bought exclusively through the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page for just €10 each.

Not only will there be delicious cocktails such as we enjoyed on Thursday but also a assortment of exotic Thai food to nibble on. Beyond the delightful food and drink there will also be some seriously cool music to dance to. Dublin born and Australian tamed dance sensation The Potbelleez will headline the evening with support from Fourplay DJ’s Ray Shah, Killian O’Sullivan, Steven Cooper and Rory Lynam, and DJ Gordo.

For more information check out the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page and stay tuned!

Johnnie Walker

Some time ago I wrote about the brilliant Johnnie Walker ad, 'The Man Who Walked Around The World'. The spot, starring Robert Carlyle, is perhaps one of my favourite ads ever. The concept is clean and fresh. The copy and dialogue is succinct and to the point. The overall effect, though expensive and less than easy to create, is one of utter ease. Carlyle is effortless and the ad feels like it could have been shot by him alone one Sunday in the Highlands.

This is the ad...

Last week Johnnie Walker released a new ad for the Brazilian market. This is the ad...

This ad is contrived, filled with poor acting and lacking any sort of connection with the brand, in my honest opinion. I don't understand how a brand could have come so far, in the completely wrong direction. There is nothing about this ad that I like. It does not make me think of the brand heritage, it does not make me think about the natural ingredients and processes that go into its making, and it does not make me even slightly want to drink Johnnie Walker.

I don't know what you did but it is all wrong.

Tickets Now On Sale For The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

On 12th November, Ireland will receive the very best of Thailand’s nightlife for a one of a kind experience. This week sees tickets for the next Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project go on sale. If you want to pick up some you'll find them exclusively available through the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page for just €10 each.

Guests at the event in the CHQ building, Dublin can expect to sip on delicious drinks, enjoy the best of Thai food and dance to some seriously awesome international music. Kicking off the night in style will be DJ Gordo. DJ Gordo is perhaps best known for supporting Calvin Harris on his Irish tour. Next up you'll experience Dublin's Fourplay DJ’s Ray Shah, Killian O’Sullivan, Steven Cooper and Rory Lynam. Then last, but very much not least, Australian dance sensation the Potbelleez will rock the dancefloor with their unique mix of dance, electro and hip hop beats.

For those of you who think you have the moves, there's also still plenty of time to enter the exclusive online dance competition. To enter the competition to find the best dancer and join Madonna's official dance crew, just upload a sixty second clip of you dancing to a Madonna track. Smirnoff have also confirmed that Madonna will attend the New York celebration to help handpick the overall global winner of a dance competition alongside her choreographers Rich + Tone.

To find out more, follow the action on facebook.

Belfast Crew Land Dream Trip To Caribbean With Captain Morgan

Following a six week search, Captain Morgan has selected a team from Belfast as the most worthy crew to represent Ireland in The Captain’s Island 2011. The Belfast team is made up of three crew members: their leader Ross McDonald and his mates Calvin Holohan Doyle and Jonathan Haggarty. Winning out over 7,500 teams from across Ireland, the crew had to pit their skills in a series of tests and challenges.

The next stage will see the crew compete in an island adventure against 12 other countries from around the world. Their collective leadership, teamwork, bravado, clever thinking and masculinity will be put to the ultimate test in challenges laid out by Captain Morgan himself.

The Captain’s Island 2011 Challenge will be hosted over three days (October 10th-13th) and take place at a secret location in the Caribbean. Actress Mena Suvari will be on hand on The Captain’s Island to report back on the adventures, interviewing the crew along the way.

Captain Morgan commented: “I only want the best crews from around the world on my island and so far the guys who will represent Ireland look to have all the attributes I’d be looking for. However, they’ve only just got over the first challenge – which frankly wasn’t that difficult – so let’s see how they fare when I really put them through their paces on my Island. I’m not going to give my £13,000 bounty to just anyone so they better show they’ve got what it takes to impress the Captain.”

Competition winner Ross McDonald stated, “It’s an incredible honour to represent Ireland on The Captain’s Island. The Irish lads from last year’s Captain’s Cup team won the overall prize in South Africa so it has made us even more determined to bring the £13,000 bounty home to Ireland!’

To follow all of their adventures visit Captain Morgan’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CaptainMorganIreland for exclusive pictures, commentary and videos of the challenge on The Captain’s Island.

Samsung Central Station

Loving this brand new video to promote Samsung's new Central Station range of USB hub monitors. It's a stop motion film featuring the perils of messy cables.

The monitors themselves include a wireless USB 2.0 dongle that you connect to your laptop. The monitor then ‘comes alive’ when your computer is within 3 feet of the ‘Central Station’. In addition you can plug all your desktop peripherals into it to be ready to go when you need them.

Credits
Client: Samsung Electronics
Director / Animator: Jey Mal
Production: The Viral Factory