Agency: DDB Stockholm

Client: Volkswagen

DDBH Stockholm have come up with an innovative viral campaign for Volkswagen to coincide with the promotion of their "BlueMotion Technologies" range of eco friendly cars. Based on the concept that “Fun is the best way to change peoples behaviour for the better”, the aim of the “Fun Theory” campaign is to convince people that doing the right thing for the environment can also be enjoyable.

Launched at the end of September, the first fun theory project involved turning the stairway of a Stockholm metro rail station into a giant piano keyboard. As a result, 66% more people chose to take the healthier option of the stairs rather than the escalator situated alongside. In the two weeks since the corresponding clip was launched on youtube, it has received over been over 1 million hits.

Two follow up projects have also been launched. The “World’s Deepest Bin” encouraged people to dump their rubbish in the bin by placing a sensor in a bin which plays a comical sound when someone places an item into it. The most recent project is the “Bottle Bank Arcade” which involved a regular bottle bank being transformed into a game by which customers competed to achieve a high score by recycling their bottles.

The clips all contain a call to action in the form of a link to the fun theory website where the public are encouraged to generate and film their own fun theory projects with the person who puts forward the best idea winning over €2500. DDB Stockholm’s Deputy Manager, Lars Axelsson, has said “By making driving and the world more fun, we turn the VW brand into a hero...Our experiments and our Fun Theory films make the world a better and more fun place to live.”

The inherent eco message in the campaign seems to hint at a shift by Volkswagen to promote itself as a “brand with a conscience”. Following in the footsteps of mega brands such as Dove and Toyota, Volkswagen appear to be positioning themselves as a brand that cares about bigger global issues such as the threat to the environment. The fact that such a strategy comes at a time when the company are seeking to infiltrate the increasingly competitive eco friendly car market is certainly no coincidence however.

Regardless of Volkswagens intentions, the novel innovative concept and the subtle inclusion of the logo at the end of the clips of seems to guarantee the fun theory’s success as a viral campaign over the next few months .

Johnnie Walker "The Man that Walked Around the World"

Agency: BBH London

Client: Johnnie Walker

Bag pipes, misty Scottish hills, Robert Carlyle and a 5 minute narration of the history of Johnnie Walker...in an age where 140 characters constitutes ‘engagement’ keeping the viewer listening intently for 5 minutes is surely an achievement worth recognizing!

In this beautifully shot new advertising campaign for Johnnie Walker, Robert Carlyle strolls through the Scottish highlands near Perthshire detailing the story of the iconic brand whilst interacting with a number of props relevant to the whiskey’s 190 year history. The story of the brand is both compelling and gripping but it is Carlyle, who achieved fame in “Trainspotting” and “The Full Monty” that really brings the copy to life.

The director James Rafn was also clearly impressed with his efforts and describes his experience of working with him on www.shots.net as follows:

“As soon as we started rehearsing however I quickly realized that Robert is an utter genius. Not only was he (as you'd expect) absolutely professional and determined to get it just right, but he also had this abundant natural charisma. He just filled the screen and possessed it. Robert is a natural story teller, and between takes had me utterly rapt with tales from his extraordinary career. I knew as soon as we started shooting, that we were in very safe hands.”

Perhaps even more intriguing than the story of brand’s birth growth and development is the fact that all five minutes and twenty two seconds of Carlyle’s narrative were captured in one shot. The ad that was finally released was the 40th (and last!) effort shot at 8pm on the last day of filming and goes down in history as one of the longest continuous takes. Mick Mahoney, BBH London Creative Director of the project had this to say on the challenges that this campaign presented:

"Every director we spoke to told us that it wasn’t possible to do what we wanted. That we would need concealed cuts and so on. Which would still have made a good film, but it’s the undertaking, the commitment,of doing it all in one take that makes it. Jamie Rafn was the only director who felt the same. Getting Robert Carlyle to do it then just took it up a gear. He has exactly the screen persona that we wanted. Tough, uncompromising, enigmatic.”

The concept of the mini movie also fits seamlessly into Johnnie Walker’s brand campaign of “Keep Walking”. From the basis of the story which is interlinked with the Johnnie Walker concept of “Inspiring Personal Progress”, to the reference to the “Keep Walking” slogan and even the mental image of Carlyle walking relentlessly towards the camera, the brand message is maintained throughout in a subtle and nuanced manner.

This campaign is a prime example of the fact that a good well told story still has the potential to capture the imagination of the media savvy audiences of today. The simplicity of the use of the props, an atmospheric soundtrack and the endearing bag piper abuse in the first minute of the clip means that the story is intriguing and the audience’s attention is maintained throughout. The brand’s unique and organic history is enough to capture and engage audiences without the need for dramatic special effects and complicated brand messages.

http://www.johnniewalker.com/

NIKE PLUS

Marketing Innovation Nike Plus

Although this is expected from a Mega brand like Nike, I am still so impressed with the “Nike Plus” campaign. We are always speaking to people about thinking outside the box and understanding their users first before jumping on the latest and greatest technologies to win new consumers, or to build brands. The “Nike Plus” campaign focuses around runners. (talk about segmentation – just athletes who are competitive and recreational runners).Athletes can go to the running section on the nike.com website. Runners purchase a Nike Plus running band which tracks a runners distance, time, calories etc, or they can get an iPod enabled device (called the iPod sports kit) that will do the same thing. (that other mega brand Apple “ran” right at this opportunity!)The Nike Plus device talks to the Nike Shoe – they call it the “Nike plus ready shoe” which is built to have a tracking device that syncs with the iPod or band. Each time the athlete runs using the band, they can load the information from the Nike Plus Sport Band into the Nike runners website. The device measures time, distance, pace, calories etc.The website http://www.nike.com/ then tracks each run, illustrating pace and distance for you and comparing it to your other runs, and other runners! It tracks changes in pace and helps the athlete to train by trending their performance over time.

Nike has created a true community of runners - all centred around the Nike brand. They also offer a community forum to connect with other runners around the world, and compete against runners. There is a race blog, uploaded photos of racers – and even a 10 K race planned for all users called “The Human Race 10 K” where runners will be ranked and countries will compete – all virtually using the data entered into the Nike Plus runners website.Without the Nike Plus ready shoes, runners need to be creative with attaching the chip to the shoe. The Nike brand is associated with all points along the way from the purchase of the band, to the shoes and the clothing, to the website facilitating the conversation and tracking personal performance. Brilliant integrated marketing as it allows Nike to market directly and indirectly to consumers through the community website portal, the Race itself, and all of the products required to participate in the Nike Plus running community.At the end of the day, we all don’t have the resources that Nike does to market their products – but we can take away the following best practices that Nike applied to this initiative.

Segmentation – it is not all about traditional demographics, dig deeper into your users or customers

Use Social Media to your advantage – allow your customers to have a “conversation” with you and with each other about your brand

O2 Be The Difference

Agency: Mc Connells
Client: O2 Ireland

Brief: To Engage the Irish Rugby supporter with the Rugby Team

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Background: The O2 Be The Difference Campaign promises to be one of the campaigns of the year. The idea behind this is to bring the supporter closer to the Irish rugby team by allowing them to have their names on the back of the player's jerseys.The numbers on the back of the jersey's are comprised of hundreds of names of O2 customers who had signed up for the Be The Difference campaign in O2 stores and online. These names first appeared on the players jersey's at the Ireland vs. England game at Croke Park on 28 February, and subsequently for the Grand Slam decider at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff between Wales and Ireland on 21 March.

Also, the thousands of names collected will also be used to create a unique poster campaign for the Six Nations. The campaign will feature iconic images of Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell made up of these signatures, and will give people from throughout Ireland the chance to show their support for the Irish team. Marketing Director for O2 Damian Devaney, said: "We wanted to create a strong bond between the players on the field and the supporters, both in stands, and around the country. Now we're bringing Irish supporters even closer to the team on match day in the knowledge that each and every one of them can be the difference for Declan, Brian and the team".

Creative Execution:

- A website http://www.bethedifference.ie/

- A Blog http://www.bethedifference.ie/blog/?p=104

- Outdoor Advertising

Check this out:

- Search for Eileen Murphy on Jersey No.22 by clicking here

Nike - Leave Nothing

Wow, this is without doubt the best sports ad I've seen in a very long time. I think any sports fan will agree. And the Last of The Mohicans soundtrack just makes it. Pure Nike. It was directed by Michael Mann who also did The Kingdom, Heat and Collateral

Pepsi Worldplay Inauguration Campaign

Agency: TBWA
Client: Pepsi
Brief: Celebrate inauguration of Obama as US president
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Background:
Pepsi, the world number two in the global soft drinks industry decided upon a campaign whereby they would use the new Pepsi logo as a comparison to the Obama campaign logo.The campaign was known as "Worldplay inauguration" and focused on the use of mnemonics to outline a message of hope, similar to that of the Obama campaign.

Creative Execution:
The campagin ran only in the United States and involved a poster campaign in Washington DC, LA, ans New York. This was supported by TV advertising which continued the theme of posters and an interactive blog whereby people could log on and upload videos to relating to the campaign. Check out the TV campaign ad below;

Cadbury Dairy Milk 'eyebrow dance'

Agency: Fallon

Client: Cadburys

Brief: Create a piece of content that gives people the same joyful feeling they have when they eat Cadbury Dairy Milk

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I first saw this and was totally confused, but yet not surprised that it was for Cadbury's after the infamous truck advertisements. Basically, it is two children moving their eyebrows to the song "Dont Stop The Rock" by Freestyle. And it ends with the girl bursting a balloon. This is totally random and it is impossible to see how such an advertisement relates to Cadbury's chocolate. Personally, it doesnt make me want to go out and buy Cadbury's, although here I am writing about it on the blog. What do you think this advertisement achieves? Take a look.