While I am busy scouring the web for good advertising I usually do not notice the ads that are trying to reach me. This one caught my attention by coming up as a response to my ‘loving’ a track on Last.fm. The message is relevant to my action therefore I’m more receptive.
Its that time again. In about two weeks I will be done with college and be moving to a new location and a new life. I’m beginning to organize and sift through my possessions, many that have started to collect dust and potential to stir up old memories. This got me thinking about nostalgia and how its being used in marketing and media.
It looks like American influence continues to spread across the globe, this time with Facebook. The network now has over 200 million users worldwide. You could consider it digital imperialism but then again a Russian investor just bet $200 million on the social network making it international property. This map shows that the main areas of resistance are in the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India, and China. They tend to prefer QQ, Orkut, and VKontakte.
Symmetry. Busy. Ornamental. These are the simple ingredients of a design style that was once appealing but now is starting to test my nerves. It saturates the popular design blogs and is spread through tutorials on websites like PSDtuts and youthedesigner. Above is the supposed origin of this style, an Absolut Vodka campaign designed by Ray Smith in 2005. It tastes a bit like Art Nouveau.
The real culprit for what spawned this movement is probably designer Chuck Anderson. He has amazing work but what was once completely original is now the norm. Ironically, what charm it once had (in my opinion) is lost because of his fans. Below are some examples.
BMW pwns Audi Using Outdoor
Now that is attitude. This move was not the first though, here is what started the ad war. via
Click here for a better view of the ‘conversation prism’ that has been making its rounds.
Not too long ago I posted about my experience brandjacking Burger King on Twitter. Since then the project has proved to be a sort of personal trojan horse into the public relations field. I have been contacted by several companies including Edelman, who does work for Burger King.
No, it was not a cease-and-desist letter or a lawsuit. Instead it was an invitation to join them at Universal Studios Orlando for the launch of the world’s first Whopper Bar. I gladly accepted and flew down to sunny Florida for a day — all expenses paid for.
Designers have come to love the eagle-eye view that the classic Sim City games brought us. Here are a few examples of work that I have come across in the past few months.
Q: What do these two ads have in common?
Pepsi – Refresh Anthem (Superbowl 2009)
If you haven’t been following along I encourage you to read my three part post: Brandjacking Burger King on Twitter – Lessons Learned @theBKlounge.
The poll has closed and you have chosen to elect a new King to @theBKlounge on Twitter. A total of 159 people have cast their votes from all across the United States, parts of Europe, Egypt, Puerto Rico, and Taiwan. You can take a look at the map here. Read the rest of this entry »
