Via : pingdom
I love that 50% of Google’s products come from what people did in their spare time. Maybe there’s a lesson in that?
When it comes to condensing important bits of information into one place, you can’t go too far wrong with an infographic. And although I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the AvP film -I do know that Aliens and Predator are staple items in my eighties action/sci-fi catalogue so I welcome with wide open arms this snappy piece of work from Stephen Taubman, aka Stivo.
More infographic silliness can be found on this website/blog.
Sorry,yet more AR – but had to post as this is some seriously crazy stuff. Microsoft Live Labs have taken the street view approach and pushed it further by integrating augmented reality tools, crowd sourced imagery (Flickr in this case) and Microsoft’s ‘World Wide telescope’. Watch and enjoy (and be scared)..
I’m not American and nor do I have an appreciation of the Superbowl -- at least not in same the way that most of our Western Atlantic counterparts have. However, I’ve known for a while that if your brand gets its advertising played in the Superbowl ad break -- this is a very big deal. Despite growing media fragmentation, big-catch programming like the Superbowl will always catalyse greater than average reach, ergo it is one of the perfect moments for a big campaign to make its mark. Wikipedia :
For many years, the Super Bowl has had a very large television audience in the U.S., and it is often the most watched television program of the year. The game tends to have high Nielsen television ratings which usually come in around a 40 rating and 60 share (i.e., on average, 40 percent of all U.S. households, and 60 percent of all homes tuned into television during the game). This means that on average, 80 to 90 million Americans are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment.
So, it was interesting to hear that Google had its first ever Superbowl spot last week -- and it got me thinking.
Google is the ultimate utility of modern times. It’s free, it’s always available and amongst online audiences, used everyday of their lives. And whilst Google is beginning to diversify with the introduction of numerous tools over the years (Maps, Wave, Mail, Buzz etc.) it’s still incredibly focussed -- it is the world’s number one search engine. So with such high frequency use and with such a focussed proposition -- does advertising really add any value to the Google brand? I don’t think that advertising is necessarily a negative thing to do, but perhaps e a consistently positive user experience is as good and perhaps even more effective than what advertising can provide?
There are ads that make you laugh, stare in awe, contemplate and even make you scratch your head. If there is a need and a window of opportunity, then brand campaigns -- typically driven by high budget above the line brand communications -- can help amplify awareness, communicate brand values and ultimately strike some kind of connection with a consumer. Therefore it makes sense to align your communications with what your brand is all about in the hearts and mind -- brand first, ad second. Google occupies that rational/functional space in the mind and whilst it is a high use brand, it’s not necessarily a high involvement brand- it’s hard to imagine getting passionate or excited about it. So it’s interesting to see a very brand oriented ad from Google which resonates in a more emotional and ultimately more branded space..
It’s a rose tinted view of how Google can be relevant. It’s a life reference, showing how Google can help you out whenever you need it for all the things important to you; always reliable, always delivering and always on. It isn’t necessarily about driving people to the engine, showcasing new functionality or offering any other overtly rational reason to buy into Google. It’s just an affirmation of what Google can do for you at various important moments in your life. It adopts -- and quite effectively - a ‘life and moments’ narrative, a strategy often relied upon by brands whose categories tend to be an everyday affair -- finance and banking particularly good examples. A few years ago LloydsTSB rolled out ‘for the journey’ (which continues to this day) and gave LloydsTSB a welcome and credible identity boost amongst its rather bland and faceless high street competitors. The global MasterCard priceless campaign has been running for many years and has even garnered cult status spawning countless internet memes. Although all very different executions - the underlying mechanism is similar.
Although initially seeded way back in November, it’s received several million hits over the past few weeks- which is substantial. There’s a lovely irony in an online ad/becoming an above the line ad/becoming an online viral..
This Google ad is simple, to the point and entirely Google. Granted, it’s not particularly exciting -- but then again as we know…
Google isn’t exciting.
First we got some viral..
Then some guerilla marketing in France..
and Switzerland..
Then I noticed some big outdoor work in London..
Then some print work (there’s a LOT more here)..
Now, I like Diesel. Their jeans are well made, last a long time and whilst I’m not a particularly label conscious guy -- I’ll admit it I buy into the label a little more beyond the product. But I’m not sure about this campaign. I didn’t really see what the point is until I saw the print ads and even then, when I did get a bit more of an idea, I couldn’t help thinking that somewhere down the line Bruno or Mugatu had something to do with it. There’s an element of parody going on for me and the more I think about it the worse it gets…what do you think?
Following on from my post a few weeks ago -- here’s some of the Adidas Originals augmented reality in action. Looks interesting but maybe that’s because it’s so novel. Wether or not digital extentions like this add much value to a brand I’m still unsure about. Also have to praise ‘bohden’ and his simple insight :
why would i want a stinky game controller
I’m still getting my head round all this Google Buzz business so thought it apt to add to the buzz further with these videos. I’m not sure if we’re going to see the death of Facebook with this (counter to lots of things I’m hearing) but this is definitely something to watch. Full analysis sometime soon..
Take a male model, give him some pink nail varnish and get him painting. For a very long time.
Nicely tailored to the target market I suppose but, I’m out on this one. Girls, how do you feel about this?
Ever wonder what all those coffees consist of? This infographic should clear things up.
Suffice to say – this has not been taken from Starbucks’ training manual.
A classic example of how to make something very boring into something very interesting.
Original work by Oliver Laric in 2006 with some modern adjustments courtesy of ‘Hello You Creatives’