Let the festivus begin! Coca-Cola has unveiled a microsite that lets you generate your own ugly Christmas sweater—as a final touch to complete the year-end holidays. The ‘Coke Zero Ugly Sweater Generator’ lets users mix and match colors, graphics and patterns to make their very own tacky winter wear.
Users can choose from Christmas trees and Santa’s head, to reindeer, sleighs and turkey. The 100 most-voted-for sweaters would be actually handcrafted and sent to their creators—just in time for Christmas.
In a world where Hot Wheels is battling video games for the hearts, minds and thumbs of young boys everywhere, team Hot Wheels drivers, Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy set a Guinness World Record racing two vehicles through a six-story double vertical loop at the 2012 X Games in Los Angeles! This epic activation helps keep them relevant.
For a showcase exhibition, illustration agency Handsome Frank turned to its Twitter followers, asking them to tweet illustration briefs for its artists to respond to. This brilliant use of twitter netted the the agency over 200 briefs. Each of the artists on the ageny's roster selected his or her favs and set about creating a new artwork. Here are some of my favs:
The Tweet-a-Brief Exhibition runs until July 22 at 71a Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4QS
Just in time for the NYC Pride parade - Enter the Nike Pride Pack. Be True 2012 celebrates the achievements of the New York City, San Francisco and Portland communities as progressive leaders of LGBT life with city-specific footwear releases and accompanying hat and tee.
As the Cannes Lions festivites have gotten underway and the predictions have been noted and posted, the shortlist for 2012 is about to reveal a few winners. For me, I ask a few simple questions - did the work change the industry? Was there a value exchange that linked business objectives with consumer interests in a way that was ownable to the brand. Did the idea provoke a connection to brand?
As I peruse the submissions here are a few that caught my eye.
AMERICAN EXPRESS In the Promo category, Year 2 of the Small Business Saturday does it for me. American Express and Crispin have submitted chapter two of an idea that is riding a cultural trend in the states.
HELLMANN'S What's for dinner tonight? A common question that is aswered by this app from Hellmann’s which prints recipes on a personlized grocery receipts based on the food that you have purchased. While some might find this a bit big brother - i think that the use of data creates a value exchnage that will generate more uses of the product.
SPRITE While Sprite and Ogilvy did not change the industry with this one they did dramatize refreshing for these beach goers in a simple fun format.
C & A FASHION LIKE This one struck me as pure genius as it played off a simple and true insight. The majoroity of woman question their fashion judement while shopping. Knowing that, why not offer to let a network of people help you decide. C & A's Like Fashion app brought the social network to the physical store. This was a great use of technology in the physical world.
Update: The Direct Grand Prix for American Express's Small Business Saturday campaign, which already won a Grand Prix in Promo & Activation.
This modern take on a classic fairy tale speaks volumes about where we are as a society. The story begins with the murder of the infamous Big Bad Wolf. The tale incorporates the way we take in media today. Starting with a headline in the Guardian, reports online, announcements and subsequent discussions on Twitter, and then the inevitable YouTube videos, complete with crude computer-generated reenactments and even a revelation of new evidence that shows the Wolf suffers from asthma.
I love the use of a timeless tale with a modern twist which demonstrates how we consume and interact with a good story. The best part of this story is that it positioned the The Guardian as willing partner in the quest to find the truth.
The marketers and agency at Eurostar just got it right with a simple idea. The launch of Eurostar’s new platform, Eurostar Live brings social media commentary by the public about Eurostar’s destinations to 363 public display screens across London.
The campaign highlights hidden gems in Eurostar’s destinations, starting with Amsterdam. I love that they tie in to existing social behaviors we all do when traveling. Engage at: http://europe.eurostar.com/eurostarlive/
