Via Adverblog:
20th Century Fox's recent DVD release of Eragon was accompanied by the release of a website that promotes dragons as a form of transportation. Mind you, I haven't seen the movie, but it seems to take place in the past (future? another dimension of the present?) in which dragons exist and young heros fight to free the princess.
The site is definitely amusing, with the user being able to change colors of the dragon as well as add the stereo system and other fun little accessories (eye patch and lasers, anyone?). However, I'm confused... is there a reason my dragon initially looks like the VW Beetle?
It all begs the question of What the heck did Volkswagen have to do with the movie?? I can't find any real link between the two other than the minisite. Additionally, when I do a Google search for either Eragon or Volkswagen, the site does not come up. It's entertainment, sure, and it's advertising... but how effective can it be if you have to be seriously in the know to find it?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Jumping for Logitech Coupons
Via Adverblog:
Okay, seriously? This may be the best advergame I've ever seen. Why?
1. It's disturbingly addicting
2. It's ridiculously simple
3. It focuses on the actual product -- the game itself takes place on a Logitech keyboard
4. Your reason for playing can be to win the 50 levels (which, apparently, no one's ever done) or to reach level 10 and get a 20% off coupon for any Logitech product
Challenging, simple, addictive, focused on the product and not branding.... I think it's just perfect.
Okay, seriously? This may be the best advergame I've ever seen. Why?
1. It's disturbingly addicting
2. It's ridiculously simple
3. It focuses on the actual product -- the game itself takes place on a Logitech keyboard
4. Your reason for playing can be to win the 50 levels (which, apparently, no one's ever done) or to reach level 10 and get a 20% off coupon for any Logitech product
Challenging, simple, addictive, focused on the product and not branding.... I think it's just perfect.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Self-Promoting, Part II
Well, it's that time again -- time to discuss promoting the blog.
This time around I did something a little bit different. I contacted a few of the companies I wrote about in the past two or three weeks to see if they'd possibly be interested in checking out this site, complete with link to main site and direct link to the post mentioning them.
I also went the route of going to technorati and typing in "advertainment" to see if any blogs popped up. Happily, a few did, and I commented on those posts (seeing as how those are the really relevant ones). Let's see if I get some comments this time around!
This time around I did something a little bit different. I contacted a few of the companies I wrote about in the past two or three weeks to see if they'd possibly be interested in checking out this site, complete with link to main site and direct link to the post mentioning them.
I also went the route of going to technorati and typing in "advertainment" to see if any blogs popped up. Happily, a few did, and I commented on those posts (seeing as how those are the really relevant ones). Let's see if I get some comments this time around!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Companies in Second Life
For my Audience Research class yesterday, we were asked to check out some things in Second Life; mainly, we went to Leo Burnett's area, Paper Couture's shop and a personal area called Kuwaii Ku. After spending some time in each area, I came to the conclusion that, well, I like Second Life in some respects as a place for opening an outlet, and I dislike it in other ways.
When it comes to an ad agency like Leo Burnett, I don't think Second Life is an appropriate place to introduce a client to your company. It's great for showing clients (potential or actual) what your company can do in Second Life, but unless you know some basics about the company, you aren't going to understand much. For example, I didn't quite understand the point of the giant pencil. I had some fun flying with it (well, not really; it kind of slows down the flying process), but it seemed a bit ridiculous. When I went on the Leo Burnett website -- which I only did to write this entry -- I understood the point of the pencil. Although, I guess this may be a moot point; Leo Burnett is well known in the ad industry, so anyone who is in a position to hire the agency and stumbles upon the area in Second Life would already have some background information.
Leo Burnett:
A company like Paper Couture though can certainly benefit from being in Second Life. Their shop is very easy to navigate, looks great, and - surprise, surprise - really looks similar to their online presence, which has avatars modeling the products. Interestingly enough, the shop only has on online presence - clicking on "store locations" on the website takes you to Second Life; the shop exists purely to sell to avatars. Such a.... unique idea. Too bad, as I saw some handbags and earrings I wouldn't mind purchasing for myself. Long story short, they benefit from being in Second Life because they exist because of Second Life.
Paper Couture:
As for Kawaii Ku, I'm not sure where it fits in here. It's anime-meets-commerce. It's... something I don't quite understand, possibly because I'm still iffy on the whole Second Life thing. Kawaii Ku:
If Paper Couture were a real company, it would still benefit from having a location in Second Life. Any similar company would, I think. The Second Life shop has a link to its website, as well as hosting all products. If a company were selling fashion items and set up a shop similar to Paper Couture, it could be great. American Girl Dolls for the adult! Buy a product for yourself and, instead of buying one for your doll, buy one for your..... "self?"
Monday, March 19, 2007
Got Milk? Great... Now, Get The Glass!
Via Adrants:
AdRants' biggest complaint about this advergame is that it takes too long to load. Maybe my Internet connection is faster because I only had to wait a few seconds for the game to load, and those few seconds were certainly worth it.
The graphics on this game are amazing (it would have been so easy to make it a simple flash game, but it's a claymation style game), and even better, every challenge relates back to the Adachi family's problems.... which, in turn, relate to why the user should be drinking milk. The teen daughter has bad hair and nails, the son has poor teeth, the mother is irritable and the father is weak. Along the way, the user is able to understand why milk is important -- without being flat out told the reasons. Great campaign; the user gets to figure things out on his or her own by having a "conversation" rather than being talked at.
The goal is to get the family to the part of the island where the milk is located. Trick is, you have to pay close attention every step of the way, or you'll get shut out at the end.
Want a hint? Remember the numbers... and your manners.
AdRants' biggest complaint about this advergame is that it takes too long to load. Maybe my Internet connection is faster because I only had to wait a few seconds for the game to load, and those few seconds were certainly worth it.
The graphics on this game are amazing (it would have been so easy to make it a simple flash game, but it's a claymation style game), and even better, every challenge relates back to the Adachi family's problems.... which, in turn, relate to why the user should be drinking milk. The teen daughter has bad hair and nails, the son has poor teeth, the mother is irritable and the father is weak. Along the way, the user is able to understand why milk is important -- without being flat out told the reasons. Great campaign; the user gets to figure things out on his or her own by having a "conversation" rather than being talked at.
The goal is to get the family to the part of the island where the milk is located. Trick is, you have to pay close attention every step of the way, or you'll get shut out at the end.
Want a hint? Remember the numbers... and your manners.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
From Commercials to the Small Screen
On last week's Variety Pilot Watch, an article was posted referencing one of ABC's new pilots. The premise? Well... you've seen the Geico "Cavemen" commercials, haven't you? (In case you aren't completely up to date on the campaign, check out a past post of mine for more info.)
I think the campaign is absolutely genious, and product placement has been around for ages, but I don't know that I can see consumers watching what is, quite literally, a 30 minute commercial for car insurance. It's too much product placement on one show, if you ask me -- especially if the show revolves around watching cavement react to the Geico slogan.
Watching the Tom Cruise dance in his Ray-Bans is, well, really funny. Looking at the American Idol judges behind their Coca-Cola glasses is easily overlooked. But sitting for 30 minutes while a caveman runs around talking about Geico for the full length of the show? (I say 30 minutes and not 23 minutes, because we all know many of the commercials will be for Geico, making the company hit you over the head with its slogan even more.) It's just too much.
Whether the issue is lack of pilot ideas or needing new storylines, if I'm looking to watch a 30 minute show about car insurance, I always have the late night informercial channels. I'm not interesting in infomercials invading my primetime viewing!
I think the campaign is absolutely genious, and product placement has been around for ages, but I don't know that I can see consumers watching what is, quite literally, a 30 minute commercial for car insurance. It's too much product placement on one show, if you ask me -- especially if the show revolves around watching cavement react to the Geico slogan.
Watching the Tom Cruise dance in his Ray-Bans is, well, really funny. Looking at the American Idol judges behind their Coca-Cola glasses is easily overlooked. But sitting for 30 minutes while a caveman runs around talking about Geico for the full length of the show? (I say 30 minutes and not 23 minutes, because we all know many of the commercials will be for Geico, making the company hit you over the head with its slogan even more.) It's just too much.
Whether the issue is lack of pilot ideas or needing new storylines, if I'm looking to watch a 30 minute show about car insurance, I always have the late night informercial channels. I'm not interesting in infomercials invading my primetime viewing!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Justin Timberlake on the line...
Every time I call my friend Jasmine, we both get a little bit of entertainment. She gets to hear a song instead of a ring, and I get to hear what's called a "ringback" -- instead of me hearing the sound of the phone ringing, I hear a song of her choosing.
While ringbacks are relatively new, personalized ringtones aren't. The first time I heard a song from the new Justin Timberlake was when I called Jasmine. I listened to a rap artist when calling another friend. Jasmine's mother called yesterday while we were together, and I heard another song.
Maybe this isn't necessarily advertainment and it's more viral than anything else, because the release of ringtones and ringbacks is done via word of mouth, but it's definitely a form of advertising a new album while getting the consumers to pay for that brief moment of entertainment when receiving a phone call.
Interestingly enough, this article (linked obtained from AdWeek) questions whether or not the trend is slowing down. Whether it's because the original users are getting older and don't want the embarassment, as mentioned in the article, or if it's because it's too common and cliche now to have a song as a ringtone, less and less people are using -- and buying -- the personalized ringtone.
Me? I don't have a personalized ringtone; my phone is on vibrate more than anything else. And on the occasion it's not, I'm a fan of the standard-issue tones. But you can bet that as soon as there's a ringtone of my favorite Duran Duran song, I'll jump right on that trend.... a few years after after one else!
While ringbacks are relatively new, personalized ringtones aren't. The first time I heard a song from the new Justin Timberlake was when I called Jasmine. I listened to a rap artist when calling another friend. Jasmine's mother called yesterday while we were together, and I heard another song.
Maybe this isn't necessarily advertainment and it's more viral than anything else, because the release of ringtones and ringbacks is done via word of mouth, but it's definitely a form of advertising a new album while getting the consumers to pay for that brief moment of entertainment when receiving a phone call.
Interestingly enough, this article (linked obtained from AdWeek) questions whether or not the trend is slowing down. Whether it's because the original users are getting older and don't want the embarassment, as mentioned in the article, or if it's because it's too common and cliche now to have a song as a ringtone, less and less people are using -- and buying -- the personalized ringtone.
Me? I don't have a personalized ringtone; my phone is on vibrate more than anything else. And on the occasion it's not, I'm a fan of the standard-issue tones. But you can bet that as soon as there's a ringtone of my favorite Duran Duran song, I'll jump right on that trend.... a few years after after one else!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Why, Uma Thurman, why?
Via Adverblog:
Pirelli Tires has a new website for its newest online movie, entitled "Mission Zero." Something to do with promoting their new tire, the P Zero?
I watched the movie, played around a bit on the site, and walked away feeling more confused than anything else? My first instinct was -- as on Adverblog -- the yellow plus Uma Thurman was very reminiscient of the "Kill Bill" movies. And, really, hasn't enough time gone by that we don't need to have that connection made?
The movie itself was boring, bland, and made little if any sense. I got more information on the way a Lamborghini runs than the tires... and didn't even see anything about the tires until the last scene. Maybe it's just because I don't know anything about cars (for weeks, when people asked me what kind of car I have, my response was, "Um. Ice blue?") but when I see a car chase, I think more about how cool the car is than about the tires.
My conclusion? Bad move -- and bad movie.
Pirelli Tires has a new website for its newest online movie, entitled "Mission Zero." Something to do with promoting their new tire, the P Zero?
I watched the movie, played around a bit on the site, and walked away feeling more confused than anything else? My first instinct was -- as on Adverblog -- the yellow plus Uma Thurman was very reminiscient of the "Kill Bill" movies. And, really, hasn't enough time gone by that we don't need to have that connection made?
The movie itself was boring, bland, and made little if any sense. I got more information on the way a Lamborghini runs than the tires... and didn't even see anything about the tires until the last scene. Maybe it's just because I don't know anything about cars (for weeks, when people asked me what kind of car I have, my response was, "Um. Ice blue?") but when I see a car chase, I think more about how cool the car is than about the tires.
My conclusion? Bad move -- and bad movie.
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