Skills = Views. The Power of Awesome

This video was featured over on the Three Billion blog, and we felt it was worth posting here too. Its a great bit of skills-based awesomeness and as such is the perfect viral, if we are to believe the New York Times research that the most shared stories "inspire awe". It has been done before, but it is a good move for Head, and indeed Andy Murray, who gets to show his previously-hidden fun side.

The Social Media Overkill Room

Until very recently Gatorade meant nothing more to me than sugary orange water which Americans drank, but since Gatorade Replay I have taken more of an interest. This is the latest video I have seen from them, and although it is clearly self-promotional and marginally ridiculous, it does show a commitment to social media and conversations which most brands are still scared of. In fact this video could work to sell in greater social media awareness to other clients, who have not considered the amount of resources, and plasma screens, their competitors are now devoting to it.

Interactive Film on the Ipad

Touching Stories is a new interactive Ipad app/ video game/ movie. Preloaded ipads were handed out at Cannes to build up buzz. In essence it is another interactive story, just like Choose a Different Ending or Lexus Dark Ride, but this one is exciting for being the first to use the Ipad's functionality. At various points in the story you can shake and tilt the Ipad to influence the action. As PSFK suggest, this raises questions about all media as it gives artists the ability to involve people in their work. I'm sure we will see a lot more of this over the next few months.

Location comes of age

via pasta&Vinegar

In the latest issue of Wired UK, John Battelle illustrates the shift in online behaviour, now that "checking in" has been integrated. We can see what people are doing, what they are buying, what they want, who they know and now we also know where they are. Location has been central to all of the biggest tech developments of the year, from Twitter places to Stickybits and Facebook Location. With smart phones to outnumber desktop PCs by 2012, location-based services are not going anywhere.

Best of the Week

Here are a selection of things which have piqued our attention this week:

The Art of Analog Computing (above)- Lovely little video about the world as a computer.
The Flake Ad- Finally unveiled and is splitting opinion as predicted. (I agree with Ben Kay)
Uniqlo - More Twitter fun from the innovative clothing company
Fun Theory - More fun, this time installing slides in a German underground station
Crowdrise - Stylish community fundraising
The Most Awesomest Thing Ever - What is the most awesome thing in the world? Find out here.
Dulux - Lovely stuff from the Dulux "Let's Colour" campaign
Community Centred Design- Inspiring article from Mike Arauz." Read it. 
Underwater base jumping - Just Epic.
OMG Cat vs Robert Green - Lastly a return of the OMG Cat, reacting to some football action.

"Branded Content?"- Let's just call it comedy

At last, the planets have aligned and I've been gifted an opportunity to mention Arrested Development on the blog. Actors from the most underrated sitcom of all time have been popping up all over the place, most recently in this bit of "branded content" from Orbit. It is so watchable that it seems ridiculous to call it "content" rather than comedy, and unlike many forays into online video, Orbit have not shied away from getting the product in there. They have woven it convincingly into the narrative, meaning it isn't just an intrusion.

Though to be honest they could have made every character dress as chewing gum, I'd still watch Will Arnett.

Nike show how its done

About 9 months ago, just before I started posting on the blog, Tom G wrote a post about Nike "just doing cool stuff". They are still doing that, but I think recently what has become more obvious about the "stuff" is that they are very good at finding how their ideas live offline. Chalkbot was the best example, and will do well at Cannes this year (it got nominated anyway), but recently they have also given us the chance to write a message on Wayne's boots, and broadcast messages on the Johannesburg skyline. There is something so much more exciting about these ideas because they allow you to have an effect on the world beyond your computer screen. Let's hope Nike continue to innovate.

Reaching your remote Audience

Julian Cole published some interesting thoughts over on his (recommended) blog on which brands are reaching their "remote audience". He mentioned Diet Coke Real Women, which used an event to create a story for the online audience.

We still think Red Bull are the best this, but Gatorade have also recently embarked upon Replay 2, the follow-up to their highly successful event last year where an infamous local sporting rivalry was finally settled. The latest rematch was watched by 4,000 in a sold out arena, but it was also webcast on Fox Sports. Watch the teaser above and watch out for the full documentary which is about to be released.

Believe in Something

Ikea have conducted a global research project on Play, concluding that we don't do enough of it. They have a page on Facebook inviting everyone to be a part of the conversation, and have released the full report online [PDF]. It is impressive in scope (they conducted 11,000 interviews) and a good example of a brand showing their belief in a cause, (in this case child development), rather than just talking about it.

Snoop Dogg with a Lightsaber...

There are few things from the 80s which still inspire wonder. Even the surprise of Rick Astley jumping out of videos at you is all but gone (though we liked this). Starwars though, lives on. Despite doing all he could to ruin the franchise with the most recent episodes, George Lucas has failed to dim any of the excitement people still feel about the originals.

There is something utterly surreal about an Adidas collaboration with Starwars, and I'd love to see the meeting where they sold in the idea of Snoop Dogg with a lightsaber. However it seems to work in a weird way. Judge for yourself.

Also have a look at their original video and Facebook Connect experience.

Glazer goes 3D

Jonathan Glazer's latest ad is for Sony 3D TV. It is interesting to see the different tactics being used to flog us 3D. While Samsung show it as a magical portal into a secret world, Sony's tactic seems to be to say, "you have to get it or all your images will be blurry".

Interestingly google searches for 3D are no higher than in 2004, despite high profile releases of Avatar, UP and Alice in Wonderland all using the format. The entertainment industry has poured billions into making 3D the next big thing, but people's interest in it arguably hasn't increased. It will be telling to see whether funding really can make it a success, despite it not improving the experience of watching a film (controversial I know, but I agree with Kermode).

Though if I need 3D to watch more of Glazer's work then I'd have to bite the bullet.

The future of Movie watching

Bestbuy have teamed up with Cripsin Porter + Bogusky to create a mobile platform called "Movie Mode". It turns off the sound, dims the screen, and offers you additional information on the movie. The ambition to create a platform rather than just another bit of communication is fantastic, and they are releasing their first app to coincide with the upcoming animated film, Despicable me. Though I shudder at the thought of everyone looking at their phones during a film, as we all do in conferences, I admire the thinking.

Computerised Brains

There has been a lot written recently, much of it in the New York Times, about how our brain is being changed by technology. The arguments tend to assert that the internet encourages distraction, skimming, loss of memory and over-reliance etc. I rarely get to the end of the articles- far too long.

My opinion would be that every successful new (communication) technology becomes incorporated into our behaviour, and all have their downsides. However a pre-internet world is no more desirable than a pre-telephone or pre-printing press world. We are reliant on them for good reason- they improve our lives.

Read more here:

Edward Boches summarises the arguments
Nicholas Carr argues our brains are becoming "shallow"

What's mine is yours

A lot has been written about generosity (Generation G), sharing and participation, but this video has a new perspective on what it calls "collaborative consumption". The idea that we are not so interested in ownership does seem intuitively true when you think about how music has changed from cds to MP3, to streaming. Of course for every trend there is a counter-trend, but there are some good examples in here which are certainly worth stealing, as well as a much appreciated bassy backing track.

The Future of Retail

PSFK have put together some interesting thoughts on the future of retail. We like the idea of the "world as a retail experience", and it taps in nicely to the blurring of online and offline which we keep banging on about.