That's right, I was thinking of meatballs.

Folksam insurance have created a wonderful microsite game. The Swedish provider of peace of mind has created the emometer, which rather than measuring your propensity for straightening hair and listening to the Lost Prophets, actually stands for emotional meter and measures what the people of Sweden care about by playing twenty questions with them.


It is perfectly engaging, your mind against the machine, half wanting to win, half wanting to be impressed by the site. Moreover, it is executed in a very charming way.


Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the results are aggregated and mapped out across Sweden showing the user what it is that people are thinking of in their collective consciousness (and then telling them to insure it). 

Effortlessly Cool

Nike have done another cool piece of work. Here they have taken a real piece of their company's history, one of determination, grit, innovation and hunger and mythologized it through animation. The Defiant Dozen tells the tale of Athletics West, a team who were to reinvigorate the world of US track and field. 

The protagonists are converted into Watchmen-like vigilantes, doing what they need to succeed, and it is super awesome.

A youtube teaser directs you to the short animated story of the Defiant Dozen on a microsite linking to the Athletics West sportswear range. There is also the option explore the room in which the story begins with your mouse, clicking on the fixtures to explore the catalogue, learn more, and to post via facebook or twitter.

Advertising showcasing real talent, and telling a ripping yarn. 

Snazzbags.

Lexus Dark Ride- Awesome but why?

I just came across this digital experience for Lexus over at Digital Buzz Blog. It includes a lot of very cool bits and pieces, like facebook connect, webcam and microphone integration and pannable film shots. It is by the consistently awesome Stink Digital who were behind the Philips Carousel work, Shelter's House of Cards and a load of other stuff which it is worth checking out.

It is slick, involving and it has got people talking already, though I can't help but wonder whether throwing money at making some cool online thing is really the best way to solve the client's business problem. But then again it is fucking cool.

Go here for the full experience.

A Brief for a post-digital world

This presentation from Gareth Kay has some really interesting stuff to say on the future of the brief. He is quick to point out that this is not a digital brief but is a brief for a post-digital world. Everyone seems to be trying to crack the participation brief at the moment, and though this is by no means perfect, it is a good start.

The Guardian Zeitgeist

Trending news stories is nothing new. All the major online news sources have a "most read" section, sites like Digg run entirely on the whims of the crowd, as does Twitter. However the fact that the Guardian is experimenting is worth a mention. Their new "Zeitgeist" section visualizes the most popular stories of the day, colour coding them depending on their genre. It also seems to be doing some clever things with how it chooses the stories; taking into account popularity of articles in that section, links and comments.

At the moment it seems less advanced than Newsmap, which has been around for a while, but we are excited about the possibilities.  We also trust the Guardian to create something innovative, after being impressed with their Iphone app and data visualization. If traditional news sources are going to survive they need to start looking at the Guardian and New York Times for tips.

The Nike Way

There’s a great article in Revolution on Nike’s approach to marketing which is summed up nicely by the above quote.
Given their approach to advertising it comes as no surprise that they’re venturing into the world of film, as a promotional partner for More Than a Game.

HT MakeTheLogoBigger
Original photo from eightfivezero