Define yourself with only 5 brands
5brand is essentially a blog that allows people to submit a list of 5 brands that they believe define themselves. These are then listed with your name, occupation and where you live. It’s largely full of Brazilian and Portuguese entries at the moment - think sports apparel and football.
A good portion of the entries are by copywriters, designers and marketers so brands like Apple, Sony, Virgin and Converse seem to be regulars.
It’s harder than you think, really…. it is… I hate being put in a box…
A publisher’s nightmare…
Sick of banners intruding on your browsing experience? Look no further than Add-Art, a free Firefox add-on which replaces adverting on websites with curated art images. I’m not sure it’s going to be popular with advertisers but hey, interesting concept.
Design your own cover
FHM are running a campaign (FHM Recovered) through Ninemsn at the moment, allowing users to create their own cover and go into the running to have it published in the May issue of the magazine, as well as winning $5000 and one weeks internship at Holler - the campaign creators.
You can create your masterpiece online in ‘amateur’ mode or download the templates in ‘professional’ mode. There’s a gallery to vote on and some nice sharing tools - post the covers to different networks.
I think it’s been well done but lacked some of the impact of other similar campaigns going around. Take for example the recent campaign for Puma - I am 60 - both play on similar ideas around customising an image with uploads, nice flash tools and some copywriting wit, but one is easily more successful than the other. Check it out and judge for yourself.
The GE Smart Grid
GE has put together a beautifully designed site plugging their ‘Smart Grid‘ (read greener) solutions. The pretense of the site is to display to consumers the value of GE updating the 20th century power grid with 21st century technology.
Choose one of three main sections; CO2 emissions, alternative energy or smart meters to learn more. Each section’s content is beautifully illustrated and animated using Papervision 3D. The graphs really come to life and the content is compelling.
And for the real kicker, check out the augmented reality section (see image below). I hadn’t had the chance of actually playing with this until now, having only seen demo videos floating around the web. Print out a PDF they supply, turn on your webcam and have some fun - very cool use of emerging technology.
Great new microsite (Amnesia Razorfish) for Smirnoff titled, “It started with a mule” set in 1940’s LA. Save Ginger and win a trip to Hollywood is the general premise. Great visuals, nice integration of video and product.
Go swimming with Google Earth
How good is this? Finally Google Earth has an ocean - one that you can actually ’swim’ in. Launched yesterday, Google Earth 5.0 now allows users the ability to submerse themselves in the world’s oceans, exploring the ocean floor through video, images and 3D mapping. You can read more about this on the official Google blog.
Brand America is changing
Interesting article on Smashing Magazine detailing the shift in design, content and technology focus of the White House website since Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Perhaps the most noticeable change is the lack of prominence given to the White House logo which plays second fiddle to the site’s navigation and content feature. Coincidental? I think not.
Toyota - ‘Why not?’ campaign
Toyota has just launched a microsite to support it’s “Why Not?” advertising campaign. The slick 3D interface asks users to contribute environmental innovations in six areas - safety, water, land, air, community and energy - and at the same time learn about Toyota’s efforts in these areas.
“The goal in creating this ‘virtual world’ was to open a dialogue between Toyota and people across the country - while making it fun to use at the same time,” said Mike Wilson, chief creative officer, Dentsu America (global creative agency). “Over time, the suggestions of users will ‘grow’ the landscape of the site.”
Having a look through some of the ideas already submitted, shows how much time and effort people are willing to invest in ideas around sustainability and innovation. There’s propositions that take 5 minutes to read while others are so short and obvious that you find yourself asking why they haven’t been done already.
To reward people’s efforts, Toyota has put up a week-long VIP tour of Toyota’s plant in Kentucky and the opportunity to meet with top innovators in New York City as a prize.
Every wondered what’s being said out there…?
Spy can listen in on the social media conversations you’re interested in. Type in a word or phrase (’snow london’ entered in the example above) and let it search Twitter, Flickr, Blogs, FriendFeed and others to deliver an interesting snapshot of current dialogue taking place.
Kiwi Safaris site launched
Hunting in New Zealand is as much about the experience as the trophies. For this very reason, the new Kiwi Safaris website had to be visually rich, beautifully written and always current. It’s simple, was put together exceptionally quickly and is delivering great results already.