SF Zoo Critter Quest

The San Fransisco Zoo has a fun participatory ad campaign called Critter Quest. They use a series of 4 bus shelter poster depicting pieces of animals. Passersby are encouraged to take a picture of themselves as a peacock, giraffe, butterfly or kudu and send it to the San Fransisco Zoo website gallery. This is a great advertising idea. It's fun, it gets people interested and involved, and it gives people a reason to visit the website. (Found through Marketing Alternatif).

Zune Branding Animations

Nervo Design and Animation has created these great animations for Zune. There are 5 unique animations. The short videos are meant as a branding accompaniment for Zune events and presentations. They are slightly random but in a interestingly captivating way. (Found through one of my favorites, Computerlove).

Flower Shop on Google Maps

I found this image on Flickr, of a flower shop with a sign in the window reading "We're famous, find us on Google Maps". This is cheeky and brilliant marketing on the part of Google.co.uk. It's simple, comical, and works for any store.

Get London Reading

Get London Reading is a campaign to encourage Londoners to make more time for reading. The campaign includes this great advertising graffiti (featuring book quotes) and a fabulous interactive map showing books set in the different neighborhoods. This is a nice idea for people living in London as well as visitors to the city. It encourages reading or allows you to experience the communities where your favorite books took place. More cities should adopt this idea.

Huggies Commercial for Dads

Ha! This is the first diaper commercial that I have seen clearly aimed at men, and it's super funny. Props to Huggies for taking this direction. Hopefully this will be a good lesson to all baby product manufactures - marketing to men is not that hard.

Kiss FM Ad

Ha! I'm loving the combination of retro references in this ad for Last FM. It's a bit misquoted, but making me giggle none the less.

Do The Test

Check out this awareness test advertisement created by Transport for London. I won't say too much about it. You have to just watch it for yourself.

Nokia Nseries Urbanista Diaries

The Nokia Nseries has created an interesting website where they tell a tale of 4 bloggers traveling around the globe and taking pictures, to help sell the Nokia 5 megapixel, GPS enabled phones. The advertising story goes like this... "Once upon a time, 4 travelers began a global quest. They beat a path through our urban jungles to seek out untold stories - to capture time, only to release it back into the world. And they laid out a trail so we cannot lose them". You can track the bloggers' travels and view their geo-tagged photos as the post them. It's a cool, overly dramatized take on selling a phone - I like it. (Found through Comuptuerlove).

Help

I'm head over heals (spelling error intended) for the folks over at Help. Their product offering is pretty simple. It consists of two products: Acetaminophen tablets entitled 'Help I Have a Headache' (Ha!) and band aids entitled 'Help I've Cut Myself' (Haha!). Their product line alone totally had me sold on the company... but there's more. They also try to be socially responsible. All of their packaging is made out of 100% recycled molded paper pulp and manufactured in the US by a factory that helps adults with learning disabilities. They also have a sense of humor. You can order customized 'Help I...' t-shirts on their website, where you fill in the blank with whatever tickles your funny bone. If all that doesn't make them awesome enough, they also offer other Help activities such as Help I'm Bored, Help I'm Illiterate, or Help I'm Homesick (my personal favorite!). I'm not sure who is behind the company Help, but I've decided you are totally awesome!

Phil Collins + Gorillas = Happiness

I was really exhausted tonight and noncommittally thumbing through old bookmarks when I came across something that made me feel much better. It's a link to an brilliant British Cadbury commercial from last year. If you are reading this from England you are probably rolling your eyes at me (I apologize). If you haven't seen it, take a couple minutes to watch. Phil Collins plus a Gorilla... how can it not be awesome?

HEMA Online Advertising

I enjoyed this little animation advertising HEMA stores. It adds some personality to the world of online shopping. It takes a minute to start, so be patient and restrain your hyperactive mouse finger.

Free Air Guitars

This is a pretty rockn' marketing idea. To advertise 96.3 Rock Radio, posters reading 'Free Air Guitars - Please take one' were hung over seemingly empty guitar stands around Glasgow, Scotland. This is my kind of marketing. It's simple, amusing, and grabs your attention. (Found through Antisanti)

Your Husband Called

I saw this sign in a 3rd Avenue jewelry store yesterday. It says, 'Your husband called and said you can buy anything you want'. Ha! They clearly understand and embrace their customer base. I almost missed this sign because I was too distracted by the two pugs inside the store sitting on pink silk cushions. I'm filing this one under: Reasons why I love New York.

WWF Paper Towel Dispenser

This paper towel dispenser/advertisement, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, caught my attention. Their slogan is 'Save Paper. Save the Planet'. They try to reinforce the direct correlation between using paper and destroying forests by showing the diminishing paper towel level through a map of South America. As much as I like this idea, I have to admit that I didn't really understand it right away. The relation between South America, the rain forest, and paper towel was a little too far removed for an at-a-glance message. I think it would have been clearer if they had just shown the cutout as a tree. Then I would have immediately understood the correlation and felt guilty before I reached for a paper towel instead of after. Great idea none the less. (Found through I Believe In Advertising).

Gwen Stefani Content on HP Site

I heard a comic the other day doing a funny bit about how silly it is that gum companies have websites. The gist of the bit was, do you chew your gum and think 'Wow, this gum is really good. If only I had more information about it'. It made me laugh, but it also make me think. Which is more ridiculous, not having a website or having an essentially useless website?

Some companies have gone out of their way to make potentially uninteresting websites interesting. HP is an example that comes to mind. They have smartly added an Activity Center to their website. It features fun and easy projects that are designed to make you think about all the great things you can do with a printer. Recently they have been promoting the Activity Center though their collaborative projects with Gwen Stephani, featured on her HP commercial. This is a great way to draw people to their website, a good use of combining tv and web content, and an effective use of their creative celebrity endorsement deals.

Starbury Shoes

Most brand name shoes endorsed by professional athletes cost $100-200, sometimes even more. NBA All Star Stephon Marbury has taken a different approach. All the shoes in his Starbury lines cost only $14.98. His marketing tactics have cleverly been based around the fact that some families can't afford to spend the equivalent of a weeks worth of groceries on shoes. I have my doubts that $14.98 shoes will ever be a status symbol to kids the way other basketball shoes are, but they must be doing something right because over 2.2 million pairs of Starburys have been sold in the past year.

Stephon Marbury insists that Starbury shoes are the same quality as other brands. To prove this, the Knicks Point Guard has worn Starbury shoes for the entire 06-07 basketball season. I guess that goes to show the power of a professional athlete's endorsement. Way to put yourself out there Marbury! (Thanks Brett).

Ribcap

I like how Ribcap has decided to show off their hats on the web. They have overlaid them on top of sketches, instead of the traditional photographs. It adds a level of interest to the images and allows the hats to be focal point.

Phat Beets

I hate beets. However... if there was ever something that would make me consider changing my mind about beets, it would be calling them Phat Beets. I'm such a sucker for clever marketing. Available for purchase at Rick's Picks.

Sharad Haksar

I was fabulously entertained by the portfolio of photographer Sharad Haksar. It is a witty collection of photography and advertising, including this Sorti ad. (Found through Computerlove).

What's Bubbling Up?

I've been playing around today with What's Bubbling Up. It's a promotional site for Unicel, created by the brilliant minds at Kelliher Samets Volk. The site focuses on the idea of making connections by allowing users to create and post messages. I always enjoy sites based on user content, especially when they invite people to share something they might not normally. I also really enjoy the thought of unspoken conversations being these lingering speech bubbles - it's a cool visual. This site reminds me of one of my favorites, the Hope Garden. (Thanks Jackie!)

Greenpeace Bulb Ad

The text on this Greenpeace ad reads 'Ordinary bulbs are killing the environment. Just one simple act on your part can stop the climate crisis: switch to Compact Fluorescent Lamps'. The light bulb/noose visual double entendre is impressive for such a simple graphic. Very effective.

HBO Voyeur

HBO's amazing new Voyeur website allows you to peak into the windows of five New York apartment buildings. It's a stunning Flash website created by the Brooklyn based Big Spaceship that combines video, music and colors to great dramatic effect. At each building you watch the story or stories unfold over a matter of days. There is something disturbingly captivating about watching people through windows. The site is part of a larger experimental 'Hyper Media' advertising campaign by HBO.

Vitamin Water Website

The Vitamin Water section of the Glaceau website has been making me laugh. They have come up with funny 'Try It' sayings for each flavor to attempt to explain the effect of the drink. For example 'Try swimming the Atlantic when you've just swam the Atlantic. Try Revive. Try it.' or 'Try kissing a poison dart frog until it turns into a prince. Try Endurance. Try it.' You can also create your own sayings using the Try It Creator and then post the custom advertisement to your blog or myspace page. I find this very interesting because on the one hand they are giving up control over what their advertisement says, but on the other hand the ads that people come up with are probably even more relevant to the readers.

C-Class Website

I found this website for the new Mercedes C-Class kind of interesting. They have come up with some keywords to describe the C-Class; energy, simplicity, balance, space, interaction, confidence. To get across the meaning of each of these concepts they have created little interactive activities to allow you to experience the meaning of each word for yourselves. For example the 'Interaction' demo asks you to navigate an invisible maze. The maze is just trial and error until the navigation assistance kicks in, then it is easy. These simple activities are a very effective way of getting across the key messages. (Found through FWA)

The Grand Tour

Ok, so imagine that you are the owner of an art gallery and people aren't coming to see your paintings. What do you do? You bring the paintings to the people (of course)! For the next 12 weeks the National Gallery in London England is displaying some of their most famous paintings on the streets of London. Art lovers - don't be alarmed, they are only replicas. The exhibit is called The Grand Tour. You can go to their website and download maps and audio tours to help guide you through the paintings. Or if you are just walking the streets of London and come across a painting, simply use your mobile phone to dial the number displayed and hear the museum's description of the piece. I think this is such a brilliant idea. To see more images of the paintings on display, check out this Flickr gallery. (Found through Noisy Decent Graphics)

Oogmerk Opticians Ad

It's funny because it's true. I like the angle that Oogmerk Opticians took with this advertising campaign. It's all about what glasses could do for your image. And they didn't hold back. Variants on the ad include butcher to artist, easy to hard, and truck driver to dr professor. (Found through Scary Ideas)

Johnny Hollow Website

I just spent about an hour pushing blobs of green liquid around with my little bug self. That is thanks to the interactive Johnny Hollow website. They deserve some props for making a site that kept my attention long enough for me to decide that I actually liked their music. (Found through the FWA)

Ocean Levels Bilboard

This billboard is well thought out. Created by the World Wildlife Foundation to raise awareness about climate change, this billboard uses an awning and the motion of the sun to create the effect of rising water. (Found through (Marketing-Alternatif)

Hungry Suitcase

Ever wonder what your perfect vacation is? 50% Relaxin', 40% Adventure, 10% Culture? Try out this Vacation Fun-a-lyzer. Just pack the objects that appeal to you into the mouthy suitcase and out spits your perfect vacation (Uh... or at least your perfect Royal Caribbean vacation). Very fun site.

OVX Studios

OVX Studios was Friday's Adobe Site of the Day. It is a cute little interactive site to test your skills as a movie director. You get to choose your storyline, cast, scene order, and most significantly, the product placement you want to allow in your movie. The site is actually part of an advertising campaign by the Vermont Department of Health to raise awareness among teens about the roll of tobacco in Hollywood movies. I liked this site because it's a well thought out approach to getting a health message across. It's fun, well suited for the target audience, and it involves the user's decision making process about the message instead of just forcing the message on them.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Ad

Book 7 in the Harry Potter series isn't coming out until then end of July but it has already been at the top of Amazon's Bestsellers list for months due to pre-order sales backed by a release day delivery guarantee. With record release day sales expected it is no wonder that all the booksellers are trying to get in on the action. Check out this advertisement by Odyssey. (Found through Scary Ideas)

Star Wars III Advertising

Oh, I really hope that someone did this on purpose! (Found through notcot.org)

Where does your world end?

My favorite thing about traveling is that it broadens your perspective of the world. Your perception of the world evolves from your immediate surroundings (your town, state, whatever) to include all of the places that you have been. This ad for Century Travel captures these thoughts exactly. (Found through Ads of the World)

Bloody Coasters

This is a great example of how simple advertising can be very effective. These coasters were put out by the Mumbai Traffic Police to help prevent drinking and driving (drunken driving as they call it). The coasters have a layer of invisible red ink that is activated by liquid. When you pick up your glass the ring of moisture on the coaster turns red, creating the illusion of blood over the image. (Found through Houtlust)

Great Pockets

Henry Needle and Sons Hand Tailored Great Pockets Clothing is some pretty funny advertising on the part of Nokia. It is an elaborate choose-your-own-adventure style video site about a tailor who is making special clothes with huge pockets to put all your crap in. Of course the other solution is to just buy the Nokia N95 (small and all in one, apparently)... or just wait for the iPhone (oops did that slip out). (Found through Josh Spear)

Get the Glass

Today's FWA Site of the Day is Get the Glass. It is a very bandwidth intensive Flash site but it is worth the downloading time. The site is part of a Got Milk campaign. The main section of the site is an amazing 3D board game. The object is to help the Adachi family rescue a glass of milk before they get caught by the police. The game graphics are incredible. I particularly like the effect of rolling the dice. I'm not sure exactly who this game is aimed at. The concept is very basic but a lot of the activities along the way are challenging. I hope there is a lot of money in milk these days because this site must have cost them a fortune.

Rembrandt Toothpaste

I like the new Rembrandt advertising campaign. They have clearly decided they are getting their butts kicked in the cavity fighting area so have gone for a different approach - Oral Beauty. It is very effective. Cavities are just something that happens to "other people", whereas everybody wants a beautiful mouth. They have redesigned their packaging and launched this new Calvin Klein style advertising campaign based around a kiss. It almost makes me want to switch to Rembrandt toothpaste.

Guests at the Toronto Zoo

I can't believe I'm saying this... Madagascar Cockroaches rock! Kudos to whichever advertising firm accepted the brief of making people want to come see cockroaches at the zoo. They did an amazing job. Check out this website to promote a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach exhibit at the Toronto Zoo March 9-18. It features a short movie of Jeb's trip to Canada (awesome), and this music video of 3 roaches singing "Hiss at you! Hiss at you! Hiss at you!" (love it).

Dole Fruit Containers

I was in the grocery store the other day and I saw these new Dole fruit containers. They are such a freshing approach to the old tin can. First of all, they look great. The clear plastic shows off the natural beauty of the fruit and reinforces Dole's confidence in their fruit's quality. Secondly, they are much more user friendly than cans because you can use what you need, put the lid back on and stick the whole thing in your fridge. Thirdly the plastic containers are recyclable, like cans, but also reusable.

This is good marketing on Dole's part. It caught my attention, make me buy more than I needed and gave me a great user experience that will make me a return customer. Good job guys.

Monoface

The creative folks at Mono branding and advertising agency have put an admirable new twist on team photos. They have created a section of their website called Monoface which combines features from different employee's faces together to produce some pretty entertaining portraits. You can can shuffle the images to see random face combinations or click specific features (eyes, nose, mouth, head) to make your own creatures, I mean faces. There are a total of 759 375 possible combinations and you can't help but make a few. These guys are clearly brilliant advertisers.

Denver Water Ad Campaign by Sukle Advertising

This advertising campaign for Denver Water is pretty effective. It grabs your attention and its simple message is reinforced by the visuals. The fact that is about water is a little lost in the print material, but I still like it. The water aspect comes across in the commercials.

On a side note, the Sukle site is awesome. Glad to see someone still has a sense of humor when it comes to websites.