FRANKthoughts

Apologies for the blog inactivity… it has been a busy week for FRANk with the move, pitch, projects, etc.

So a tiny post today to keep things interesting!

Diesel is celebrating their 30th aniversary with a big XXX party running parallel across 17 countries (not Australia unfortunately!).  It will be featuring stars such as Soulwax, N.E.R.D., Pete Doherty, Ed Bangers, etc.  Check it out Diesel XXX.

To promote the event, check out this viral video inspired by Safe for Work Porno work!  Diesel has taken images from 70s porno films, replacing “private” parts with well-thought out designs:

The Bill & Jerry thing is a bit weird. It is certainly not what we thought it will be - which is a good thing. We are so used to “shove it up your throat” ads that we don’t know what to think when someone, instead of shouting “buy my keyboard”, is giving us free entertainment.

When Seinfeld started most of us didn’t get it. People asked “Why would you watch a show about nothing?” and thought that “this guy Seinfeld isn’t funny”. A few episodes later, when you get used to the humor, the characters and the nothingness, you realised you actually enjoy it.It became funny.

Here is the thing. I enjoyed watching the last episode. oops, is it an episode? I thought this should be an ad. There’s lies the beauty. This is not a regular ad. It isn’t what we used to get. Microsoft is breaking new ground. (I don’t get why Adrants actually want this to sell them stuff? do we actually like ads???) With a 300,000 million budget Microsoft dont need to try and sell me stuff. They just need to warm me up to the brand. What do you think?

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On Sunday 31.08.08 myself and a million other runners in 25 countries participated in a 10k run organised by NIKE+. NIKE+ started with a product - A small chip in your shoe that talks to your ipod nano, tracking your distance, time, pace and calories burned. The product led itself to a community of runners with NIKE offers support, tools and coaching.

Nike plus is a business/product/marketing solution that proves you can achieve great results with an holistic cross business approach. NIKE is so good at that, building an experience that extends marketing buzz words, leaving you searching for new ones to describe it. All elements work seamlessly together supporting one strong mantra: help the participants kick ass.

This is how I felt and my feelings, memories and experience were brought to me by NIKE. How strong is this bond? Wondering how this whole thing came to life (going back to some behind the scenes boardroom) I find it hard to believe it started from a strategy line like: “we want to sell more shoes”. I believe the single thought that started this project was more in the line of: “how can we make our users happy?”. Nike proves that putting your users in front of the bottom line will pay dividends.

Being part of the human race made me think again about the power of brands.

This time Nike pulled off the world’s biggest race. What will they just do next? Here is one answer:

Okay, Lipton has come up with one of the most engaging ideas I’ve come across in a while.  You may have seen one of their yellow print ads that challenges the reader with a visual mind puzzle or riddle - you know the ones, “How many noodles are there 2 or 3?”  or “Remove nine letters to reaveal a single word”.  No?  Basically, they’ve created a campaign that leads consumers to one of the most sticky websites of all time!  I have probably spent at least 2 hours on it this week and the effectiveness was demonstrated this morning when Tamir noticed that I said the words Lipton Tea 20x in one conversation.  Talk about awareness.  I even turned my nose up at the Tetley bag in my cup, feeling that it is now somehow inferior to the brain-cell-boosting Lipton.

If you want to know what I’m talking about go to Brain Train.  You won’t regret it!

WARNING:  This site is extremely addictive.  Be prepared to get NO work done for at least the next hour.

You all probably get Adrants but I couldn’t resist posting this beast here. This has to be one of the coolest vehicles ever created.

From Adrants: “To call attention to Nike’s sponsorship of the AST Dew Tour, Hub Strategy, which put together a concepting team consisting of an architect, an industrial designer, a planner, a graphic designer and a copywriter. The result? A tricked out extreme vehicle complete with skate ramp, wake board tower, sirk rack, skateboard rails, BMX racks, a camper and, of course, iPod goodness.”

This ticks so many marketing buzz word boxes: it’s guerrilla, brand utility, sponsorship, branded entertainment and a mashup. Whatever we decide to call it - it delivers a unique and unforgettable experience. Even if you’re just looking at it.

This is a great slide show, courtesy of Paul Isakson. The future is engaging content not finger crossing humour…as we suspected. Please enjoy.

It’s the second week of i-mate’s Ultimate Escape and we’re starting to see some action.

Applications are coming in every hour or so and our first participant is already locked in! (You can check him out here). We also posted our second “call for applicants” video.

How about putting your application in?