Brew Dog. The World’s Strongest Beers now also served in Dead Squirrels.

Juli 26th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Business, Experimental, Social Business
Tags: Beer, Brew Dog, Cool, Creativity, ecommerce, Experimental, Funny, Ideas, Long Tail, Strategy, visual, We like, World

If there is one thing that I like about e-commerce it is the beauty of the long tail. You know what I am talking about – bizarre niche products and, sometimes, even more bizarre ways to market them.

Talking about bizarre…

Get to know Brew Dog, a brewery from North-East scotland. What the scots do is simply to c

reate some of the strongest beers on earth. Being sold under names such as ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin‘ or ‘Sink the Bismarck‘ we are talking about beer with 32% – 50% ABV!!! That’s more than most vodkas have.

And long tail is what Brew Dog is all about

Beer was never meant to be bland, tasteless and apathetic. (…) We are proud to be an intrepid David in a desperate ocean of insipid Goliaths.

As a German I particularly like their little personal war with my Fatherland. I think not one product was named ‘Sink the Bismarck‘ since 1941. But hey, in Brew Dog’s case it’s absolutely alright. I mean they serve their beer in squirrels. That’s just genius!

Check out Brew Dog’s products, read their blog and buy their dead squirrel beer. They deserved it.

And here is the brilliant new video of the guys, announcing the strongest beer on earth, called ‘The End of history‘ which weighs about 55% ABV (OMFG)!!!

I am a fan. And here is the clip…

Read more »

Hot Wheels. Now that’s a Media Award.

Juni 24th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Media, We like
Tags: Brands, Cool, Creativity, Experimental, Ideas, Kids, Media, Mexico, Ogilvy, Out of Home, Toys, visual

Good idea, Ogilvy Mexico. The big boy looking down to the thousands of cars roaming Mexico City’s streets is a little bit scary. Nevertheless it’s just a perfect Media buy for Hot Wheels. No doubt, this is one, not mainstream applicable Award Idea. But I have to admit it’s a nice one. (via Ibelieveinadv)

Awesome. I am about to become European.

Juni 12th, 2010 • View Comments Allgemein
Tags: Europe, Experimental, Germany, Underway, World

Over the last couple of weeks I once again found out why it is cool to be European.

As you might know I have moved from Frankfurt, Germany, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands to start my new job at Blast Radius. One week before my move I travelled to Madrid to hold a lecture at IED – Istituto Europeo di Design about the social revolution that is still in progress.

Yes, I am both, pretty excited and exhausted. But no matter what is going to happen, it is a privilege to get to know so many new people and find out about different cultural perspectives that I did not have by now. Becoming an expat in a city such as Amsterdam is a great thing. And my new agency offers a lot to ease the repatriation pain. But unfortunately too few Dutch colleagues. I will have to practice Dutch on the streets of Amsterdam. Since pretty much everyone around me comes from a different part of the world.

So why am I happy to be European?

Simply because right at the moment my own knowledge is challenged culturally as a European. Living in a more culturally open environment such as Amsterdam made me realize that the rest of Europe really is more into that web-thing than Germany (sorry, that is the truth). A trip to Spain made me understand that young Spaniards are some of the most social savvy people I have met so far. Nevertheless their generation struggles with the state’s high debts, unemployment and a painful depression. Something my country of origin, Germany, did not have to suffer from in that intensity.

Europe is a continent with many similar countries. But they are far from being identical. And that indeed is something which is nothing but a strength. I am now learning a similar language to Dutch and interact continuously with Europeans and non-Europeans who part of the new worldwide nation that is Expatria.

Read more »

Absolut. Wallpapering Italy.

Juni 10th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Display, Media
Tags: Absolut, Ads, Art, Brands, Cool, Creativity, Display, Experimental, Ideas, Italy, Lifestyle, Media, Out of Home, Outdoor, visual, We like, World

There are a few brands in this world that simply know how to stage themselves. Absolut doublessly is one of them. Check out ‘Absolut Wallpaper’, a wonderful revision of Modern Art by Ron English. This is currently on display in Rome and Milan. Thanks to PSFK and Wooster Collective for the link.

Rome

Milan

PSFK. The Future of Retail.

Juni 3rd, 2010 • View Comments Retail, Social Business, Tech, Trends
Tags: Business, Creativity, Experimental, Future, Ideas, Prediction, PSFK, Report, Retail, Social Business Design, Strategy, Trends, World

As the world intertwines the web and reality, retail becomes one of the most crucial sectors to stage new marketing experiences for customers. Notorious PSFK has just staged its deck about ‘The future of Retail‘. The free 80 page analysis highlights how new technologies and senses play a crucial role in shaping shopping experiences. The trends identified within this document and the examples used to bring them to life are inspired by innovation from around the globe. And as usual it comes with a handy guide what is going to be hot in tomorrow’s retail experiences. PSFK, I love your decks.

Zombie Campaigns. The old Award Show Problem revisited.

Mai 16th, 2010 • View Comments Allgemein
Tags: ADC, Agencies, Awards, Business, Creativity, Experimental, Germany, Ideas, Strategy, Truth, visual

Once upon a time there was a man named David Ogilvy who said something very true about advertising – ‘We sell or else’. We all think that this is the mission of advertising agencies (however you define them). No matter whether we talk about selling in a sense of branding, customer services, hard sales – we need to help solving our client’s business problem. Form follows function. Advertising does not end in itself.

We all know pretty often this is not the case. Not always but often advertising ends in itself. Especially when it comes to ad awards. Many of you know the rules of the game – the more awards you collect as an agency the more creative you are allowed to call yourself. That’s the currency of the advertising industry. But this currency follows a bizarre distribution logic – the most important awards worldwide do not reward effective campaigns and ideas. They reward funny concepts designed for awards shows without an effect on clients, markets and brands. Most often nobody has seen these ‘campaigns’ at all simply because they do not exist except on award shows. Zombie campaigns.

No, not every piece of marketing communication which has won a gold, silver or bronze nail at last weekend’s ADC (Art Director’s Club Germany) congress in Frankfurt and other award shows falls into this category. But some do. Zombie campaigns can easily be identified by doing a campaign reality check. Just ask yourself these questions.

The Zombie Creation Checklist

• Does the awarded campaign look like a fancy idea as trigger for a good marketing effect? Or just like a good idea?
• Does it look like something driven by an agency or by the client?
• Is the client an unusual small brand in comparison to the remaining client list of the agency?
• Is it technically feasible (if interactive) at all?
• Was there any real audience? Or were the only platforms to stage the concept ‘blogs’?

Read more »

Awesome. The new ‘Iron Sky’ Trailer is Online.

Mai 13th, 2010 • View Comments Experimental
Tags: Cool, Creativity, Experimental, Germany, Iron Sky, Movie, trailer, We like, World

How cool is that. A couple of days ago I have posted an article about a very interesting collaborative Finnish film project called ‘Iron Sky’ (Read the article here). And now the guys have just launched a new teaser with first live footage. If you live in Frankfurt, support the guys when they do their shooting here. If you don’t live in Germany enjoy the trailer, become part of the community to support the film and send the guys your money.

Collaborative Movies. Under the Iron Sky needs your help, Frankfurt.

Mai 5th, 2010 • View Comments Movies, We like
Tags: Cinema, Cool, Creativity, Experimental, Finland, Frankfurt, Iron Sky, Movie, Participatory Cinema, Social Business Design, Trends, World

In 1945 the Nazis fled to the moon. In 2018 they are coming back – this is the plot of one of the most exciting movie productions right at the moment, ‘Iron Sky’. The Finnish feature-length comedy science fiction film, directed by Timo Vuorensola and produced by Samuli Torssonen, will be in cincemas in 2011. And it is far more than just an ordinary movie production.

‘Under the Iron Sky’ is one of the most promising new movies of participatory cinema – projects in which producers have invited everyone interested in joining in with their ideas and creativity. Cinema enthusiasts can also attach media to their shots.

‘Iron Sky’ is not the first collaborative movie. Its predecessor ‘Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning‘ was one of the most successful Finnish movies ever (with a Creative Commons License). Currently at least three more major collaborative movies are being produced (e.g. ‘A Swarm of Angels‘). And these productions have grown to a serious size by now. With a well known international cast (Udo Kier plays the evil German again) and major, professional shoots. If you are as interested in the project as I am, subscribe to the team’s blog, Facebook page or follow them on twitter.

Read more »

Playful Cities. How Smart Tech Alters Urban Living.

Mai 3rd, 2010 • View Comments Location
Tags: Cool, Creativity, Experimental, Ideas, Lifestyle, Location, People, Presentation, RP10, Trends, Underway, Urban, World

Two weeks ago I returned from one of Germany’s best digital conferences – re:publica 2010 in Berlin. One of the sessions I liked most dealt with Playful Cities. And it was hosted by two friends of mine. Johannes and Igor gave a great overview about some exciting location-based tools beyond Gowalla and Foursquare. Tools that make our cities more worth living. Check out the nice projects they listed here and follow their talk. And maybe they might even prepare a Playful Cities Conference later that year.

Awesome. Meet the Cupcake Cannon.

Mai 1st, 2010 • View Comments Social, We like
Tags: Brands, Cool, creativitiy, Experimental, Fashion, Funny, Ideas, johnny cupcakes, Lifestyle, Presentation, video, visual, We like, World

I love good events. And I love good events being celebrated by good brands.

My favourite hipster vendor Johnny Cupcakes is on tour to bring great t-shirts to their friends all across the U.S. and Canada. A lot of things are happening underway. Such as on day 17 of the tour in Portland‘s Kamp Grizzly where the guys encountered a pneumatic cupcake cannon. I am not really sure what it is with hipsters and cupcakes but here we go…looks like fun.