Very Cool. A Duct Tape goes Tron.

August 23rd, 2011 • Display
Tags: Ads, Cool, Creativity, Duct Tape, Experimental, Funny, Meme, Memes, Tron, TV, visual

I have to admit I have rarely seen a better TV commercial for Duct Tape. But maybe that’s because Duck Products Tron Duct Take spot is the only one I know. Not enough Duct tape porn? Then go check out the user reviews to this Duct tape on amazon. No seriously. Do it.

Duck Tron from Ryactive on Vimeo.

Oh Boy. How to Fuck up the Announcement of a Great Invention Big Time.

August 11th, 2011 • Tech
Tags: 802.22, Cool, Experimental, IEEE, innovation, Tech, Tools, Trends, WLAN, World, WRAN

Engineers just know how to ruin a good story.

The thing which has just been announced as a new technical standard by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) will probably really be a revolution. But instead of giving this thing a really cool name they called it ‘WRAN’. Or to make it even more cryptic: 802.22.

‘WRAN’ stands for ‘Wireless Regional Area Network’. It basically takes the idea of your WLAN at home one step – or more – further and offers wireless internet access in an area up to 62miles/100km wide. We are talking about 12,000 Square Miles aka a lot. (via PCMasters)

As far as I understand this means we are getting one giant leap closer to Internet wherever we go. The potential implications of this new standard are absolutely breathtaking – just think about the challenge for Mobile carriers as well.

But anyway. It is good to see that there is absolutely no need to revise my stereotype of Engineers. You guys have possibly just invented one of the greatest technical solutions of our time and you call it “802.22″? Seriously IEEE: What the Fuck? This could have been the greatest product announcement since sliced bread. But you ruin it because you name it like a species of Alien Bacteria.

If you want to check out more of the IEEE’s fancy marketing concepts go check out their ‘Product page‘or the Wikipedia article.

It could have been good.

Exit Deutschland. Trojan Shirts for Nazis.

August 9th, 2011 • 2 comments Ideas, Politics
Tags: Cool, Creativity, Exit, Experimental, Funny, Germany, Ideas, People, Politics, visual, We like

It is sad enough that it is 2011 and we still need organisations such as Exit Deutschland. Even though Fascists only play an inferior role in Germany’s political system, they are very present in some parts of Eastern Germany. And that’s where organisations such as Exit play a pivotal role in offering alternatives for people who know nothing but their hateful community.

Exit Deutschland is an organisation that tries to help members of the fascist scene to leave their (quite often very violent) peer group. In order to get their message across they just designed a very smart ‘Trojan Shirt’.

For the 9th time Germany’s right wing NPD party was allowed to stage a festival called ‘Rock fuer Deutschland’. Members of Exit Deutschland dressed up as Nazis and passed 250 of their shirts to Festival visitors. The idea: The shirt actually looks like stuff any Fascist likes (‘Hardcore Rebels. Nationalistic and free’ + skull). But once the guys came home after the Festival and washed their shirts the shirt revealed a different message: ‘What your T-shirt can do, so can you – we’ll help you break with right-wing extremism’ + a contact number for Exit Deutschland.

24 hours after the Festival NPD watchdogs sent out SMS warnings to the festival guests. 250 out of 600 guests got a T-Shirt.

Well done Exit. At last one ‘Trojan marketing concept’ with a Political attitude. Learn more on their site and like them on Facebook. (via Happyschnitzel)

We Like. Credit Card Payment via Webcam.

Juli 27th, 2011 • 2 comments Tech, Tools
Tags: Cool, Creativity, ecommerce, Experimental, Future, Ideas, Jumio, Tech, Tools, We like

Every morning I am trying to fight my way through the world’s startup concepts on betali.st and other sites. And to be honest, most digital enterpreneurs do not have very good ideas.

Jumio Netswipe is different. Sounds like just another startup that…connects you with your friends/let’s you check in to dog poo. But it’s actually extremely purposeful. It’s the first Creditcard payment provider that scans your card via webcam. And yes, I think this really is pretty cool and can potentially be used in the future.

Jumio introduces Netswipe from Jumio Inc. on Vimeo.

via Netzwertig

15 Years Later. A Conversation with my first Creative Director, Steffen Herbold.

Juli 24th, 2011 • Allgemein, Social, Social Business, Strategy
Tags: Agencies, Experimental, Germany, Interview, People, Social, Social Influence Marketing, Social Media, steffen herbold, Strategy, Trends, WOB

A couple of weeks ago I talked about first jobs with a friend.

WOB was/is the name of my first employer/agency. And before anyone asks: Yes, Werbung und Organisationsberatung sounds awfully German. But I still think this dedicated B2B agency from the south of Germany is one of the most professional agency brands I ever worked for. B2B is tough. B2B is rarely considered as cool. And even though marketing Supply Chain Management Software or Nanotech solutions is definitely not for everyone, I am still happy I took my first steps in the agency world as part of the team from Viernheim (yes, Viernheim). It was one of the best ‘schools’ for a young marketing guy like me.

Back in the days when I realized I am better in copywriting than in Project Management there was one guy who thought I might be right. Steffen Herbold is Creative Director at WOB (pretty much since God created the Earth). He is a great copywriter, a very, very smart man, and he is one of the people I definitely do not meet as often as I should.

I kind of rediscovered Steffen (sorry Steffen) two years ago. After not being in contact for a while, we connected on Facebook and hold a steady dialogue since then. I was really interested to find out about how a dedicated B2B agency like WOB perceives the challenges by the Digital revolution in general and the social web in particular. And Steffen was so nice to answer a couple of questions. I am sure if you leave a comment he will gladly answer your questions as well.

Hi Steffen. Which role does Social Media play for a B2B agency like WOB nowadays?
A big one.

How different are B2B and B2C in this regard?
Well, obviously buying a chocolate bar and a ERP software have absolutely nothing in common. Apart from one thing: There are emotions involved. But whereas the purchasing processes of FMCG’s are individual and impulsive by nature, the buying process in a btob context is collective and reflected – so it is no wonder that these differences become manifest in social media too. I would put it this way: In b2c social media are capable of creating something like a “virtual nearness” between a brand and its target group, in b2b they’re an adequate tool to truly deepen existing relationships. You might as well say: b2c is brilliant flirting, b2b is serious marriage.
Read more »

Soulbot 3000. Looks great, safely contains human Souls.

Juli 20th, 2011 • Experimental
Tags: Cool, Creativity, Design, Experimental, Future, Ideas, Presentation, products, video

They say that we all lose 21 grams at the exact moment of death. They say that it’s the weight of the human soul. Soulbot 3000 is now able to contain this amorphous mass: The Soul. Thanks to Andreas Wannerstedt for making Soulbot 3000 possible.

(via Fubiz)

Genius. Diesel launches Excelbook.

Juni 18th, 2011 • 1 comment Brands, Ideas, We like
Tags: Apps, Brands, Campaign, Cool, Creativity, Diesel, Experimental, Facebook, Fashion, Funny, Ideas, Lifestyle, Media, Tech, Tools, We like

I just stumbled upon this wonderful concept gem: the Diesel Excelbook. Even though its branding value as an application is close to zero it is just one more amendment to the great platform that Diesel created with its Be Stupid philosophy. Simple, fun, stupid…well done Diesel. Check out the video…it is pretty selfexplanatory.

via Digial Buzz Blog

BMW. The Revenge of the Lonely Copywriter.

Mai 27th, 2011 • Allgemein, Brands, Experimental
Tags: Automotive, Banner, bmw, Cool, Copy, Copywriting, Creativity, Experimental, Funny, Ideas, visual

I don’t know how to call these ads/banners/posters that you see sometime when a copywriter is supposed to write a really long text for once. You know…when you get surprised by a format which is copy, copy, copy and it goes on and on.

It’s one of the saddest ad formats. The copywriter knows nobody is going to read it. He knows his copy is cursed to serve as long typography here. And that is why he is holding an inner monologue in this type of ad format where he consistently speaks to the reader as a copywriter – not necessary as a brand – thanking the reader that he fights his way through his copy. What makes it even sadder: Most often it is indeed great copy.

Check out this banner ad for BMW. It was done by the Canadian agency Cundari and it starts as a 300-by-250-pixel box. And then it expands and expands and expands. When moused over it turns into a 18,000 pixels high monster—that’s 20 feet—with more than 5,500 words of copy going on and on (and on and on).

As usual. The copywriter wrote a great text. But I always feel a certain sadness when I see letters mutating into typo. Great banner idea. But I think after years of working as a copywriter I know what this poor guy went through who wrote that. (via Bannerblog)

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Back to the Future. The Apple Knowledge Navigator.

Mai 24th, 2011 • Experimental, Ideas, Media, Mobile, Tech, Tools
Tags: 1980s, Apple, Brands, Cool, Creativity, Experimental, Future, Ideas, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, products, Tech, Tools, Touch

The following video was filmed in 1987 and stages a conceptual Apple design called the ‘Knowledge Navigator’. It is a concept described by former Apple Computer CEO John Sculley in his 1987 book, Odyssey. It describes a device that can access a large networked database of hypertext information, and use software agents to assist searching for information. Gesture control is included as well.

Apple produced several concept videos showcasing the idea. All of them featured a tablet style computer with numerous advanced capabilities. And I guess it reminds you of something. If you watch closely you will realize this video plays in the year 2010 or 2011…

Death? There is an App for that.

Mai 18th, 2011 • People
Tags: App, Apps, Creativity, death, Experimental, Facebook, Ideas, People, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networking, Social Networks, World

Imagine you get hit by this bus tomorrow on your way to work. Probably the last thing that comes to your mind is what happens to your social network connections. Anyway most platforms have clear rules on how to deal with your LOLCat pictures after you have deceased. And your Death 2.0 is alternatively very actively manageable through a bunch of other tools.

But now we have the one thing we very looking for for so long. If I Die is a Facebook application that allows afterlife Facebook status updates. You just leave behind your last message on Facebook, name three friends…and tell your loved ones what you really think of them.

via Digital Buzz Blog