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INFECTIOUS

MARCH 2011

A round up of the latest communications news and ideas from around the world

INTERACTIVE BILLBOARD DISPENSES DOG FOOD

German petfood company GranataPet have developed a clever way to convince dog owners to connect with their company using geolocation site Foursquare. Once a dog owner checks in on Foursquare near one of the giant billboards, it dispenses a free snack for their dog. The billboard isn’t too complicated either, as the checkins are sent to a server that’s connected to a box which controls the dispenser.

Watch the video: http://ow.ly/4ptou

To celebrate the launch of Lynx Excite, the latest fragrance that is “so tempting even angels will fall,” Lynx created the first augmented reality campaign in the UK to run on large format digital billboards at London’s Victoria Train Station and Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre. “Angel Ambush” features members of the public on the billboard itself as virtual angels interact with them. To interact, members of the public stood on a designated spot in front of the screen where a camera captures the scene and displays it on the digital site. The participant then watches as angels appear to plummet from the sky landing right next to them in a cloud of dust and debris before flirting with them affectionately. The innovative Unilever campaign was created and conceived by Mindshare Invention, produced by Grand Visual, and planned and booked by Mindshare and Kinetic.

Watch the video: http://ow.ly/4pBgY

LYNX LAUNCH UK’S FIRST INTERACTIVE AUGMENTED REALITY BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN

KELLY BROOK EXCITES FACEBOOK USERS

How would you like Kelly Brook on your doorstep? Lynx have created a Facebook app, featuring Kelly Brook as the Arch Angel of the new Lynx Excite campaign. By completing various tasks, users can receive personalised content from Kelly, which includes Kelly scrawling their name in lipstick on her mirror and landing on their street using thanks to Google Streetview. The page has so far received over 100k views and has an average dwell time of 5 minutes.

Watch the video: http://ow.ly/4pB7F

“DriveNow”is an mobile based car sharing system from BMW that will launch next month in Munich, and worldwide in the near future. The aim of the project is to connect commuters with BMW vehicles in a hassle free manner. Cars can be located and reserved in real-time on any web browsing device. Parking within the designated city is free, fuel is included as is insurance and billing is by the minute.

Check our the website: http://ow.ly/4qsjH

NEED TO HIRE A CAR? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

DIESEL ISLAND - LAND OF THE STUPID & HOME OF THE BRAVE

Diesel, have decided that they now need their own country. Apparently unhappy with the rest of the world, they have decided what people really need is a country where they can vote on the laws and on the national holidays. The country lives through Facebook and a brand site.

Take a trip to Diesel Island: http://ow.ly/4pBn6

DERELICT HOUSE BECOMES ART SENSATION

Candy Chang is a public installation artist, designer and urban planner. She turned the side of an abandoned house in her neighbourhood into a giant chalkboard that residents could write on and remember what is important to them. Before I Die transforms neglected spaces into constructive ones and Candy hopes it will allow others to learn from the hopes and aspirations of the people around us.

Check out her blog: http://ow.ly/4qngN

“UNBOTTLE YOURSELF” WITH CARLSBERG

Carlsberg asks “Is it possible to unbottle the courage that brews in all of us?”. Their latest campaign ‘Unbottle Yourself’ which runs from the 5th - 17th April in Sweden hopes to inject a bit of silliness into what they describe as a “stoic and sensible nation”. To get involved Swede’s must download the special ‘Unbottle Yourself’ app and successfully perform a series of missions. The 500 missions range from ‘speaking with a slight German accent all day’ to ’wearing a helmet to the gym’ and an easy shake of the app reveals a new mission. A range of daily prizes are up for grabs where players can get their hands on Rosklide Festival tickets, Spotify premium subscriptions, iPads and travel vouchers. The top ten participants will be entered into a grand prize competition where one lucky individual will win an all expenses party of a lifetime in Hong Kong.

Watch the video: http://ow.ly/4pszz

THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD

Morgan Spurlock is at it again, and this time he has swapped cheeseburgers for brand logos. His latest film looks into the ever popular product placement (did you know that 9 brands featured in Lady Gaga’s Telephone video?) and then delves into something very close to Mindshare’s heart, ‘branded content’. Whilst he never truly reveals his cards on the subject, he manages to raise valid points both for and against a brands place in content. And of course the film was entirely funded by brands.

Watch the trailer: http://ow.ly/4ptlb

Don’t forget everything featured is available online at: http://infectious-online.com

THE ESCAPE MACHINE

Voyages SNCF are a French travel company, and rather than just promoting themselves in traditional ways, they’ve opted for something a little more “avant-garde”. Big black cubes wait for people to approach and then they ask where in the world they would like to travel to. A red button appears. Then things go a bit crazy. For this one you really really need to watch the video.

Watch the video: http://ow.ly/4pBZ3