Hosting a art/design competition isn't just for brands like Red Bull and and Pepsi. Now even brands like Tupperware are getting in on the act.
Art of Can
The Red Bull Can entries are for me the most exciting and varied. It's quote amazing to see what can be done with one base element and some imagination.
Translations in Tupperware
With the variety of products that Tupperware offer it should be easier to create something special. Entries close August 31st so there's plenty of time to get creative. Click here to view last years winners
I still remember my mum hosting Tupperware parties in the 80's. Do people still do that now or is it all Mary Kay these days?
Designer Glass
Bombay Sapphire has been running it's Design Glass competition annually and while it doesn't use the actual product itself the entries are created for the act of drinking it so I think this counts. The entries must also be functional glasses used for drinking which adds an extra element of difficulty above the previous two comps as they just need to look "cool".
Design Our Pepsi Can
Pepsi have gone design crazy with 35 different can designs and a comp calling for people to design their can aptly titles Design our Pepsi Can. They even created a site for the designs called Pepsi gallery. Don't hold your breath for a travelling exhibition for any of the designs. The winning can will receive $10,000 and have their design displayed on 500 million Pepsi cans.
These types of comps, when done right, can be a great way for people to engage with your brand.
Are there any other "art of the product" competitions I've missed?
Here's an interesting promotion for Doritos chips called Fight for the Flavour. Similar to the BK Chicken Fight this pits two new flavors against each other in a multiplayer fighting game. They also want you to vote on which flavor you like with the winning flavor staying on as a regular.
The art direction and flash work is great and the game is quite good. Worth checking out.
Below is the stop motion TVC which is quite fun too. Oh and those who can't get enough brands as their friends on Myspace you can check out the Myspace profile here.
Now I can't report 100% accurately as I didn't attend the midnight PS3 launch last Thursday. But I can use the photo evidence and my own account of the Xbox360 midnight launch to make this analysis.
1: Crowds:
You can't have a launch event without a crowd.
Xbox pulled about 1,000 people with little room to even swing a Wiiremote.
PS3 was lucky to reach 200 people. Xbox also handed out free 360 caps to people silly enough to wear them.
Winner: Xbox360 by a wide margin
2: Entertainment: OK you're expecting crowds of people to wait around for your product. Better keep them entertained or they'll get rowdy.
Xbox360 had cheerleaders and a hip hop krunk dance show. The cheerleaders were branded Xbox360.
PS3 had 3 minute massages and a screening of Casino Royal. Maybe Sony forgot they have a music department? Also it couldn't have hurt to have event staff in PS3 gear?
Winner: Xbox360. While the hip hop show was interesting, the cheerleaders were a crowd fav.
3: Food:
Waiting for a console to launch is hungry work.
Xbox360 had little to offer the hungry masses. Although I do vaguely remember some dodgy finger food.
PS3 had free drinks and ice creams although served by this excited fellow from 2DayFM. Would it have been too much work to get him in a PS3 T-Shirt?
Winner: PS3 just. When's the last time you went to a launch event and all you got was an ice cream on a stick and a can of drink?
4: Try before you buy:
You're launching a gaming system so let the plebs play with it.
Xbox had at least 15 demo stations setup playing their lacklustre launch lineup.
PS3 had one jumbo screen playing Gran Turismo while a lot of bored people look on.
Winner: Xbox360. I used to hate waiting to play the consoles at department stores and now that feelings magnified by the size of the screen and the fact you're there at 11.30pm.
5: The MC:
You can't host an event for 2-3 hrs without an MC.
Xbox360 went with Nova and the James Matheson from Channel V while
PS3 went with 2DayFM's Lizzy Lovette.
Winner: Xbox360. While Lizzy is cute I'd say she thinks a PSP is something her tax agent deals with. James may be over saturated with the Idol gig but hey he's the best of the worst when it comes to radio/TV personalities.
Also with Sony fingers in so many entertainment pies this is the best they could do?
6: Big Screen Impact:
What better way to show off your HD gaming system than to show it big.
Xbox360 had one 46" screen setup in a VIP area playing Fight Night.
PS3 had a massive projector screen screening Casino Royal and then used to display the PS3 game play.
Winner: PS3. You can't mistake the impact of a big mofo screen.
7: People:
You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they keep.
Xbox360 had these two lovely ladies in cosplay but I think they were paid so they don't really count.
PS3 had this little guy Dalton, who looks to be the happiest little guy on Earth right now.
Winner: Tie. Cosplay was so last week but you can't argue with sexy chicks to please the mass of male gamers and anyone who's seen Carnivale, LOTR and Twin Peaks know how cool little people are.
8: The first customer:
OK now's the time to get some PR spin for the first Australian to own your next gen console.
Xbox360 pulled all the stops with Far North Queensland teen Jake Spencer, a recovering stroke victim, had his Starlight Foundation wish come true when David McLean, Xbox director Australia, presented him with an Xbox 360 console and stack of games before official trading commenced.
PS3 wound up with some bald knob called Danny from Pyrmont.
Also the Sony exec looks like the dad off American Pie while the Xbox Exec looks like a guy who may have actually played avideo game.
Winner: Xbox360. Unless Danny's baldness is from kemo, then Sony don't really have much of a story to work with the press.
Final Score:
Xbox360: 6
PS3: 3
Xbox's event was the biz and is rightfully the winner and even wet weather couldn't put a dampner on the night. Sony could and should have done a lot more to make this a grand event.
Also isn't Microsoft boring and Sony cool?
I guess it's the underdogs who try harder.
Media Coverage:
You can read gaming media reports about the PS3 launch here on Angry Gamer and Kotaku.
Or you can read the main stream media like The Age, Cnet and News. Maybe the News team got a free PS3 for putting a good spin on the night.
Jeep has been busy with 3 big online promotions launching recently.
First we have Goonies: Return to Astoria produced by Fuel Industries. The game looks great, there are 4 levels and a fitting 80's soundtrack.
I guess all the kids that liked the movie will now be old enough to buy a Jeep.
This leaves just Tron, The Breakfast Club, Revenge of the Nerds and Ferris Bueller's Day Off as cult films of the 80's that haven't been turned into a marketing campaign. (Let me know if I'm wrong here).
Next up we have The Way-Beyond Trail for the Jeep Patriot. A choose your own adventure style game. The production is good and the adventure fun and with 45 scenes it's large enough to have reply value.
I also like the data entry at the beginning and that choices there affect the content of the videos.. Look out for some nice little Easter eggs if you linger on some screens for too long.
Lastly we have The Patriot Factor. No, not a game show where they test your level of love for your country but a Jeep and Marvel online comic where the users suggest the story. A nice feature for comic book buffs is being able to see the pencil and ink artwork as well as the final colour rendering.
I'd love to see a case study at the end of the promotions to see what was successful. I preferred the Way Beyond Trail myself even if it was a little cheesy in places, the humor was actually funny in places which is rare for this type of content.
Jeep have certainly gone all out and while not as focused as say Mini's online endeavors, they are definetly picking their game up. (No pun intended)
Not one but two campaigns from Nokia and FarFar this month.
This one, promotion the Nokia N95, titled Great Pockets showcases Henry Needle & Sons - Bespoke tailored plus sized pocket fashion for the mobile multimedia gadget lifestyle. Again great use of video (I love the transitions after clicking no thanks) and great talent. All wrapped up into an original and funny concept.
We also have a Myspace page, a Flickr account and youtube videos. Although I'm unsure as to what purpose the Myspace page serves as there isn't really anything on it. Could be SEO?
What makes this site work is the integration of the product and the call to action to win. You win a Nokia N95 and your friend receives a pair of great pockets.
