Agency Spy

Good. So very good. Cheers to BBDO, director Sam Mendes and HBO for going there.
HBO seems to always go there. The channel has also launched a YouTube channel, which features full-length episodes of struggling programs such as “In Treatment,” which need to build audiences and promo clips from “Flight of the Conchords,” “The Wire,” and others hits fit for the demo. Sweet.

One of the many boys who live in our brownstone just came bounding downstairs to ask if we wanted to order pizza. Sure. He insisted that we use Domino’s Big Fantastic Deal pizza builder. We never, ever eat Domino’s in this house. We’re the kind of people who like to support the locals, you know?

So, off we go to the Domino’s site and we gotta say, this is one of the best uses of consumer engagement and web based technology we’ve seen in a long time. Way to go Domino’s and way to go Crispin Porter. After building the EXACT pizza we wanted, we ordered it online. Simple sickness. Using technology to make the consumers life easier? Who would of thunk it? There’s some sort of contest too, but neither of us cared. We were just giddy with the level of personalization Domino’s just handed us, as well as the high level of customer service (it’s gonna be here in 30 minutes or else). What else could you ask for?

Bravo.

More: The Agency Of The Year Screws Up Hyundai’s Big Day 

The agency SS+K has been working with new company Credo Mobile . Credo aims to make the best out of cell phone service by taking 1% of your charges and putting them towards “progressive” causes such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. Finally! A cell phone service for liberals.

No seriously… Okay, so while we just poked some fun, we’re also going to give SS+K a big thumbs up for using interactive artist Paul Notzold to create a dynamic street campaign. Paul agreed to the project because he believes in the mission of Working Assets, which Credo is a subsidiary of.

And we’re going to give AdWeek, who covered the campaign, a big thumbs down for not mentioning him. Advertising journals often fail to mention the artist (unless they’re a big name) who provides the actual creative force. Hey AdAge? The agencies won’t look bad if you reference whom they tapped. Notzold’s made quite a name for himself lately and is a respected member of the street artist community. We all know that brands are especially worried these days about whether or not agencies have a clue about what’s going both online and off. SS+K look like they’ve got their ear to the street on this one. Nice.

SS+K employed Paul’s genius technology that provides passersby to interact with the campaign using their cell phones. Projected cartoons, drawn by political satirist Tom Tomorrow, (featuring images of people such as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney) were shown next to blank dialogue boxes leaving onlookers to fill in the blanks. The application of Paul’s technology is so great because it allows contextualizing of text messaging to tell a story in public space. 

Alice Ann Wilson, design director, SS+K, said “This is voice that contributes to larger issues. The text projection creates a sense of community where everyone can use their phone to actively engage in the brand.”

Right on.

Okay fine. We’re addicted to AdGabber. High five to AdRants. Come be our friend?

Looks like we’re not the only ones who are digging the site. Rohit Bhargava, an excellent blogger and Ogilvy’s VP of Interactive Marketing, is on board, too. We’re wondering when agencies and even ad bloggers (unite!) are going to start their own groups. Oh… and AdRants? Can you guys make an advanced search function? That would be amazing.

Thanks to the tipster for the link. We love this new spot from Euro RSCG New York for the old acne med Clearasil. We don’t need to explain why right?

Adidas, the premier sponsor of the US Soccer League, has launched a new site, MLS Represent, that pairs each franchise with a musical partner. Each band or artist has created original music and songs for their team. The public can then get online and download the tune for free. The web portion of the site will then be followed up with broadcast spots and performances by the artists at home games.

We’re into this attempt to get those outside of the core soccer demographic to come into the fold. Look, we downloaded that Rapture song for the New York Red Bulls and we’re not sure what a corner kick is. The artist selected cover everyone from the cool 20-somethings (The Rapture) to the hip-hop heads (Mike Jones) to the early 30-something rockers who love OkGo, but grew up on the rush of Bad Brains. Check out the full list of band/musical pairings below.

Akwid: “¡Chivas Explosivas!” (Chivas USA)
Bad Brains: “D.C. United” (D.C. United)
Barenaked Ladies: “TFC” (Toronto FC)
Blackpool Lights: “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Stop Us Now” (Kansas City Wizards)
Damone: “Revolution” (New England Revolution)
Mike Jones: “Houston Dynamo (Don’t Play)” (Houston Dynamo)
Kinky: “We Are the Galaxy” (L.A. Galaxy)
Meg & Dia: “The Mighty R-E-A-L” (Real Salt Lake)
OK Go: “Here Comes the Fire” (Chicago Fire)
The Polyphonic Spree: “H-O-O-P-S Yes!” (FC Dallas)
The Rapture: “Whoo! Alright, Yeah… Uh Huh” (New York Red Bulls)
RJD2: “It’s Your Crew” (Columbus Crew)
Rose Hill Drive: “Goal!” (Colorado Rapids)

We’re all over AdAge today. On July 16th, they wrote a piece about the fast food chain Sonic’s YouTube ads, which as they astutely point out, are great. The ads feature two different pairings: two guys or a husband and wife team as they sit in the Sonic drive through lane. The spots are short, clever, highly entertaining and created by the agency Barkely out of Kansas City, MO. See them all here.

What AdAge fails to mention is that while the first two videos were huge hits on YouTube, the latter spots failed to make a real impact. And this - is the problem with YouTube campaigns and the attention span of the past two generations, which have been on Ritalin since they were five. A perfect example of the issues that can take place with “follow-up” viral videos can be seen in the recent Ray Ban spots. So what did Barkely decide to do? Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone brace themselves. We’re about to use McDonald’s as an example of how best to go green… In the UK, McDonald’s announced that it will start using its own waste cooking oil to make biodiesel, which will then be used to fuel its truck fleet of 155 vehicles. Matthew Howe, senior vice president has even suggested to Reuters that the company may be able to sell the excess biodiesel to others opening up a whole new revenue stream for the chain. Plus, by using the fuel, McDonald’s will save 1,675 tonnes of carbon per year, the company said.

This is how you do it. Help your clients go green by first figuring out how to help their business on the revenue side. Worry less about what consumer’s are going to think. Promise. They’ll love whatever you cook up whether its directed at them or not. If you need some help, look here. Secondly, going green to fast is improbable for most business. Start slow. Remember: Agencies and brands need to be very careful about greenwashing. It’s a fast way to destroying credibility in this new world that is very rightly concerned with all things eco. Look at poor Starbucks or the not so poor, Shell Oil.

Via Autoblog Green

More: Enough doom and gloom. Do something fun - Take A Peak At Some Agency Interiors

Everyone knows that generally, automobile advertising is super uncreative. However, a fine looking birdie just sent us a link to the new website from Mercedes Benz promoting their new C-class Sedan with the tagline, “The new C-class. Serene agility.” The site offers users a series of fun, yet easy flash games based on values incorporated within the C-class: space, energy, balance, confidence and interaction. What makes the website so special is their intellectualized and yet, intimate themes for the games. Take our favorite - space. The site asks you “how do you want to feel?” Good question. Today, we’re feeling calm. By messing around with two trigger points, we shifted the color to a warm green; the intensity of the balls fragments to a slow undulation and their shape to lava lamp like lumps. This type of interaction allowed us to project ourselves onto the brand and thus create a real connection point through the digital divide. Hard to achieve. We likey-likey. Much more so than the latest Audi microsite, which is similar in promoting interaction, but very slow to load and not nearly as compelling.

The site was built by Agency Republic ( a very fine shop) and under the eye of the married creative directing team of Gemma Butler and Gavin Gordon-Rogers. Read an interview with Gavin here.

More: Scion Goes Further Off The Grid
Or, The Worst Trend Agency Ever?

We love the “Power of Wind” spot created by Nordpol + Hamburg for German energy firm Epuron. It totally deserved to win top honors for best film advertising spot at Cannes. Humorous and yet, completely touching (sniff, sniff) the agency took the “idea” of wind and managed to humanize it through an awkward, loveable character and sweet narrative.

If you get a second, check out the Nordpol +Hamburg site here. It’s oddly almost perfect. While it’s all in German, the site manages to feel slick and clean, while managing to convey the idea of a fast paced world, culture. Perfect.

More: Check out other reasons to applaud.

Or, take a look at a few reasons not to.