Tag: australia

Oakley Pro Vision

When you picture a virtual reality (VR) headset, you probably think of something really high-tech and far too expensive to be practical. Apparently, the guys at Google thought the same thing. So last year they launched Google Cardboard, a cardboard cutout that turned Android phones into a neat virtual reality headset.

Since people tend to throw away the cardboard packging of their sunglasses. Oakley decided to integrate Google Cardboard into their packaging and give customers a unique 360 degree view of various extreme sports – surfing, skiing, mountain biking, skateboarding and sky diving.

The evolution of iBeacons

iBeacons are the future of retail. However last week I spotted two unique examples of how the technology could be used beyond retail…

SnackBall Machine

GranataPet is a pet food company from the Bavarian Alps. In their latest campaign, they decided to port the fitness hype from the human world to the dog world.

With the help of their ad agency MRM / McCann Germany, they developed a SnackBall Machine that automatically launched a tennis ball (embedded with an iBeacon) in the park when the dog owner checked-in with #snackball on Twitter. The dog that quickly returned with the ball was then rewarded with a healthy GranataPet Snack, that was activated by the proximity of the ball to the machine.

Since its launch across various large German cities, GranataPet has seen a 27% lift in sales at various local pet food shops.

Tzukuri iBeacon Glasses

Australian company Tzukuri (phonetic spelling of “to make” in Japanese) has successfully combined a tiny iBeacon chip with regular sunglasses, that automatically and permanently connect with the users iPhone. So when the user leaves the sunglasses somewhere he is automatically alerted via a custom iPhone app.

More infos on the glasses are available at: www.tzukuri.com

Foxtel Alert Shirt

In September 2012, London fashion house CuteCircuit launched a wearable, sharable, programmable tshirt. Then in 2013, Durex Australia unveiled their wearable electronic underwear that allowed touch to be transferred over the internet. Now joining this growing trend of wearable electronic clothing is the Alert Shirt from Australian telecommunications company Foxtel.

Loyal Foxtel customers can now use this special shirt to experience in real time some of the physical sensations their favorite rugby players have on the field i.e.

  • Pressure: A thumping heartbeat
  • Impact: The shock of a big hit
  • Adrenalin: An intense rush of blood
  • Exhaustion: Lungs burning with effort
  • Despair: A sudden sinking feeling

The data is transmitted via Bluetooth from a smartphone app, and the shirt is powered by a lithium polymer cell battery.

Happy Holiday Videos 2013

Welcome back! Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Now for a great start to 2014! 🙂

Taking off from my last post, here are a series of holiday action videos created by agencies around the world in their lead up to Christmas 2013…

Christmas Chocolate Coin Factory by W+K London

Wieden+Kennedy London turned their Hanbury Street office window into a Christmas installation. Passers-by who inserted a 1 pound coin into Dan & Dave’s Chocolate Coin Factory activated the machine on display which then dispensed a special gold Belgian chocolate coin at the other end. All the money collected from this coin factory was donated towards building a new playground for Millfields Community School in Hackney, East London.

Disrupted Christmas by Holler

Holler an agency from Sydney created a live interactive installation that gave the general public a chance to disrupt the agency as it worked throughout the day. Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) units were hacked and hooked up to the Internet via IP cameras. Then key members of the agency were connected to the EMS units, and the Internet via a live stream. The public could then watch the agency staff online and instantaneously zapp them at will with the click of a button.

For each disruption the agency donated $1 to The Factory, a local community centre with a long history of supporting socially and economically disadvantaged local residents.

Happy Holidays by Victor & Spoils

Crowdsourcing agency Victor & Spoils for its holiday card transformed the Dove Body Evolution model into Santa Claus.

The More the Merrier by Publicis Groupe

The Publicis Groupe was back again with another Maurice Lévy YouTube video. This time however they worked with DigitasLBi to create a video that used the viewers webcam and facial recognition to count how many people were actually watching the video together. Then based on the number of viewers the video changed…

The Epic Christmas Split by Delov Digital

Delov Digital from Hungry used Chuck Norris to top Jean-Claude Van Damme’s epic Volvo split with the help of some serious digital enhancement.

Video Stamps

Unpacking post is a bit like unpacking gifts. So for this Christmas, Australia Post has created a video stamp that lets senders add a more personal touch to their packets via a QR code stamp that is linked to a custom video message.

J.C. Penney has already linked QR Codes to voice messages during their Santa Tags sticker campaign in 2011. And at the beginning of 2012 there was also a concept video doing rounds on YouTube about a similar DHL Christmas Video packet service. So I am just surprised that it took so long for a postal service to pick up on the concept and implement it. 🙂

Telekinize the Rainbow

On an average, just 6% of fans engage with a brand’s Facebook page after liking it. So Skittles Australia and their agency BBDO Clemenger decided that the average like just wasn’t enough. To get the attention of Facebook users, they partnered with Ben Cai, Australia’s leading mechanical and aerospace engineer, to create a Facebook app that allowed users to control Skittles with their minds.

The app displayed the Skittles via a live webcam, so that fans could see the Skittles they move in real life and be amazed by their newly discovered powers. As a result, fans spent an average of over 4 minutes interacting with the app, and likes on the Skittles Facebook page increased by 1500% every day.

Dumb Ways to Die

Accident rates on the Melbourne Metro were rising due to an increase in risky behavior around trains. Since a rail safety message was the last thing people wanted to hear, and traditional public safety messages just did not work any more. McCann Melbourne decided to turn the message people needed to hear, into a message that people wanted to hear by embedding the messaging into a song and accompanying music video: Dumb Ways to Die…

By using entertainment, not shock tactics, the message transcended advertising to become social currency. Dumb Ways to Die became the most shared public service campaign in history, with over 1.7 million social media shares in the first month alone. Here is the case video…

Durex Fundawear

If t-shirts can be digitised then why can’t underwear. Durex Australia has just unveiled “Fundawear” a first of its kind wearable electronic underwear that allows touch to be transferred over the internet while maintaining comfort, sexiness and flexibility. Now people in long distance relationships can for the first time tease, tickle and tantalise even when apart.

To replicate the nuances of touch, each garment houses sophisticated touch technology that connects with a real-time server to communicate between both touchscreen devices and garments.

Fundawear is still in the experimental stage, so no word on a release date. But if you provide a creative reply to “How would you use Fundawear with your partner?” at the Durex Facebook page, then maybe you could win yourself a free prototype.

How to plan a funeral

Speeding is the primary contributor to fatalities in Australia. So in September 2012 the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) created a Pinterest campaign that educated girlfriends and mothers ‘How to plan a funeral‘ for their young men who have 6 times more chances of a fatal crash than young women.

The campaign was based on the insight that a comment like “I’d hate to plan your funeral. Slowing down won’t kill you” from a close friend or relative has a much more profound effect than any message from an authority like the TAC.

Track My Macca’s

McDonald’s in Australia decided to use technology to tackle one of its biggest problems i.e. the disbelief that its ingredients are fresh, locally sourced and of decent quality. So with image recognition, GPS, augmented reality and some serious integration with its supply chain, they put together a full story behind every ingredient people came across while buying food at McDonald’s. 😎