How do you make a sitcom like Friends, which went off the air 12 years ago—a year before YouTube even existed—seem relevant to YouTube users today?
Netflix who had recently acquired the rights to stream all 10 seasons, decided to launch a nostalgic Pre-Roll campaign by tagging thousands of videos with “Friends” clips. The insight being: no matter what you search for on YouTube, there is always something in “Friends” related to it.
There are places in Paris where you can’t get any Internet connection. So Ogilvy Paris setup free Wifi hotspots in these areas and incentivised people to make use of the wifi by first playing a short game of ‘Scrabble WiFi’.
Once the user proved his spelling skills, the score from the word was converted into free wifi minutes. The higher you scored, the longer the connection. Sharing the score on Facebook also doubled the connection time.
Inspired by Ford’s KeyFree technology for unlocking and locking cars, Ogilvy Paris developed the “KeyFree Login” app for the Mac. Once installed and configured, the app logs you into services like Facebook, Twitter and Gmail by unlocking your credentials when your mobile device is close to your computer. When you move away, it locks them again by logging you out.
From the coverage around the launch, the experience is built for Mac users running Google Chrome, using Bluetooth proximity to detect when your phone is “in range” and should behave like a key.
The move is elegant because it borrows an existing mental model. Your phone becomes a key. Close means open. Far means closed. That makes the value instantly legible, even if you have never used KeyFree on a car.
It also reframes “password fatigue” as a product problem, not a user problem. Instead of asking people to remember more, type more, or reset more, it tries to remove the repeated act of logging in and out.
In everyday authentication design, the job is to reduce login friction without normalising risky shortcuts.
This is advertising that behaves like a tool. The brand promise is demonstrated through a working interaction, not explained through claims. If it feels real, it gets talked about. If it gets talked about, the car feature gets remembered.
The lock-on-walk-away detail is the smartest part. It turns convenience into a security story, which is what stops “auto-login” sounding irresponsible.
I hope Apple implements a feature like this into macOS. It would make life more convenient and help avoid login fatigue. Until then, Ford KeyFree Login is available at: https://www.ford.fr/keyfreelogin
It automates login and logout based on proximity. When your paired phone is near your Mac, supported accounts can unlock and log in. When you leave, the sessions lock by logging out.
Because it replaces repeated typing with a single physical signal. Presence becomes the trigger, which fits how people already think about keys and access.
It translates a car feature into a daily digital behaviour. That makes the underlying promise tangible, even for people who are not currently shopping for a vehicle.
Unintended access if the “near” state is triggered at the wrong time or place. The concept only works when the lock behaviour is reliable and the user stays in control of pairing and sessions.
Talkability and comprehension. Whether people can explain it accurately, whether they share it, and whether it improves recall of the original feature it is promoting.
