Nobody Likes an Iron Fist; Rule Instead with Iron Thumbs

"But how...?" you ask.

By tethering underlings to consuming new workloads, straight from your spankin' new BlackBerry Pearl. Imagine how much more satisfying your pointless requests will be once they're liberated from the constraints of a timesheet and a computer!

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Pay-As-You-Go Service Compared to Grocery Store Grabber Game

European mobile carrier Orange has this pay-as-you-go program that lets users define their own reward system. To promote it, Fallon/London tapped Reuben Sutherland of Joyrider, who came up with "Grabber."

In the spot above, transparent orange balloons, shaped like random animals, float enchantedly up toward the skylight of a factory building. (This setting was labeled "timeless," which I guess is true, given that we never quite run out of deserted warehouses.)

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Android Unveiled, Candystand Sold, Teachers Targeted, Flat Screens for Fiesta

- T-Mobile debuts first Google Android phone, thereby changing face of mobile forever, etc., etc.

- Wieden and Starbucks break up.

- Wrigley sells advergaming goldmine Candystand to Funtank. No word on why the service, which CEO James Baker of Funtank called "great viral marketing," was sold. Maybe it was just time to cash in.

- Biggie Smalls hits the big screen. "Too bad we're not in middle school anymore," says a twenty-something colleague. "I'm imagining the tears ... and the hugging."

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Samsung Mobile Moment Locates Lost Hotness

Last week, Toronto residents looking for some love had some help from Samsung and Koodo Mobile's Mobile Moment campaign. The promotion launched Friday August 1 with street teams blanketing the city asking mobile users to text their 'missed connection' to MobileMoment.ca.

The Mobile Moment initiative is built on the "missed connection" phenomenon (i.e. Damn, she was hot. I gotta find her!) where people post messages in classified section of newspapers and on web sites hoping to connect with the person they saw. Samsung and Koodo are making it possible for missed connection enthusiasts to text message 56366 where their missed connection messages are posted live for all Toronto to see.

One Man Dares to Sing Opera Before Simon Cowell.

His name was Paul Potts. During his unexpectedly spellbinding audition on Britain's Got Talent, he touched the hearts of viewers everywhere. (Really. I don't know if it was his voice or the pop show context or what, but I've never seen anything like that on American Idol.)

The crescendo: Before he went on to win the show last year, he was a mobile phone salesman. So now T-Mobile's using his defining moment in a German ad campaign. (Nice touch with the little girls and businessmen crying over their mobile phones.)

The closer (translated from the German): "Life gives us extraordinary moments. The beauty of it is that we can share them." What a charming lesson in opportunism.

Happy Birthday, Hello Viking! Now Let's Smack Some Norse Pirates Around.

I'm kinda digging Viking Smackdown, a game Hello Viking put out to celebrate its one year anniversary.

I'd probably like it more if I could play it though. (You can only play from an iPhone or iPod touch with sassy tilting capabilities. And as the "sorry, fuck off!" message states, "Shaking your laptop just won't cut it.")

Here's the next-best thing (not really): a video about the game! (Scroll down.) I'm digging the awkward vibe and bare feet.

What's That? It's a Phone Charger, Powered By My Mooooves.

European mobile carrier Orange has launched a phone charger powered by dance energy.

"The Orange Dance Charge is the result of months of research into alternate, sustainable energy sources to power mobile phones during summer music festivals," says the pressie with a straight face.

The unit was developed with help from GotWind, whose unfortunate name refers to renewable energy research, not the thing that happens when you pull Uncle's finger. The charger's system of weights and magnets provides an electrical current when a person flails about.

Orange Dance Charge was tested at the Glastonbury Festival last month. A promotional Dance Charging Man helped newbs charge phones in exchange for a dance.

Yeah, I've fallen for that one before. Just one dance, baby ... and I'll give you a charge, all right.

Orange Brings Wind Power to Phones of Glastonbury Revelers

For last weekend's Glastonbury Festival, GotWind.org partnered with mobile firm Orange to launch the REcharge Pod, a mobile phone recharging station powered entirely by wind.

The companies pitched a windmill-mounted tent where people could charge phones without using ordinary power sources. The pod recharges 100 mobile phones per hour; any unused energy is stored in its Manbat battery bank.

This was the REcharge Pod's second year at the Festival. Thanks to in:fluencia for the tip.

Street Art Meets Foot Fetish in NIKE PHOTOiD

Capitalizing on culture junkies accustomed to a world they can manipulate with ease, AKQA shot Street Canvas, a promotion for Nike PHOTOiD.

To a cool beat and without narration, the video describes the following process.

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McCain Changes Stripes, Vogue Blacks Out, Cannes Canned, Keyboard Dipped

- John McCain souped up his logo. Bystanders are skeptical. UPDATE: McCain did not change his logo. The new one comes from a third-party vendor. The Under Consideration blog apologizes for the confusion.

- For its 50th anniversary, The Marketing Society launched 50 Golden Brands, which will celebrate 50 "hero brands" for the past 50 years. Contenders include eBay, Virgin, Perrier and some weird thing called Fairy Liquid.

- George Parker taught me a new word: Adverati. He also handpicked the ugliest pictures out of Advertising Age's Cannes party post and put the subjects in a more engaging light. And by "engaging," I mean "fluorescent."

- Rocawear and Boost Mobile launched a mobile campaign. Amobee is serving the ads. The campaign is about overcoming adversity. It's also about scoring discounts and disseminating unique and motivating Jay-Z lines like "I will not lose."

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