Household brand method doesn't just make lick-worthy, scum-swabbing "salad bowls"; it also uses biodiesel fuel in its spankin' new delivery truck. (And it wants you to know. Really, really badly.)
I found out about the biodiesel delivery truck in a method email blast sent out to promote Smarty Dish, its new dishwasher detergent. This may just be personal, but I open almost all the emails method sends me.
A few minutes ago, I wondered why that was. I decided it's because I signed up for its "People Against Dirty" movement two years ago, and while the time in my life for feeling enthusiastic about lavender wood polish is over, I still feel excited when I see that slogan in a subject line, because some irrational part of me is convinced it may be a private message for the movement's eyes only.
method's like the in-crowd of habitat fumigation. You're just flattered to be involved, because deep inside you* know this brand isn't just about being clean and good; it's about radiating that inexplicable, effortless cool.
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This Nokia campaign, where a Personal Navigator leads the lost to their final destinations, probably wasn't meant to encourage emo-stricken weirdos to trust friendly strangers. But from here on out, if I ever want to kidnap a giant chicken in dire straits, I'll probably pull on a "Personal Navigator" shirt and try taking it by the hand.
Also see bickering pirates locate misplaced X, a lost alien get alienated, two goths find love, and -- my favourite -- Pacman outrunning the ghosts, which also have a Personal Navigator.
The campaign was seeded across the 'net by Unruly Media. Its happy task is to endear the Nokia N78 -- featuring maps! -- to the navigationally-challenged. The music gave each piece a Chaplinesque feel, which made things seem that much sadder when it all went horribly wrong.
Bowing to its slogan, "Change or die," North Carolina-based agency The Republik is inviting users to shoot the living crap out of its old website.
Choose from a 44 Magnum, a shotgun or a sniper rifle. The Magnum is by far the most satisfying, and after about 10 hits, a fancy new Republik site appears. It's got a lot going on. Existing projects float across a galaxy of polka-dots, and the top nav is vaguely reminiscent of Modernista, except without all the distractions.
When clicked, a floating dot labeled "don't click here" brings users to an alarmingly red self-promo page. Not a bad gimmick, but gimmicky all the same.
If I had the cash and a cause, would I tap The Republik by merit of its site? At the very least, I'd want to hear them out. I could be wrong, but I think they get it.
- Calvin Klein hopes a new e-commerce subsite will help it unload some "white label" (that is, very expensive but still mostly nylon and cotton) sports gear.
- For marketers hoping to retain a healthy base of Internet Explorer users, IE8 might turn cookies into a sometimes friend. Its InPrivate feature blocks them and automatically clears users' browsing histories once they end a session. Some writers are fondly calling it "porn mode."
- Free din-din at Google: officially off-limits, unless you happen to be an engineer. Not to worry, less twitchy Googlers won't starve. Lunch and breakfast remain a perk.
- PhotoShelter is selling some of its photographers' work as limited-edition art. Check out the existential phone booth.
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Check out "Don't Hate," an ad where a bunch of wise-arse kids barrage ign'ant adults with shark-friendly statistics like "Did you know you're more likely to be killed by a coconut falling out a tree?"
Don't get me wrong, it's a good message. Something about these kids -- the way they talk, their righteous I adhere to the Food Pyramid! tenors -- makes me want to tie my tubes, though. But hey, I also learned that sharks "just aren't interested" in eating me.
*steps into suit made of freshwater fish carcasses*
That's what they think!
Distributed by Raging Artists for Wild Aid. See variants. Oh yeah, and KISS stands for "Kids Involved in Saving Sharks," which was founded by an 11-year-old boy. Somebody I know was all, "Ugh. KAP -- Kids As Pawns. Can we puh-LEEZE stop that insanity." SRSLY, yo.
"Another box of Kleenex, one more forest gooooone!" That's part of Greenpeace's freaky new campaign song, inspired by the motion picture Wall*E. The group reimagined the doe-eyed, trash-smushing robot as the descendant of eco-antagonist Kleer*E, which -- in their words -- "gobbles up forests and spits out boxes of Kleenex."
Political cartoonist Mark Fiore produced the vid, available here. What was cute is now sinister, all part and parcel of Greenpeace's ongoing Kleercut campaign -- an effort to litter Kleenex's family-friendly brand persona with tree carcasses, wood splinters and warped, nightmarish jingles.
"Tell Kimberly-Clark to stop the Iron*E!" puns Greenpeace shamelessly. Once the goosebumps go down, though, I have to admit it's all very charming in a twisted sort of way.
MediaBuys, LLC has launched a web destination called Greedy People, where, according to the Flash intro, "People will do just about anything for MONEY." Think of it as Bragster with a desperate twang, or Digital Panhandler 2.0.
Users can earn cash for just about anything, and I mean anything. There's a dude on here apparently willing to pay somebody $25 to buy tampons for his "crazy feminist girlfriend." And another guy who'll pay $250 for somebody to talk to his dead relatives. (No prior experience necessary.)
Hell, the economy's weak; here's one more space that's raining money. See print ads here. (Down the right-hand side of the pressie.)
While Dell's Digital Nomads site has been up for a few weeks, it's only just beginning to receive press. The site is a social media offering for the increasing number of people for whom location has become irrelevant when it comes to work and online life.
Digital Nomads is a blog, a Facebook page, a LinkedIn page, a Twitter identity and a YouTube page. While it's been unclear whether or not Enfatico was involved in the creation of the work, an email to Dell Digital Nomad Enterprise Evangelist Bruce Anderson confirmed the agency's involvement. Anderson tells us Enfatico was "involved in the overall layout, design and social-media integration for the site."
With Dell's Richard at Dell having previously made mention to Adrants of work already done by Enfatico, it would seem that knowledge combined with the launch of Digital Nomads, would call for the retirement of that Enfatico countdown clock.
"Everyone has something to reveal. They just need to be unbuttoned," Levi's croons, crowning its "Unbuttoned" campaign for the classic 501 jeans with "spoonfuls of soul and swagger" (I just love that line). On personal subsites, three artists -- Estelle, Nikka Costa and Wale -- describe why they became musicians and pass on a free track for users to download.
Each MP3 has a different sound, but they all feel big and breezy. (Slightly off-topic, isn't it nice to see so many companies share downloadable ear candy? It's like trick-or-treating, except with iTunes instead of a pillowcase.)
Music isn't all Levi's is baring. Other celebs with something to share include the adorable Jamie Bestwick, who's giving away a free BMX video, and there's a Perez Hilton giveaway coming in September. (They gave us the link, but it's still doorknob-dead.) What Perez is giving away I'm sure I don't know, considering his two cents always come free.
Ooh, ooh, new time-wasting website. The makers of I Can Has Cheezburger?, home to many LOLcats, have launched Engrish Funny. And yeah, it's exactly what you think it is: random pictures of really crappy Asian-English translations. Diggin' the Domo favicon and rating system.
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