A Source Of Inspiration

Who will come and get me? I’m entrapped on the new online game / video for Nokia’s GPS device, the PND 500.

Get a look at it and take the role of Christopher, who tries to sell his kites and gets in trouble while following the plot around a mysterious Black Box.

The interactive experience, from the folks who brought you The Passenger, is quite addictive so pay close attention and dare to solve the mystery. It took me a while (with a bit of help) but i survived to tell the story.

Immersive online narrative, impressive shooting and sound design. A winner.

URL:
http://www.blackboxmystery.com/

Credits:

• Concept and script: Hyper Happen
• Film production: Pioneer Films
• Post production: Met Films
• Online production: Glass

• Host an Event
• Attend an Event
• Watch: Broadcast Information
• Learn: About the Event

What a bummer. I realized that i just missed the shooting of the latest work by FarFar and HobbyFilm here in Portugal, downtown Lisbon.


URL: http://www.get-out-and-play.com/

The first time i saw the video at Adverblog it felt somehow familiar, and as i browsed the website it became clear that the real-life snake game was indeed shot in the always beautiful and sunny Lisbon.

The Get Out and Play website features the full HD frame-by-frame video and a impressive behind the scenes involving 1000 people playing life-size Snake at a popular Lisbon square, Martim Moniz.
The mobile gaming concept is further brought to life with a chance to also play Blocks with real people and highlighting the Nokia N-Gage game service for models N81, N82 and N95.

Now i have no excuse to miss Improv Everywhere’s Portuguese mission, even it isn’t done by some wacky Swedish folks (*).

(*) I wonder if any of them is coming to OFFF ?

Interactive Advertising Bureau released the whitepaper “User-Generated Content and Social Media Advertising Overview” (PDF, 3.4 MB), a hands-on guide to social media, focusing on terminology, practices and standarts.

Interesting Snippet by lynetter

The document intends to clear some of the fears that brands and agencies might have on using this dynamic medium, framing the whole UGC movement and reminding brands that user reviews are just like personal recommendation, one of the most effective forms of advertising.

Source: eMarketeer

Blogs, wikis, UGC and Ad Networks are described, with several examples how to integrate advertising with social media. The myth that Social Networks is kids stuff was also debunked, by showing that “more than half of MySpace users were over 35 years old” and “LinkedIn, reports that its average user is 39 years-old and has an annual income of $139,000″.

With all the buzz surrounding social media, it’s easy for brands to jump into the bandwagon, and try to push their messages instead of engaging into conversations with their audience. Marketing author and blogger Seth Godin brilliantly states it on his latest book “Meatball Sundae”, reminding companies that just because they put money into new media that doesn’t necessarily translate into effective customers. Be ready to fail, experiment, optimize and most important, be ready to listen.

The document is a valuable first time reading for professionals that want to get acquainted with social media. For a 17 page paper, it manages to get a good overview that you can enrich with several web resources , such as Paul Isackson’s recent presentation, or from Fallon planer Aki Spicer:

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This entry was crossposted at Interact Congress Blog.

Swiss company Jaeger-LeCoultre showcases their 75 luxury watches limited edition on a new website for La Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2.

Nothing really outstanding, but it’s a first for me posting a website on luxury items (maybe i just can’t afford this kind of stuff !? ). They did however a really nice work on the video, with an almost documentary film on the second part of the site, with the watchmakers history since Anthony LeCoultre and the manufacturing process, directed by Thibault Castan. And they got the embeddable video right (via DailyMotion), which you know, i find ridiculously obvious. Check below:

A work by DDB Paris.

Great news: finally Interactive Advertising Bureau Portugal kicks off, with an ambitious installing committee .

Ricardo from Elemento Digital did most of the hard work (along with Alain Heureux, from IAB Europe) and got great feedback from the major Portuguese online media players, that are finally agreeing on the urgent need of a reliable institution heading the interactive marketing industry.

In the next few months, IAB Portugal intends to discuss the main goals and business plan, inviting all the players to the table (remember my comment?).
So, if you’re in Portugal and concerned about the future of advertising, have your say at IABPortugal.com.

Michael Lebowitz is back to microblogging, sharing BigSpaceship’s latest work with ad agency Cramer-Kasselt: The Corona Beach.

If you’re having one of those awful Mondays (aren’t they all?), then a quick stroll on the Corona Beach might turn your day a bit more pleasant. Head to Corona beach and feel the breeze while listening to waves breaking on the sea shore or get a glimpse right here by watching one of the campaign’s commercials:

You get to explore the landscape or blow on the beer bottles, but what really impressed me was when I got to draw in the sand, that felt almost like the real thing.

Once you check the website, you might start dreaming with paradisaical islands and buckets of iced Coronas.
Or you’ll realize that you’ve got already 10 more emails to answer and your phone keeps ringing.
Have a nice work week.

Or as Wired puts it, Pitchfork.tv Takes a Stab at Music Videos.

For long have i’ve been a regular reader of Pitchfork, along with last.fm, Hype machine,MetaCritic and ubber-cool Stereogum, that nurtured my musical tastes, while bypassing traditional music media moguls like MTV or NME.
Even in Portugal i’m a regular at remixtures, Palco Principal or Bodyspace, great web projects that help me keep up to date with Portugal’s music scene.

Pitchfork and other web based projects are taking a real dent in TV music channels, with loyal fans and delivering breaking news. Pitchfork has even achieved a successful spin-off, with their Chicago Pitchfork Music Festival.

Take for instance Stereogum, who has just released a tribute disk to download, honoring Post, the 10 year old record by Bjork, something possible thanks to the loyalty of both fans and artists to the music weblog. Not to mention other major online players like MySpace, that has just closed the circle with a deal to sell DRM-free music, further establishing the site as a social music destiny.

Even if Pitchfork got a bit too pretentious on their Wired interview, tomorrow we get the chance to review the video quality and the whole interactive experience, but if they keep faithful to their overall excellence, i bet this one will be one more nail in the coffin in traditional music business.

Images Credits: Pitchfork

A website that gets a band like Radiohead to premiere their video service, premieres exclusive demo tracks or shapes an album’s success with their review is surely a menace to MTV or VH1, companies that are increasingly more distant from music fans with their programming choices influenced by major record labels, and miss the huge long tail of music that MySpace, Pitchfork and thousands of music blogs have now filled.

Or quoting The Buggles:

In my mind and in my car, we can’t rewind we’ve gone too far.

MTV, take care.