A Source Of Inspiration

I’ve highlighted the Fight For Kisses campaign before, but it really pisses me off that they did a major online media investment and didn’t had the budget to localize the website.

Once and for all Portugal IS NOT Spain !!!

In the end, it doesn’t matter how great your creative is, if you don’t care about your users/consumers. Let’s see if the media planner is listening … Oh, and if you’re a Portuguese blogger and also felt annoyed, go ahead and rant about it.

But wait, the Portuguese racer just got lost in the desert and really needs you to answer his call.

And if you support him, there’s a chance to win a Seat Altea.

Another mobile campaign by eStara Portugal.

Another holiday season, another roundup of creative e-cards and online efforts.
Last year, it was OfficeMax that made the buzz with ElfYourself, back again this year with the new version of Scrooge yourself. Sounds a bit awkward, doesn’t it?

Perhaps not more than our bittersweet look when accepting that really ugly gift from a relative. No worries. You can comfort yourself this year at the Bad Gift Emporium, a place to share that un-special something that you couldn’t refuse.

Check also the one from JWT and help to free Albert and his tongue that got frozen on a post. Or for something more cheerful, have a Dynamite Christmas with the Frost Family, and their tale of the Fourteen Christmas ringers (tip by Hugo).

A lot of charity going on with Snowglobe Boy by McKiney,
or the snowflakes helping the American Society for Cancer by Digitas Health. But the one that really got my attention was the one from Glue, with Lets Go to Lapland, sponsoring a live bike ride to Lapland, with worker’s doing the pedaling and raising funds to the Salvation Army.

For more live action, see also the Christmas greetings from All Known Questions Answered, with 2 hamsters powering the holiday lighting with wheel power.

How about that for a environmentally polite e-card? You can do more with these e-cards than to save some trees, like growing you own virtual tree, thanks to Wieden Kennedy London.

And last, my personal favorite from R/GA with some wicked Santa tatoos. Go on, get one of these !

If you know of any more great holiday e-cards, please drop a link in the comments.

Updates:

1. Red Christmas by Thought (source: AdRants)
2. A desktop widget by Google
3. Tree planting from Nobox
4. Sing-o-Mat by Feuer
5. Christmas World from Coca-Cola Poland
6. A Halo 3 Holiday, by IPG Lab

Viral videos: this is the real shit. And not the Dan Ackerman stuff.

Client: Burger King, http://whopperfreakout.com/
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Well, i guess i’m on a re-blogging week, this time with a few words for Adverblog’s advent calendar.

Adverblog was one of my inspirations to start blogging last year, authored by Martina Zavagno, an Italian interactive marketer and one of the masterminds behind the Diesel Heidies campaign.

So, here’s my 2 cents on it:

1) Which is the digital project that impressed you more this year and why?
Orange Unlimited, for reminding us that simple is beautiful, and building a successful integrated campaign. Other notable projects include the Heidies by Diesel or the recent one by Rexona Power, Spain, “Quien Es Fermin“. As for agencies, Northkingdom and FarFar still amaze us with outstanding work, with some great work coming from Eastern Europe, like ParkStudio’s work for Fanta or Nokia.

2) In your job, which is the most important thing you learnt this year?
I’ve learned to quit looking at my own bellybutton, and start looking to what regular users are doing online. Call it interactive etnography or something like that, but the truth is that we professionals are so much self-absorbed that it all feels like a big echo chamber. For instance, it amazes me the tons of people that don’t have a clue what twitter is, but instead use regular email to keep their friends updated.

Steve Lambert and Evan Harper developed AddArt, a AdBlock-like extension for Firefox, which replaces advertising images on web pages with art images from a curated database.



The extension, commissioned by Eyebeam, intends to replace ads and turn ad space into an art gallery, bringing contemporary art to your browser.

Cheap online advertising is getting a bad reputation, so let this be a warning to ad agencies. It’s time to invest more in creative display advertising and improve text-ads relevance.

Yesterday i was at the 2007 edition of the main online advertising awards ceremony in Portugal, Premios Sapo, presented by an inspired Manuel João Vieira at the legendary Cabaret Maxim.

For a change, web agency Fullsix had some serious competition, perhaps a sign that the online industry is picking up speed, with promising growth rates next year.

Among the entries — let me know if you don’t understand Portuguese, and i’ll try to explain them — the 2007 winners are:

• “Opel Corsa C’mon” by View
• “TMN Sudoeste” by FullSix
  
• “MTV Card” by Excentric
• “Morangos com Açucar” by SixAndCo

• “Fruit Day” by Djomba
  

• “The Secret” by WayNext

• “Sapo Mega” by WayNext
  

Among the remaining categories, there was a laughable one for “Best sponsored blog”, with entries that Portuguese blogosphere has never heard of. Or as i use to say: “Brands looking at their own bellies”. The best digital agency award was given to WayNext, that created some solid works this year.

The space was really crowded, but with the lovely company of Silvia and free drinks i’ve even managed to stay until the end. As usual we didn’t submit any work (a company policy regarding national awards), but i’m sure if the Sporting campaign was submitted it would be a clear winner.

Oh, and i finally had the chance to congratulate Celso for their event, SapoCodebits. That’s something definitely more interesting than these Awards.

Update:
On the web awards subject, Zeldman has just nailed it:

The winning sites look fabulous as screen shots in glossy design annuals. When the winners become judges, they reward work like their own. Thus sites that behave like TV and look good between covers continue to be created, and a generation of clients and art directors thinks that stuff is the cream of web design.

Big thanks to Ricardo from ptFolio, pointing me out to the Brazilian Interactive winners at El Ojo, announced yesterday.

Among other winners, here are my personal favorites:

• “Driving”, by AlmapBBDO for Volkswagen Brasil

  
  A wonderful superstitial powered by Papervision

• “Test life”, by McCann Erickson for GM

  
  Advergaming

• “Atchim Games”, by Giovanni DraftFCB Brasil for Bristol-Myers Pharmaceuticals

  
  Advergaming

• “Dengue Fever”, by Escala Brasil for Secretaria Da Saude do Rio Grande do Sul.

  
  
  Viral (remember the Daniela Cicarelli video?)

• “Montana”, for Chevrolet by Salles Chemistri

  
  Expandable rich media

Almap takes their big share of awards, and even they don’t win them all, you can check the whole list of their interactive work.