Turning Geekdom Into Specialized Social Networks

sports-and-social-networks.jpg

There were technical difficulties and exasperated swearing, but Ben Abramowitz's Internet Week talk The Future of Sports and Social Networks - Moving From a Social Relationship to an Active One still managed to take an interesting look at specialized social networks, why game mechanics aren't enough to build them and how geekery could very well become the norm.

Read the rest on Yahoo! Scene

by Steve Hall    Jun- 9-11    
Topic: Games, Industry Events



Nike's 'Chosen' May Choose You for an X-Games Kinda Life

nike-showtime.png

Nike's ads are epic so often it's almost banal. But this latest, "Chosen," is an anthem like no other. Filmed over two years across seven locations (Hawaii, Florida, New York, Los Angeles, Whistler, Aspen and Bali), it whets your appetite for adventure with bruising sports too often relegated to boyish recreation: skating, surfing, BMXing, snowboarding.

Famous faces include skater Paul Rodriguez, snowboarder Danny Kass, and surfers Julian Wilson and Laura Enever. But as good as their cameos in pro form is the brand finale: the swoosh, and Nike's "Just Do It" slogan -- symbols tattooed into our cultural roots -- brought to the fore in flames. Perhaps the advertising you would expect from Volcom clothing , but this is a new step for a company such as Nike.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Jun- 6-11    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Games, Good, Online



Global Chaos, Gunmetal Violence, Power Ballads Collide in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

cod-modernwarfare3.png

For Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles and The Ant Farm produced four geo-specific teasers that reflect strategic Western-World locations, aired in their respective real-world counterparts and elsewhere.

The teasers ran globally offline and online, driving seething viewers who will likely never go to war -- but will fantasise about it anyway -- to watch the NBA Western Conference Finals and Champions Leagues Finals, where the :90 World Premier was aired.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Jun- 6-11    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Games, Good, Online, Television



Seafolly Loves D Cups, Fiat Apps Signs, Jeep Gets Lenny Kravitz

sarah-stephens-seafolly.jpg

- Apparently, it's all about the D cups when it comes to Seafolly advertising campaigns.

- The Festival of Media, held in Montreaux for two days last week, has announced its Media Awards. The full list of winners can be seen here (PDF).

- Fiat Street Evo is a new app that recognizes traffic signs and transforms them into features of the new Punto Evo. The app recognizes traffic signs as if they were QR codes and it associates each sign with a feature directly related to that sign.

- Lenny Kravitz has signed a deal with Jeep to become its brand ambassador and will appear in a national advertising campaign and an upcoming short film.

- Here's some interesting non-profit work done for the Salvation Army.

by Steve Hall    May-16-11    
Topic: Cause, Celebrity, Games, Industry Events



Morality Testing Web Series Promoted With Killing Game

booth_at_end.jpg

The Booth at the End is a 62 episode web series that tests the moral fiber and fortitude of its characters. Xander Berkley stars is the main character and sits at the booth at the end of a diner. People come to him with things they want: a parent with a sick child, a woman who wants to be prettier, a nun who wants to hear God again.

For a price, Berkley can make these desires come true. In exchange for what they want, these individuals must sacrifice their morals and perform tasks they otherwise wouldn't. They may be asked to set off a bomb, rob a bank or kill a child. They then must return to the man and describe every step in detail. As the characters' tasks begin to overlap, complications ensue. But the man never forces anyone to do anything.

Promoting the series is an online game called Can You Kill which requires the player to shoot a person and then explain why they shot the person when they did. Once the mission is complete, the reason can be tweeted or shared on facebook.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-22-11    
Topic: Games, Online, Video



Augmented Reality Mobile Game Aims to Boost Product Sales

red_bull_racing_game.jpg

For Red Bull, Circ.us created a mobile gaming app for the iPhone that allows people to create their own race track by arranging and photographing Red bull cans. People arrange the cans on the ground in a way that represents the curves in a race track. That arrangement then becomes the shape of the race track in the game.

The work succeeds on two fronts. It offers up a free and customizable mobile game and it gets people to buy Red Bull in order to make the game possible. Fun + Sales = Win.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-18-11    
Topic: Games, Mobile/Wireless



Buying Mobile In-Game Advertising to Get A Whole Lot Easier

tap_me_mobile.jpg

Wouldn't it be nice if buying ads within mobile games was as easy as buying ads across websites with Google AdWords? That simplicity, it seems, will become reality with the launch of Tap Me, a mobile gaming ad platform that promises to make ad insertion easy for game developers and ad buying easy for brands and their agencies.

Kleiner Perkins says the mobile gaming space is a $50 billion marketplace with 300 million gamers worldwide who spend more time playing games and social networking than they do making phone calls and sending messages.

We've seen a demo of the platform and it is, indeed, simple. A major tenet of the offering is that game play will not be interrupted. Advertisers can buy keywords across the network associated with game play such as speed, agility, reload, energize and have their ads appear during those non-play moments of the games.

So simple, even a...oh wait...that tagline's already taken.

by Steve Hall    Feb-28-11    
Topic: Games, Mobile/Wireless



Death Match to Determine Most Classic Holiday Icon

holiday_death_match.jpg

Things slowing down at the office? Need something to do before the boss decides to finally tell you it's OK to leave for the holidays? We've got you covered. San Franciso-based Heat has put together Head to Head Holiday Death Match, a competition between 120 holiday icons.

Visitors to the site are asked to vote for the icon they feel best embodies the holiday spirit. Click away for a while and then you can check out the leaderboard to see how the 120 icons stack up against one another.

more »

by Steve Hall    Dec-23-10    
Topic: Games



Yahoo Declines, Sicily Redifines, Amex Bores,

- Infographic illustrates the decline of Yahoo over a 15 year period.

- The small town of Agira in Sicily is populated by the most fashionable people in the world. Well at least according to Sicilia Fashion Village, a fashion outlet scheduled to launch November 26.

- American Express is out with an incredibly boring-looking app called Cash IQ. It's supposed to be addictive and fun. It caused us to fall asleep.

- A hotel in Verona, which organizes unconventional surprise activities for its customers is out with a silly video showing the pranks it plays on guest.

- Last Day at the Office Emails determine college students who think they want to go into law might actually have a better experience going into advertising.

- Here's what today's youth is all about.

by Steve Hall    Nov-12-10    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Games, Video



Condoms Jump, London Educates, Canada Battles

doctor_photoshop_session_huge_boobs.jpg

- London-based Bare Bones is heading to New York and will host an exhibition Tuesday, June 29th from 6 - 9PM at envoy enterprises (131 Chrystie St) which will feature London/Euro-exports and NYC locals. Following will be an after party downstairs at Home Sweet Home from 9-11PM. Live performances by the mighty Jugger-Nut & The Giggle Fits.

- SKYN's got a a little game you can play. Somehow this sells condoms.

- A London ad campaign aims to introduce the true face of Islam and reverse negative attitudes toward Muslims.

- Here's Cristiano Ronaldo's ego hub.

- Montreal vs. Toronto vs. Vancouver. You decide.

- Leave it to the Japanese.

by Steve Hall    Jun-28-10    
Topic: Games, Industry Events