Is That Blue Sky in the Background of This Prius Promotion?

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See that? Blue sky. That's a rarity these days. Just thought we'd point that out as we share with you this promotion for from Toyota for its 3rd generation Prius. Not that anyone is sitting outside much these days given the incessant rain but a free solar-powered WiFi area was set up outside Boston's Prudential center.

From 8AM until 9PM, anyone can sit down, plug their laptop in and enjoy some free WiFi. Sadly, sunny weather is not guaranteed.

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by Steve Hall    Jul- 8-09    
Topic: Good, Mobile/Wireless, Outdoor, Promotions



How to Get People to Stop Calling You

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Sick of getting too many phone calls and texts? Yea, we aren't either but Samsung thinks it's a big enough problem to launch a "24-hour silent disco" dance competition during which people listen to their Beat DJ phones and hope no one calls them. If they do receive a call or text they are eliminated from the competition.

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by Steve Hall    Jul- 8-09    
Topic: Celebrity, Mobile/Wireless, Promotions, Strange



'Drinkspiration' iPhone App Gets Absolut's Fetch Back

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Oh we really, really like this. Absolut has launched Drinkspiration, an iPhone app which makes drink suggestions based on mood, location, time of day, weather, liquor type (yes, they don't just limit it to vodka), drink color, shape of glass, type of venue and a whole lot more. You'll never order the same boring drink again.

Every drink the app suggests comes with a recipe so if you want something a bit too exotic for your neighborhood bartender, you can tell her how to make it.

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by Steve Hall    Jul- 2-09    
Topic: Brands, Good, Mobile/Wireless, Opinion, Tools



Imagine Being Able to Take the Wii Experience ... Everywhere.

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Except with a Sony Ericsson F305 phone and not an actual Wii.

The F305 is a phone equipped with game and motion sensor technology, much like the iPhone, which -- like the WiiMote -- lets users control the game based on how they move their handheld.

To promote it, SocialMedia8.com launched the Motion Mania contest, where users are asked to shoot a video on mobile gaming and upload it to this website. Popular video producers could win tickets to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-15-09    
Topic: Consumer Created, Events, Games, Mobile/Wireless, Video



It's Another Ozzy Osbourne Ad. We're Sorry.

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Samsung enlists the head of the Osbourne household yet again to debut its Jack personal assistant handset.

In the spot, Ozzy makes almost-funny jokes about how the phone is more attuned to his needs than previous human assistants, which respectively had hearing problems (for obvious reasons) and kept odd hours (the daytime ones).

It is surprisingly not horrible. But in the event that brands race out right now with a mad hankering to book a seat on the Ozzy train, we're at pains to remind you he's got a full docket: World of Warcraft's already aboard, plus Samsung's planning still more spots.

The one-time dauphin-of-Darkness must be a helluva prince to work with.

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Here's Work for Robots that Star Wars Neglected to Cast.

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US Cellular launched a really neat program called Battery Swap. If you're on the road without a charger and your phone's dying, or your battery is just really crappy in general, visit a US Cellular store to exchange your old or uncharged battery for a new one -- at no charge.

To promote the program, Publicis & Hal Riney went diving in the generic mascot bargain bin. The result of that pursuit is a poindexterish robot character who dances and slaughters multi-generational slang

(*shakes head sadly*) How far some robots fall while others penetrate untold heights of stardom.

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LG Versa Vice Courts 'Questionable Cell Phone Habits'

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To promote its Versa handheld, LG's offering users a trip to Vegas if they upload a 12-second vid of their cell phone vice on LGVersaVice.com.

The vices of others appear in a clickable mobile phone gallery; suck in the sin without worrying whether somebody's drawn-out story is gonna eat two minutes of your life. (Time constraints FTW!)

Confessions range from the mundane ("manima" checks Twitter and Facebook from the toilet ... but who doesn't?) to the insane (when "bateatsbat" wants to cut ties with crappy dates, she tells the dudes she has AIDS).

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by Angela Natividad    May- 8-09    
Topic: Consumer Created, Mobile/Wireless, Online



The Now Network: Like a Wedding Planner in Your Pocket!

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In "Wedding," Goodby Silverstein & Partners explore what it'd be like if film crews ran the world. Gotta say, crucial moments in your life -- like your wedding, par instance -- would run a lot more smoothly. 'Specially if Hub-to-Be gets the cold feet.

"Need the stunt groom -- now!"

All this is to say that Sprint Nextel's Now Network can organize your life in such a way that you will feel like a film crew's behind the scenes, keeping the perilous course between your professional and private lives neat and tidy.

Weather machine probably costs extra though. ("No rain, no rainbows." Lawl.)

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ad:tech SF: Amielle Lake on Mobile Marketing, (Copper) Mining and Pinot-Friendly Cheese

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Amielle Lake is the CEO of Tagga, a Vancouver-based company that helps agencies add a strategic mobile component to their campaigns. (Think broad SMS efforts, mobile websites, etc).

The service -- currently live in Canada and the US -- includes reporting and dashboard management, and payment models are flexy.

We sat down yesterday to talk about Tagga in a video interview. As luck would have it, I ended up gleaning a lot more than I expected. Amielle tells this great story about Tagga's birth and the state of agencies at that time; it also turns out she worked in mining and knows French cheese like this. (*crosses fingers*)

Funny what you can find out when the pressure's on (ad:tech was ending, hence the skulky suited man in the BG) and you know your first take MUST be perfect (I don't know how to use my video editing software. But you probably guessed that).

Compulsive Twitterers can hit the Follow button at: @tagga and @amiellel.

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Cool Tools For Non-Tools.

Because everyone needs tools, right?

- Level with me, you do be liking the new Stanley Tools iPhone app for their level. (From Mullen with Aurnhammer.)

- Hey, Tommy Boy, hit a deer? Make a claim on your iPhone with Nationwide's new app. (From Rosetta.)

- While not an iPhone app yet, mugshot finder should be.

- If only Powerpoint were this cool.

by Bill Green    Apr-22-09    
Topic: Mobile/Wireless