Buzz & Viral Marketing Agency ★★★Vanksen|Culture-buzz

Elfyourself: you as a dancing elfs are back!

Stéphanie Schleich — 2008-11-20T15:12:02Z

Originally launched by Office Max during the 2006 holiday season, the hugely successful viral Elfyourself minisite has come back for its third year in a row. This year it is likely to ELF friends, families, and co-workers worldwide!

Last year's Elfyourself operation raked in an audience of 20 million Internet users. The Elfyourself website ranked among the Top 20 most visited websites in the US for the month of December. This year, OfficeMax and JibJab have brought the sensation back and it's better than ever.

Your Elf dance troop can have anywhere from 1 to 5 dancers. You get to personalize the elves with pictures of your friends, family, or co-workers. You can also choose between 4 different Christmas dance styles: classic, Charleston, disco, and country. To make the operation even more 2.0, you can viralize your personalized videos by e-mail, on your blog, or on Facebook!

As I'm sure you're as excited to try this year's new and improved Elfyourself as I am, you'll be happy to know that you can do it now by clicking here! As I always make good on my promises, I'm sharing with you Legitiname's wonderful Elf dance troop! They are available for parties this holiday season.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanks to Pierre, Simon, Fédérico, Sébastien and Aurélien for their cute little holiday dance!

Sources:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
Elfyourself
Jeanviet's blog
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein

Miss World's Social Network

Jessica Hartstein — 2008-11-20T14:27:17Z

If you haven't gone Web 2.0 yet, you just might be the last one to do it! Even the Miss World contest is creating an online social network for this year's competition. Wondering what a beauty pageant social network is like? The competition's partnership with the New York based media platform Amuso offers visitors several possibilities.

The Amuso social network is centered around the contestants and will allow Internet users to read about the contestants, send them messages, view their photos, and even vote for their favorite contestants. Creating something of this sort certainly assumes that people are interested enough in the Miss World contest to spend more than just the 3 hours watching it on TV. The expectation is that people will be intrigued enough to find out about the contestants beforehand and even to take the time to vote on their favorites. I suppose I should never underestimate the power bikini clad women have on men with too much free-time, but I wonder if this beauty contests' social network really will be the success it is hoping for.

What is likely, however, is that Amuso will attract new visitors and likely new customers. Amuso runs an interesting contest platform, charging contestants $1 entrance fees, offering money to contest winners and to contest organizers. NGOs are given special treatment in that Amuso waives its fess for NGO fundraising contests. It would be wonderful if more NGOs could use Amuso to help raise money for their efforts.

While the Miss World contest has gone 2.0, we'll have to wait until December 13th to find out if any of the contestants have more 2.0-ish answers to that fateful question, “How would you make the world a better place?” Think anyone will go for, “I'd bring Twitter to African classrooms”? In any event, let's hope their answers go a bit better than this one did for the buzz queen Miss Teen South Carolina 2007:

Source:
TechCrunch

Community of Veterans: You're not alone!

Cordula Werle — 2008-11-19T15:39:09Z

Last Thursday we wrote about Straight from Iraq, a US Army web campaign. We've got another army article for you today, but this time our article is dedicated to a new initiative for veterans rather than the work of on duty soldiers. BBDO and the Ad Council for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America created a new initiative to remind the US public that their neighbors, friends, and fellow Americans are stationed all over the world, risking their lives in the name of their country. The new Web 2.0 initiative reminds us that we need to give returning soldiers a warm welcome as they reacclimate to life at home after their service.

To grab our attention, BBDO has created far more than just a video. Additionally, it has created a series of posters (which you can see at adweek)...

... and an online social network: communityofveterans.org. This network is a great resource for war veterans to connect with other soldiers who understand what other veterans are going through. No doubt this initiative can help soldiers (especially the young and Web 2.0 savvy) reintegrate into US society after returning home.

Once again Web 2.0 has provided the opportunity to create a real community with a praiseworthy goal. This effort is far from just a picture swapping effort. It is clear that all sorts of organizations understand the power that social networks have.

Sources:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
Community of Veterans
Adweek
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein

Alfa Mito Romeo: Life in a Just a Few Images

Nicolas Mirguet — 2008-11-19T09:53:08Z

I'm not one of those people that fall for any and all advertising gimmicks. That being said, I just came across a brand banner that made me go “um” and that even managed to get me to try out "Mito Clips." This is a very well-designed project, especially because of its simplicity. Icons that pop up on the screen one after the other allow the Alfa to share a little bit of everything with us (a trip, a break up, university days, etc.). Flipping back and forth between the “story” images and photos of a red Alfa Romeo make the car seem like a modern pop reference. Just take a look at some of the clips used by the brand for a TV ad to see what I mean:

Alfa Romeo has put these "Mito clips" at the heart of its launch campaign and can be found in several media formats: TV, banners, press releases, and of course on a main website that allows each visitor to create his or her own "Mito Clip". The concept takes advantage of today´s online trend of getting Internet users to interact with websites. The campaign also includes a 2.0 must-have: its own blog. The blog allows the brand to introduce its new model little by little and to recruit brand ambassadors to represent the new car to the public.

Thanks to the campaign´s simplicity and its penchant for web 2.0, I believe this intelligent campaign has been a hit! This new initiative is a big step away from traditional car ads and is likely to be well-received by the young and modern target audience.

Sources:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
MitoClip
The Mito blog
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein

WWF Indonesia's Turtle Soup Bowls

Jessica Hartstein — 2008-11-18T09:10:07Z

How often do you run into turtles these days? Not very often, I'm guessing. As there are probably a million other species you never run into either, I'm sure the absence of turtles hasn't been particularly concerning to you. However, it isn't just a coincidence— turtle populations are down by 20%. This is mostly attributed to human consumption. Their eggs are eaten, their meat is made into satays, and their shells are illegally exported. The most popular turtle dish? Turtle soup.

The declining turtle populations are especially noticeable in Indonesia, which is home to 6 of the world's 7 turtle species. Consequently, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia decided to organize a street marketing turtle awareness campaign. Their agency, Advantage Advertising Jakarta, arranged the street marketing in the turtle's natural habitat: the beach. In order to reach as many people as possible, the street marketing stunt coincided with the highly-attended Rip Curl Surf and Music Festival in Kuta, Bali.

In an attempt to represent the walk that turtles make from their birthplace in the sand to the ocean, WWF lined up giant soup bowls leading to the water at the Kuta beach. The display certainly grabbed people's attention, enticing them to want to learn more. WWF had anticipated as much and was providing information on the plight of turtles at a nearby WWF booth.

This was a wonderful idea that has touched far more than just the people lucky enough to have been at the Rip Curl Surf and Music Festival.

Sources:
DirectDaily
Advertolog

Image sources:
tw.zoomr.com
deltazetabama
DirectDaily

Equifax's Tundra Tubbing

Jessica Hartstein — 2008-11-17T16:15:14Z

With the after Thanksgiving Day sales less than 2 weeks away, the crisp feel to the air, and the bare trees, there is no denying that winter is upon us. Winter means fewer critters and chirps for us northerners. I've found just the perfect online game to get you thinking about how winter isn't just a time to make sure our heaters work, put gasoline in our snow blowers, or to unearth our tacky sweaters. We shouldn't forget that the winter impacts our little animal friends, too. Think I'm talking about an animal hibernation awareness campaign? Couldn't be further from the truth!

Equifax, a company that “empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust,” has created an advergame to entertain restless workers (and potential credit report seekers): Tundra Tubbing. The goal of the advergame is to get as many of your 5 little owls into the hot tub as you can. How do you get them there? By flinging them—don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this article. I'm not sure if you are experienced flingers, but I only succeeded in saving 1 of my owls from freezing his tail off. I've named him Sammy the Owl!

While the owl/hot tub theme is completely unrelated to Equifax's business, it's a nice 2.0 initiative: advergame + viral capabilities (challenge a friend) + newsletter registration + save $5 offer. The cute feel to the website is much more welcoming than Equifax's homepage, too.

Sources:
Adrants
Equifax Holiday Game

Whose is longer?

Julie Le Vacon — 2008-11-17T15:19:21Z

Burger King is continuing its trend of out of the ordinary viral videos. This particular ad is based on a very macho cliché, but it can´t help but stir a reaction out of us. The Burger King ad is for its Long Chicken sandwich, which is, as you can imagine, much longer than normal. Go ahead, check it out here:

Burger King went out on a limb and we love them for it!

It´s difficult to make fast food sexier than Carl's Jr. did with its 2005 ad with swimsuit clad Paris Hilton washing a Bentley and eating a $6 burger. That ad created so much buzz that the dedicated website servers crashed the day after the ad aired on TV. Missed that buzz? Here it is:

Sources:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
Adgabber
Carl's Jr.
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein

YouTube Takes a Stab at Sponsored Videos

Gonzague Dambricourt — 2008-11-14T16:58:40Z

After buying YouTube in 2006, Google has been looking for any way it can to make good on the 1.65 billion dollars it paid for the site. It may just have found the solution:

Following the well established AdWords model found on Google search pages, advertisers can bid on keywords (and establish a maximum cost per click). With one slight difference: the users´ favorite videos will automatically be placed first. What a way to distribute content that the audience loves! YouTube´s initiative is likely to be offered by media agencies and platforms like GoViral, which could begin competing with YouTube immediately.

And what about YouTube video seeding?

This will make things a bit trickier for companies like Unruly Media and will increase Google's hold on Internet sites at the same time as it creates traffic and brings in revenue. The good news is that platforms like BlogBlang, which has a great distribution network, will really bring some weight as competitors in the market.

Sources:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
MarketingVox
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein

Live from Iraq: Trooptube

Cordula Werle — 2008-11-13T14:36:14Z

After all the Obamamania surrounding our elections last week, it might seem that we've all but forgotten that we're currently at war in Iraq. The US army certainly hasn't forgotten. And they've found an interesting way to remind us of their efforts and mission in the land of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. They've created a series of webcasts called Straight from Iraq, which have been available at the US army's goarmy.com website since November 11.

Through these videos, podcasts, and RSS feeds you can learn a little bit more about the lives of our soldiers in the Middle East. The goal of this initiative seems to be to bring the public closer to our soldiers, who are feeling less and less public support these days. Thus, they are going 2.0 to highlight their human side and to try to attract new recruits.

The moral of the story is that new media aren't just for companies and presidential candidates anymore. This isn't the first time an army has gone 2.0 for recruitment purposes. We can't help but mention the Dutch army's war advergame to attract new recruits (read article here) from a few months back.

Another interesting initiative from our troops is TroopTube, an online video platform that connects soldiers to their families..

We have to wonder if this Go Army initiative will be as relevant in a few months now that Obama, who has promised to get our troops out of Iraq, has been elected. Maybe it would have been better to direct the public's attention to other US missions and not just focus on our presence in Iraq. The site is available worldwide, but I question how effective this campaign will be to improve the image our troops' have abroad.

Sources:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
marketingvox
trooptube.tv
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein

Toshiba TV Ad Goes Matrix

Gonzague Dambricourt — 2008-11-13T10:32:52Z

Toshiba isn't a brand that has ever been known for innovative advertising…until now, that is! I am pleasantly surprised to be able to say “until now.” Toshiba's newest TV ad shows that the company is evolving and can produce innovative and interesting campaigns.

The ad, entitled Timesculpture, uses Crystal Castles' song Air War. The spot, which doesn't use synthesized images, shows us the company's desire to reel us in.

We've fallen in love with this ad using techniques similar to those found in the film The Matrix (in the “Bullet Time” scene). We can only imagine the challenge the post-production must have been. Good work, Toshiba!

Source:
The article on www.culture-buzz.fr
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein