Tag: Brands

So you've heard about Air Guitar competitions, where zany people pretend to be guitar heroes jumping around in tight pants, with a pretend guitar in their hands? Well Durex have jumped on this strange phenomenon (I never quite got it...) in the name of safe sex with their Air Sex competition running in the month of November in France. The competition is based on the notion that 'those situations that appear the least risky could hold the most risk... ' hence the Air Sex. The competition encourages young people to submit video's of their personal rendition of Air Sex, with condom. The public are invited to submit their votes for their favourite Air Sex video, for each vote submitted, one durex condom is given to a charity. The winning video will be broadcast on television, on World Aids day in France. Great initiative around a subject that does not get enough airplay. 

I've been teaching in a high school in Europe for a few months now, I was recently asked by a colleague to come in and speak to her class about tourism in South Africa. The idea is that the students would be inspired by my talk and then create their own projects as imaginary visitors to the country, each describing their journey. It's not far off from South African Tourism's  recently launched initiative that invites YouTube (and others) users to put together an advert for the country, expressing their 'craziest' impressions of the place. This should make for a fun project, as some of the questions I get asked about South Africa reveal just how blurry and mysterious our continent and people are to the rest of the world. The video's are then posted on their YouTube channel for the next three months and the ones that get the most hits win an all-expenses paid holiday to South Africa. Nice thinking SATourism, exposing the cliches and stereotypes of our country (wonder if anyone will make a video not staring a lion, hungry looking kids or thorntrees) while trying out a great experiment in talking directly to your audience through social media. Read all about the competition here on TravelWires , see the YouTube channel here or simply enter here .  We invite you to get creative and inspire you with our photo from DVDMerwe of 'Ronnie's Sex Shop ' on Route 62 in the Cape. 

It's a mammoth project, 17 parties in 17 cities around the world taking place at the same time, all on the 11th October, featuring a juicy global line up - Bloc Party in Paris,  Mark Ronson and Supergrass in London, M.I.A, N*E*R*D and Hotchip in New York (but of course) and Earth, Wind and Fire (!) in Barcelona...to cite but a few. Diesel is celebrating their 30th birthday with aplomb at their 'unparalleled, astonishing XXX parties'. The hilarious, super riské Diesel XXX video has to take the (birthday) cake - if the parties are going to be anything like the video, be scared, very scared. Nice one Diesel. Just a pity there's no bash in Africa. But I guess we can't have it all.

So apparently the beloved Polaroid camera and film as we know them, are on their way out... according to megafan website, SavePolaroid, the company announced in February this year that it will discontinue production of all Polaroid instant film. SavePolaroid is doing whatever they can to find a new owner to continue producing the film and keep the legacy going. Inspired by this 'potential death' of polaroid, two arts graduates in the states kicked off their own Polaroid project entitled "Before I die I want to..." The duo take photo's of people using their polaroid and then ask them to write a promise to themselves about something they'd like to do before they die. The  images are then posted on their site "Before I die I want to..." for everyone to enjoy... and bear witness to!

Thanks to Trendsspotting for the thought-provoking post on the purchasing and renaming of a Japanese park by Nike. The article highlights the backlash voiced by bloggers throughout Japan who are clearly upset at the 'uncaring' brands move. The bloggers' wide-sweeping reactions reinforce the power of blogs and the far-flung ramifications bloggers and their followers can have on a brand's social behaviour and perception. I mean, we're posting it too, thousands of miles away. Read all about it here:: We have reported time & again , Nike is falling apart in social media buzz . Latest in the spate is renaming Miyashita Park , a public park in central Tokyo , into ‘Nike Park’ in order to build a skate park . The park currently houses 34 homeless people in tarpaulin shacks who collect recyclable rubbish and sell it per piece. However, with the transfer of rights to Nike to create Nike Park, the homeless people will be required to find a new space.

Two powerful but simple creative concepts from the All Blacks branding team for the true team supporters and fanatics, literally bringing the 'customers' even closer to both brands: the (chuffed) sponsor Adidas and the team.

 

1.This is not a jersey, This is a Birthright - if a New Zealand baby was born on the same day as an All Blacks match on the homeground in New Zealand, the baby has 'earned' the right to their very own All Blacks jersey. So Nice.

2. Adiright  - Fans submit their names online which are then printed onto the threads that will make the players shirts using 'state-of-the-art nanotechnology'. Outstandingly nice. Sweet thinking!... and technology...

 

Read all about it here . 

 

We're just imagining the heavy heads and hearts this morning as a night of partying no doubt continues for some on Margate beachfront and ends for others as they rush to catch their flights back to their beds to recover... Here's the announcement of this years winners! The 2008 Loerie Awards Festival Weekend kicked off on 26 July with the Saturday night awards ceremony, hosted by Media24.

 

 

Recently O’MAGE partnered with MTN for the third consecutive year in order to produce the MTN Y’ello Stars 2008 event, an internal awards initiative that recognizes and rewards the achievements of employees throughout the MTN organization.  See the photo set here on our JOVAFlickr site and read all about Omage's event below.

 

Bravo to Coke Light for a stunning sample of product meets art, fashion, travel and shopping in their new "Fashion Flight " campaign just launched in Belgium and Luxembourg. Sitting at a pavement cafe on a European summer evening, you can't help but gaze at the eye-catching new skin hugging the latest series of Coke Light cans. That's because each graphic is designed by an iconic young female fashion designer representing one of five European cities: Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Helsinski and Copenhagen. Consumers are invited to the sublime website that brings the competition to life through sweet sounds and interaction and great visuals. Read more about this fabulara concept below and watch the ad.

STRUGGLING TO MEET THE LOERIE  DEADLINE? GOOD NEWS!
The submission deadline for The Loerie Awards has been extended to 31 May 2008.
With the 16 May deadline for submissions for The Loerie Awards looming close, the good news is that you’ve been granted a little breathing room.
The deadline has been extended to 31 May 2008, however all entries after the 16th of May will incur a late fee of 5%.
31 May is the final deadline for submissions, and there will be no further extensions after that.
All entry information is available on www.theloerieawards.co.za

 

Believe it or not, in the early 90s I once broke my toes squashing my feet into a pair of too-small Doc Martens. But, being young and rebellious, I was proud to show off the skewered digits to all who would be grossed out. A few years later, Docs slipped out of mainstream and were rarely spotted again, save on the faithful goth or punk dresser. Unfortunately, my toes are still wonky.  We're wondering if Docs are busy making a comeback, it's a pity they've followed the now-tired 'customisation' route tried out by so many other shoe brands around the world (even though it's virtual), but hey, if it's not broke, why fix it. See their DMBootdesign website where two winning designs will be chosen and made into new versions of Docs, sold around the world. "This is your chance to show the world your talent. Choose your canvas: the 8-hole or the 14-hole boot. Use pens, use paint, use whatever. Use your imagination."

It's not in SA yet but it should be. Affordable (wonderful) home decor and accessory shop Ikea has 'decked out a monorail' compartment, literally immersing the thousands of rail commuters inside of an Ikea decorated world. Brilliant. 

 

Read all about it at Asdlabs . 

O’MAGE once again had the opportunity to produce the two day conference that took place at the Sandton convention centre in the beginning of March. See ome pics here.
In 1994, a small telecommunications company was born in Johannesburg. Determined to get not only South Africans speaking to each other, they set up operations throughout the rest of the continent, all with the vision of becoming the leading telecommunications company in emerging markets.

We think Triumph are up to speed with trends in creative marketing and advocacy: A juicy global competition supporting and exposing South African talent, supported by a blog. Only criticism, the blog could look a lot better and represent the innate concept of good design. Otherwise they have their viral marketing down.

 

Triumph, one of the world’s leading lingerie brands, has launched a global design competition, the Triumph Inspiration Award, as part of its commitment to supporting emerging design talent.

Rockers around the country are getting ready to let it all out at Coke's 12 hour concert next weekend. If you'd like to know what the organisers have put into the fest to make it a success - read below.  600 toilets!  1500 crew! 4500 cups of coffee! 2,000 guitar strings!  And they're even making an effort to offset their carbon emissions.  Bravo. It's impressive stuff and enough to put us off event management for life. Imagine handling that budget. Rock on!

 

Head turning design, heaps of customization, built for those who love the remarkable … Words that describe not only the new MINI clubman, but also the one of a kind event currently underway to launch the MINI Clubman countrywide.  O’MAGE and MINI have once again collaborated to introduce the ‘Other MINI’ to dealers, members of the press and a select number of invited guests over four weeks of events in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.  See photo's here.

The design is fairly tacky however the tongue-in-cheek concept shows a pleasant change from the usual whinge tactics associated with the Democratic Alliance and most politicians.  Now we just have to ask if it's for real.

 

JOBURG’S MONSTER POTHOLE CONTEST
Is there a pothole out on some Joburg street that’s really bugging you? Every time you pass it, dodge it, or ride over it, does your blood boil?Has it been there without being fixed for ages?

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR POTHOLE FAMOUSIn the DA’s JOBURG’S MONSTER POTHOLE CONTEST!

Neatorama put together a comprehensive article on Tech Logo's and how they've changed over the years including Apple, Adobe, Canon, IBM, Microsoft and Firefox. "You’ve seen these tech logos everywhere, but have you ever wondered how they came to be? Did you know that Apple’s original logo was Isaac Newton under an apple tree? Or that Nokia’s original logo was a fish?"

"Social Networking with a Purpose" Fancorps.com is essentially an online service available to any celebs or brands who want to put their fans to work.  You've heard about hard core fans who'll do anything to promote their favourite artist, even forming unofficial groups and websites online... Fancorps takes these so-called 'street teams' and puts them to work...

We had a good laugh last year when we saw the sultry "I've got a crush on Obama" music video by Obamagirl (see below) which suprised the Obama marketing team who claimed they had nothing to do with it. 

Cheeky viral video's aside, Dan Goldgeier, a columnist for AdColumnist.com , reckons Obama and his team have their fingers on the marketing pulse, creating the 'most sophisticated marketing program" he's ever seen.  

Ogilvy Toronto came up with a stellar concept for the cereal brand Shreddies.  The brief was for the agency to 'make people think of Shreddies again'.  The concept was simple but potent: take the breakfast cereal square, turn them 45 degrees and rename them as diamonds.  Get it? Then package the same product as a new product called 'Diamond Shreddies' , set up a microsite , do some market research , put together a humourous ad and viral campaign and see what happens. Outstanding.

 

 

We've been following Love Jozi since it's inception in 2005 when design guru Bradley Kirshenbaum put his design skills to fashion and created his bespoke label Love Jozi. He started off with a small run of 70 shirts depicting the Johannesburg skyline. Now in its seventh range, the label has developed a strong following by an interesting mix of consumers – from South Africans living abroad to trendy teenagers across the country. Nine stockists supply the range including one in London.  Click here to see Love Jozi  photo's on JOVAFlickr.  And fly to Love Jozi here. 

Interbrand and Businessweek have released their list of the "Best Global Brands by Value for 2007". It's a fascinating read and well worth downloading.

Interbrand