With St Patrick’s Day almost upon us, Guinness has launched a weekend of celebrations, including (we hope) the ubiquitous funny hats. At the heart of the campaign is a ‘pub finder’ mobile application using GPS to locate the nearest Guinness serving establishment. To kill time while waiting for the perfect pint, London-based mobile experts Marvellous has launched a mobile quiz testing sport, film, music and general knowledge, which will take 119.5 seconds to complete, allowing no time to rummage in your pocket for cash before the pint is delivered and the revelries begin.
Nissan is launching its robot-inspired ‘City Living’ ad through TBWA London and TBWA G1 virally this week. Directed by Daniel Kleinman, the spot shows a QASHQAI holding its own on the streets of Bueos Aires, while the city quite literally comes alive. The spot is available online from Friday.
Another great viral has launched through Gorgeous, London. We can’t give away the client without ruining the punchline, but check it out here: www.dothetest.co.uk
Heat, San Francisco, has launched an integrated campaign to introduce Army of Two from Electronic Arts. The rapid two-player shooting game is played out both above and below the radar and the campaign reflects this – one spot will run on TV with a behind the scenes footage available at www.ea.com/armyoftwo. Online, a spot takes viewers ‘between the headlines and the propaganda’. The spot has been viewed 65,000 times on YouTube so far.
Go green making innovative creations from your old Domino’s pizza boxes. Ok, so they might might still have cheese and tomato stuck to the insides, but ‘thinking outside the box’ is environmentally friendly. www.myspace.com/dominospizzauk
Online TV-arama this week with the launch of Hulu (www.hulu.com), an online content site set up by networks including NBC and Fox to host full length shows on the web, including series from Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, Sci Fi, Style, Sundance and Oxygen.
Pitchfork Media has also launched its own music-orientated online TV channel www.pitchfork.tv, sheduled to go live on April 7th. The independent channel will feature feature films, vintage concerts and music DVDs free of charge. The privately-owned and highly respected music magazine’s statement explained: ‘We’ve waited decades for a music channel that respects our intelligence and reflects our ideals. Now that the technology is here, we’re finally able to do it the way that people who really care about music have always wanted to see it done.’
MySpace has launched an exclusive deal with broadcaster Five in the to showcase Five News on the site. The MySpace News Bulletin will be co-branded and will encourage users to interact by uploading clips in response to news and sharing content with friends. Five news also plans on using MySpace to gather news, with the possibility of user-generated content being included on TV.
Also in the digital / terrestrial world, ITV has signed up to Bebo’s Open Social platform, joining broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4.
55DSL launches its Junior Lucky Bastard competition for the third year, recruiting for a blogger who will go round the world having adventures and uploading content online. www.55dsl.com
Congratulations to Iris, London, who came in at an impressive 7th on the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for in the . Though given that pool tables and games, as well as large sofas, are socially acceptable in the offices of advertising agencies, we can’t say we’re surprised. Steve Bell, joint managing director at Iris puts the success down to the company ‘offering more than our competitors in terms of culture, career and remuneration.’
A beautiful website relaunch to check out here: www.ksubi.com, combining the brand’s fashion, books and limited edition items available online, while the user is led about the site.
