Perspective on thankfulness

Tim & Kristen Koehn talk about living and working in Kuwait and how that's affected their perspective on thankfulness

Nova Scotia ::: "Come to Life": Pomegranate NS08

Check it out: http://www.pomegranatephone.com/

Advertising Agency: Bristol Group - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Creative Directors: Albert Ianni, Mike Whitelaw
Art Director: Daniel Couto
Copywriter: Albert Ianni
Designers: Daniel Couto, Michael Gatto, Jake Owens
Production (Video/Animation): Egg Films / Hatch
PostProduction (Web): Breathe Media
Video Director: Evan Kelly
Released: September 2008

TV commercials review: Ariston Aqualis

The song is called "Ask the mountains" and is composed by Vangelis.
It appears on Vangelis' 1996 album, "Voices". Stina Nordenstam contributes with the vocals.

Christina Aguilera Perfumes:::Sometimes it's all you need to wear

BRAND :Christina Aguilera Perfumes
BRAND OWNER :Procter & Gamble
REGION :Israel
DATE :Jan 2009

Based on the concept: "Sometimes it's all you need to wear", Diplomat Distributors wanted to create awareness of Christina Aguilera’s perfume and motivate them to buy the product in the midst of a global economic crisis, when people were reluctant to make unnecessary purchases.
Tens of thousands of quality clothes hangers were hung in public locations all over the country, each with a perfume sample and a branded Christina Aguilera label attached.

The hangers were hung in every possible location, mostly in crowded places outside malls and near Israel’s leading pharmacy chain, SuperPharm, where the perfume was exclusively sold. The message: “sometimes it’s all you need to wear” suggestively adorned each one. The hangers were placed on railings, on trees and in stores.
The total activity cost $30,000 and the campaign reached more than 1.5m consumers and led to the highest ever sales for a new perfume in Israel, with the scent selling out within a week.

The client also got extensive news coverage in newspapers, TV and online. Estimated worth of free publicity – more than $200K.

Conservative Party:::Sorry from Gordon Brown

BRAND:Conservative Party
REGION:UK
DATE:Mar 2009 - Dec 2008

The UK opposition party, The Conservatives, wanted put the pressure on the governing Labour Party. The Tories were particularly keen on putting the pressure on him for his economic policy, which contributed to the fact that the country was in a state of recession and that banks have had to be bailed out by the Government.

The Tories launched a search marketing campaign that aimed to mock the Prime Minister for his economic track record.

The strategy was to buy the paid search key words “Gordon Brown”, so that any time anyone on Google entered the name, the first sponsored link that appeared along side it was a link to www.sorryfromgordon.com.

The site said it wanted an apology and claimed that: “Gordon Brown bottled out of saying sorry in his speech to Congress yesterday so write an apology for him and send it to your friends.” Users on the site could write a fake letter of apology from Gordon Brown from a selection of drop down menus featuring humorous options. Users could finish the sentence “Today, I feel duty bound to say sorry...” with one of the following options: “I genuinely believe that I have let you down”; “Britain is on the brink of bankruptcy and it is my fault”, or “Peter Mandelson told me to”.

The site also gives the option to send the apology to up to five friends, giving it a viral element.

Canon:::Human statues

BRAND:Canon
CATEGORY:Electronic Goods
REGION:South Africa
DATE:2009

Canon wanted to demonstrate the image stabilizer found inside the new Canon Powershot IS 2000 camera with a suitably “stable” media platform.
While performance artists who pose as human statues are nothing new, using them as a media platform is.

Their ability to stay still and cool under pressure is precisely the functionality that Canon was trying to highlight. Canon recruited a selection of such performance artists to stand on a Canon branded plinth in high traffic areas close to camera shops or in high action locations which would usually be photographed.

The plinths carried the message: “The ultimate in image stabilization”. The human statues would remain perfectly still for ages, before rapidly moving to the amusement or surprise of passers by.

Axe:::Dark Temptation Game

BRAND:Axe
BRAND OWNER :Unilever
CATEGORY :Toiletries/ Cosmetics
REGION :Brazil
DATE;Apr 2008 - Aug 2008

Dark Temptation was a new weapon for Axe that enabled men to improve their seduction game. The aim was to make the man as irresistible to women as chocolate, hence the chocolate undertones to the Axe spray variant.
The overall campaign, including the TV commercial, featured the Chocolate Man – literally a man made out of chocolate who finds himself being chased by women who want to eat him.
Axe created a game, entitled The Dark Temptation Game Saga – where the consumer played the chocolate man, running away from the women who try and take parts of his body. The game brought together content from all the other elements of the campaign.

The models used in the out of home strategy were converted into 3D to become game characters. In order to do well, the player could throw chocolate “fingers” away as traps to distract the women and continue without being attacked. Axe hid special codes on the brand’s blog and in a rich media ad which caused the women in the game to be dressed only in their underwear.
The campaign was supported via posters in cinemas, in a widget with more information about the game, in key gaming magazines as well as in print. During the campaign, the best players were weekly rewarded with kits containing AXE products, game posters, t-shirt, cap and backpacks signed by the artists Will Murai and Guilherme Marconi. The fight for the grand prix lasted 8 weeks. The overall winner won an arcade machine with The Dark Temptation Saga game installed in it, which was delivered to his house, along with an Axe kit.
In four months of campaign, there were more than 2 million unique visitors, with users spending an average of 10 minutes on the site.

The Dark Temptation Saga Game was such a great hit in Brazil that ended up being translated and used in the launching strategy of AXE Dark Temptation in other countries: USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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Axe Dark Temptation localisation strategy
REGION: EMEA
DATE: Jan 2008 - Nov 2008
MEDIA CHANNEL

Axe’s brand platform is “Gives You The Edge in the Mating Game” – the eternal interplay between guys and girls in the territory of attraction.

Their new fragrance for 2008, Dark Temptation, had to bring this proposition to life locally.
Axe wanted to create a fragrance so good that women would want to eat it.

An ice cream tasting session with women revealed rich chocolate was the flavour women wanted most. Axe translated it to a fragrance, Dark Temptation, and set out to inform guys of its 'effects' – the insight being guys want to be as irresistible as chocolate! From the brief, the 'Irresistible as Chocolate' platform was born and developed into core advertising – a chocolate man who represented this idea

In digitally advanced France 200,000 guys received “chocolate nibbles & licks” from girls on social networking site Skyrock. While real life 'Chocolate Guys' caused a stir in youth ‘energy centres. Less developed Romania wrapped huge Axe posters in foil and gradually peeled back daily to reveal Dark Temptation, reflecting in-store work. Belgium surfed a national obsession, creating luxury chocolate love tokens to pass on. Pulling professionals challenged UK guys to test their pick-up power armed only with a bar of chocolate, released as virals. Markets shared ideas for sexy local celebrity ‘chocolate ambassadors’- tempting guys with the 'effect' chocolate had on them providing huge PR on chocolate as an aphrodisiac. Portugal tempted guys in confectionary aisles to seize the moment, buy chocolate, seduce girls, and win a visit to the Chocolate Pleasure Mansion.
Dark Temptation was the fourth most successful launch in Axe’s 25 year history, and surpassed all major global and European sales goals. After only six months, it was among the top 20 global deodorant launches ever, across all brands.

Reebok:::Rondo ringtone

BRAND:Reebok
BRAND OWNER :Adidas Reebok
CATEGORY :Accessories/ Clothing/ Footwear
REGION:USA
DATE :Jun 2008 - Dec 2007

In 2008, the Boston Celtics reached the NBA final for the first time in over 20 years. Reebok wanted to create a campaign that would magnify the excitement and magic of this sporting moment, with only 8 days to turn around the campaign.

The key objectives were to activate the Reebok brand during the highest profile basketball series, establish authenticity and credibility in the basketball category and drive sales of Reebok’s basketball merchandise.
The Reebok-sponsored player Rondo was the number one asset. Reebok wanted to build on the growing popularity of the player while driving traffic to the mobile site.

The key was to encourage people to download a “You Got Rondo’d” ringtone to their mobile phones and sign up for ring backs before each of the games.

This meant that when the games happened, the phones were set up to go off whenever Rondo played a good move. As soon as he made a great play, all of the phones rang out with the ringtone “You got Rondo’d”. When people picked up the calls, they heard further messages from ex-Celtics legends providing an instant payoff for the consumer in real time as they watched the game unfold.

The personalized WAP site also featured NBA player info, links to product cataluge, send to a friend mechanism and bespoke videos based on the same theme
This was supported by mobile and online ads, flyering in bars in and around the stadiums where the finals were being played, as well as a key in-stadium presence on the big screen. There was also a Reebok homepage takeover, targeted mobile banners, videos seeded on YouTube.
As a result, the mobile site received over half a million unique visits.

Mobile ringtones and videos were downloaded by more than 200,000 people. Sales of Reebok’s Celtics and basketball merchandise exceeded US and international targets. The phrase “You got Rondo’d” has also now entered into household vernacular.

Generations in China

Individuals born from about 1928 to 1945 (Traditionalists)

In the 1940's and 1950's, those in the U.S. were experiencing the birth of the consumer economy, teens in China were also living through a major transition. The second Sino-Japanese War, the largest Asian war in the twentieth century, ended, ending the 14-year long Japanese invasion. In its wake, civil war raged between the Nationalist and Communist parties. In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Party fled to Taiwan and, on October 1, the Communists established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland.
Communist leader Mao Zedong initiated major economic reforms - a socialist "Big Push" to industrialize China, replacing landlord ownership and peasant workers with the development of heavy industry and the construction of new factories. Throughout the 1950's, Mao's campaigns to suppress former landlords and capitalists intensified; foreign investment in the country essentially ended. In 1958, Mao launched a new initiative, the "Great Leap Forward" - an unprecedented process of collectivization in rural areas: the formation of communes, the abolition of private plots, and the creation of a massive auxiliary network of small-scale industries, such as backyard iron smelters to produce steel - all designed to shift the nation from an agrarian to industrial economy. Agricultural output plunged, resulting in widespread malnutrition. By 1960, the country was in the throes of an economic and humanitarian disaster; 30 million people perished.
For teens coming of age during these years, it was a time of conflict and confusion as traditional ways of life were uprooted in pursuit of modernization. Hard physical work and poverty was a fact of life for most. This generation learned that affiliating with the "right" people was essential for survival, advice they undoubtedly offered to their children.
Individuals born from about 1946 to 1960/1964 (Boomers)
The 1960's and 1970's were the years of the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution. Under Mao's socialist orthodoxy, both traditional Chinese and Western culture were repressed, social institutions collapsed, schools were abolished, public transportation came to a nearly complete halt, temples and churches were vandalized, and "liberal bourgeoisie" and intellectuals purged. Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated, ending Soviet technical assistance and further isolating the country. Living conditions remained extremely difficult.
Unlike teens in the United States who formed cynical views of authority based on the corruption they saw in their leaders, teens in China were a major force within the Cult of Mao. With no schools to attend, they joined the Red Guards and gained whatever knowledge they had from the Chairman's Little Red Book. Many demonstrated in support of Mao and joined in terrorizing ordinary citizens. Members of this generation in China grew up with the belief that loyalty to the state and institutions would be rewarded, questioning authority was unacceptable, education was unnecessary, and anything "foreign" or "old fashioned" was unwanted. They were dedicated to a single way - "the" way of doing things.
After Mao's death in 1976, the Cult of Mao rapidly devolved, leaving many in this generation - now young adults - disillusioned, uneducated, and angry at their sudden oust from power. Today this generation is known in China as the "Lost Generation," since, without any formal education, many of its members are ill prepared to participate in the modern world.
Generation X - Individuals born from about 1961/1965 to 1979
Growing up in the post-Mao 70's and 80's, years, teen X'ers in China grew up during the period of Economic Reforms and Openness: de-collectivization of the countryside, decentralization of government, and legalization of private ownership.
Special Economic Zones were created to encourage capitalist investment. Reforms included the development of a diversified banking system and stock markets. The consumer and export sectors developed rapidly. By the mid-1980s, living standards, life expectancies, literacy rates, and total grain output were up and an urban middle class was growing. X'ers became the first generation in China to come of age in a consumer society.
This generation of teens in China also grew up with more personal rights and freedoms than the previous two generations. By 1980, Deng Xiaoping had maneuvered to the top of China's leadership. There was a renaissance of traditional Chinese culture; local religions including Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism flourished.
Beginning in the late 1980s, mainland China was exposed to many Western elements: pop culture, American cinema, nightlife, American brands, and Western teen slang. China developed a strong cell phone culture, and soon had the most mobile users in the world.
Despite the economic and cultural progress, the country remained a totalitarian state. Liberals protested Deng's unrelenting stance on the political front. In 1989, the Tiananmen Square protests resulted in China's government being condemned internationally.
For this generation, the flood of new information, academic opportunities, and world knowledge was highly appealing and shaped a life-long inclination toward learning from multiple sources. Economic opportunity, including a growing consumer market, was available for those who studied and worked hard. Members balanced between the reinvigoration of China's cultural heritage and exploration of opportunities in the West. Not naturally Western-savvy, X'ers developed with a mental model that was highly pragmatic and facts-based.
Generation Y - Individuals born from 1980 to 1995
Around the world, Generation Y teens shared many common experiences. As in India and the U.S., teens in China were swept up in a booming economy. Although foreign trade embargoes from Tiananmen were in place, economic growth in China continued at a fast pace during the 1990's and early 2000's.
Reforms continued, including the sale of equity in China's largest state banks to foreign investors and refinements in foreign exchange and bond markets. In 2004, the National People's Congress provided protection for private property rights and placed new emphasis on reducing some of the disadvantage of industrial growth, including regional unemployment, unequal income distribution between urban and rural regions, and environmental pollution.
The country made significant investments made in science, technology and space exploration. Thousands moved from rural villages to cities, farms to factories, leaving behind family, class and history. By 2007, most of China's growth was coming from the private sector. Throughout this period, China has gradually become more open and less repressive - not a democracy, but also no longer a totalitarian state.
Nicknamed the "Litter Emperors," Gen Y's in China occupy a special role in the burgeoning society. China's one child policy, introduced in 1979, means that most members of this generation are only children, in many instances reared as the sole focus of two parents and four doting grandparents. They tend to have high self esteem and a level of confidence that positions them for leadership roles in China and globally.
Like many Y's around the world, this generation has strong advanced technological skills and an urge to be connected globally. Even as teens, they confidently communicate directly with outside world leadership and influence the future of their country. During the 2008 Tibetan unrest which marked the 49th anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Beijing's rule, young patriotic Chinese waged Internet campaigns against Western media coverage of the protests. Also in 2008, when a massive earthquake killed 70,000, many young people participated in the rescue as volunteers.
Teen Y's in China have experienced a wave of national pride. Two foreign colonies were returned to China during their teen years: Hong Kong from Britain in 1997 and Macau from Portugal in 1999. In 2001, China was admitted into the World Trade Organization. Most significantly, in 2008, China successfully hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Y's in China share this generation's global sense of immediacy, coupled with the excitement of being part of the country's first wave of broad economic opportunity and growing national pride. Y's in China are confident and competitive. For many, a desire for economic success is closely coupled with a desire for status. They are looking forward, toward increasing China's role and influence in the world.
As we look ahead to future generations, the one child policy was re-evaluated in 2008 and extended for at least another decade, insuring that the next generation will also be comprised largely of single children.

China, like other countries, illustrates the dramatically different experiences and formative events that influenced those growing up in the 1940's - 1970's (the generations called Traditionalists and Boomers in the United States), and the growing similarity of experiences in the 1980's onward. Generations X and Y are the beginnings of global generations

Cosmote mobile ::: Choir

A choir of mobile, landline phones and laptops produces a wonderful melody which is made out of every possible combination of these three to illustrate that every mix between any two or all three means of communication is now made possible by Cosmote, Greeces leading mobile telecommunications provider.
The film was shot featuring a live choir in the biggest music hall in Athens to provide the best sound and acoustics. The choir was trained by a choreographer and a team of musicians wrote an original music score.
The film pays-off with the phrase: The most harmonic combinations between mobile, landline phones and internet on the go.
Credits
Advertising Agency: Bold OgilvyExecutive
Creative Director: Yannis Sideris
Creative Director: Lazaros Nikiforidis
Copywriters: Giorgos Kannelopoulos, Petri Capetanopoulou
Art Director: Vagelis ToliasPlanning
Director: Marina Triantafyllidou
Account Planner: Michael Paredrakos
BU Director: Elias Mavidis
Account Director: Giorgos Zarogiannis,A
ccount Manager: Theodore Kachaidis
Account Executive: Kallia Vergadou
Production Company: Foss
Producers: Michalis Alexakis, Eleni Asvesta
Director: Harry Patramanis
Photography Director: Aris Stavrou
Art Director: Kostas Papas

Whyte & Mackay:::Twitter lion hunt

BRAND:Whyte & Mackay
CATEGORY:Drinks (alcoholic)
REGION:UK
DATE:Mar 2009 - Apr 2009

Drinks company Whyte & Mackay wanted to raise awareness about its whisky brands and its red lion logo, while driving people to visit pubs to sample its sprits.
It decided to launch a treasure hunt spanning online and offline, entitled ‘The Whyte and Mackay Safari Hunt’, giving people the chance to win bottles of whiskey if they find the Whyte and Mackay lions in bars and pubs.

The premise is that the lions will be hiding in Glasgow and London bars moving from bar to bar until they are caught.

The lions can be found by following clues on Twitter (http://twitter.com/whytemackayhunt) and Google Latitude.

If the tweet clue is ‘If this lane was made of ash it would weigh a ton’, then the location would be Ashton Lane in Glasgow’s West End.

Amongst the bottles of whisky on offer will be 19-year-old and special Whyte and Mackay. After the bottles have run out, anyone managing to find the lions will have a drink bought for them. Once the lions have been spotted - they will be placed on the bar of each pub/bar - all the person has to do is walk up to them and touch them. They will then receive a bottle of whisky or drink after revealing their Twitter ID.

The alcohol company has been a keen supporter of Twitter and other social media for a while, believing drinking whiskey to be a suitably social experience. The hunt starts in Glasgow, before moving to London and then other cities.