Spread a Little Happiness

This is a fantastic idea and one which will undoubtedly spread across the web, when these virals come together they generally have a significant impact with Nike’s Jogo Bonito being a terrific example.

To promote its free video calling feature the popular free VOIP unit of eBay has launched the viral marketing campaign Skype Laughter Chain, with the aid of London-based viral agency The Viral Factory.

Skype is inviting its 220 million users to submit their own laughter clips with the aim to create the world’s longest laughter chain video. Using their webcam and microphone, visitors can easily enter directly into the application in order to send their own laughter clip. There’s no software download necessary. And if you don’t want to participate in the chain, you can just watch the video of people laughing by selecting “skip to chain”.

So want to join the Laughter Chain? Just play, record, laugh along… with e.g. the most famous laughing baby or classic video Dad at Comedy Barn and be part of it. Then sign their terms, press send, and your video is sent to Skype for possible addition to the chain video.

Want to learn more about laughter? See the special section “Learn About Laughter” on SkypeLaughterChain.com.

Tiger Translate

I must admit I hadn’t heard much about Tiger Translate until before it’s London appearance but have been very impressed with it as a significant tool in the strategy of marrying emerging creativity with the Tiger Brand. Tiger Translate which is described as “a new and innovative platform for Asia’s emergent creatives” undoubtedly enhances the brand expereince, my only concern would be how big an impact it has in terms of penetration.

You can visit the website here

Or read more on Tiger Translate below

There is a new and innovative platform for Asia’s emergent creatives – Tiger Translate, an ongoing series of events showcasing individuals who double-time as creative forces in their home countries. Taking the locals-rule concept onto a global stage, Tiger Translate has already roared through cities such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Dubai, Beijing, New York, Berlin, Dublin and Auckland, where it all started three years ago as the global marketing platform conceived and organized by world-acclaimed Tiger Beer.

If one word embodies what Tiger Translate is about, it is redefinition- that is, redefining our place in an ever-changing and globalizing environment by updating our thoughts on contemporary art and culture and getting in touch with the creative heartbeat of our planet. To this end, Tiger Translate has nomadically discovered artists that are redefining contemporary Asia for the world to see. Here’s how it works: A national search is announced within a country and artists from diverse fields such as graffiti, illustration, graphic design, photography, film and music submit their work. Then, a few get chosen by a qualified panel to perform in an exclusive party event and next, the most outstanding artists and performers will end up showcasing their craft alongside other creative artists at the Tiger Translate Global Showcase in London set for September 2008.

Ryanair Flights Have “Blowjobs” Included!

This is a classic, Michael O’Leary at his best! During a press conference in Düsseldorf, Germany, Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the low-cost airline Ryanair, declared their business class tickets are “beds and blowjobs included”.  In ten days time over 250.000 people watched the video.

San Miguel music events

This is a good example of how to create a unique sponsorship experience, it can be difficult to achieve penetration and stand out in the realms of music sponsorship and thus you have to constantly look to find new ways of delivering the sponsorship to the consumer. San Miguels Hidden depths is a great example of adding value to the sponsorship.  I look forward to seeing more from Brando and Amplify on this  over the next  few months.

Antisocial Marketing

I saw this on NMK, interesting report, undoubtedly there have been very mixed results with online campaigns, however how much of this is down to a lack of knowledge and poor tactical planning on behalf of marketers is open for debate. There are significant opportunities in the online space but as with any other form of marketing or PR, execution is key.

A new report has revealed that brands are still unsure of how best to leverage the large communities on social networking sites such as Facebook. Tim Hoang reports.

Despite the clamour by the marketing industry to affix 2.0 to all things vaguely Internet-related, it would appear that marketers are still struggling to fully utilise social networks as a channel of communication. A report by JupiterResearch has highlighted how half of all advertiser branded social network pages in Europe have fewer than 1,000 friends with the average branded social networking page having ‘only’ 6,494 friends.

Doritos Viral

Here’s the latest consumer generated advert from Doritos. It came froma UK – wide contest for consumers to have their advert aired on TV. The competition was run through you tube with a cash prize for the winning advert plus the kudos of having it on TV! The winning advert of a Dorito tribe has got over 22,000 views on YouTube so far and is currently on TV.

tapas fantasticas

Another experiential campaign which should work very well is Phipps’ Rioja festival in London. Similar to the innocent village fete, this festival will draw punters in and give them a full brand experience, creating an event that will appeal to all the senses. Phipps work with some great brands food brands such as Green & Black’s and Kettle chips and I’ve no doubt this Rioja festival will be a great hit.

Check out wines from Rioja

Village Fete

Congragulations to the guys in innocent with the announcement of their second village fete, it’s an excellent concept and one that really strengthens the innocent brand. I wouldn’t be surprised to see something akin to the Regents park event cropping up on these shores within the next couple of years.