there is a chinese saying “good things come in pairs” and the number 2 (二, pronounced err) is a good number in the chinese culture. it is common to use double symbols in product brand names, e.g. double happiness, double coin, double elephants etc. it has indeed been a great year for adverteasements – seen alot of great ads this year and heard a good share of interesting quotes. many thanks to you readers because if my blog stats stay stagnant at zero, i may not have the motivation to keep on doing this! so, thank you, thank you for your support and like last year, have a slice of cake while you are here.
another outdoor campaign that i’ve shared with my clients recently. proud to say it’s done by McCann Japan and this campaign has won some awards in the region. another good piece of the work by our network!
Concept: Generate buzz around Coke Zero’s Japan launch and increase vending machine traffic and revenue.
Where: Most parts of Tokyo.
How:
- The campaign focused on the Coke’s vending machines, which have been a common sight in the country since 1962.
- The vending machines became an icon for Coke and vending machine ‘robots’ are created to communicate and interact directly with the consumers.
- To make it more interesting, the ‘robot’ was given a name (VM Red) and its purpose was to travel around Japan thwarting fictional villains.
- A total of 22 short films were uploaded on YouTube over the course of six months to reach out to more audiences. These films were between one and five minutes in length and featured VM Red battling villains or simply taking part in run-of-the-mill activities, such as shopping or riding the subway, giving the films a quirky edge.
- Audiences were encouraged to participate by uploading either their clips of the robot filmed at live events or their own home-made episodes of VM Red.
Best Practices: - Interesting way of communicating directly with consumers on various touchpoints – Online (website, youtube, mobile, blogs, etc) and on offline media (streets, events and original merchandises)
- Giving ‘life’ to a familiar icon (the vending machine) and making it possible for consumers to know Coke again.
- A very creative approach to the promotion by embracing the comedic stereotypes surrounding Japan’s film culture. (e.g. explosion in the background when the hero appears)
- Campaign also aims to foster a long term relationship between Coke and consumers. An account was created for VM Red on Japan’s most popular social networking site, Mixi. Red’s profile was updated almost daily with blog articles, movies and pictures for Japanese fans to follow. This allows fans to get involved with Red as a character to foster a relationship and strengthens the enthusiasm surrounding the character (and Coca-Cola).
Key Learning: Coca-Cola created a character for their new product Coke Zero and it makes it easier for consumers to interact and have a relationship with the brand. Following this campaign, Coca-Cola revamped almost all of their machines by adding VM Red’s head on the top.
i love this xmas spot from agency AKQA! it’s insane how they configured the timings, but *claps claps*, it’s a job well done.
can you guess what’s the tune?
Executive Creative Director: James Hilton
Creative Director: Colin Byrne/James Capp
Agency Producer: Mays Al-Ali
Produced by Bikini and AKQA.FILM
Director: Jonty Toosey
DOP: Bruce Jackson
Producer: Phil Barnes
Art Dept: David Rosen
Executive Producer : Kate Elson
beautiful. how i wish i have this spot in high-res. the youtube version is definitely not giving enough credit to the details!
Agency: HEIMAT, Berlin
Creative: Guido Heffels, Nico Ronacher, Tim Schneider, Till Eckel
Production Company: tempomedia/Stink, Berlin
Executive Producer: Vera Portz, Nils Schwemer, Boo Wong
Director: Psyop
Producer: Jen Glabus
a very entertaining spot which is effective as well. crazy tale jam packed with wacky details but all you remember is the last line – “No added preservatives or artificial flavor”. absolutely what coca-cola wants you to remember anyway.
Agency: Santo
General Creative Director: Sebastian Wilhelm
GCD/Art Director: Maximiliano Anselmo
GCD/Copywriter: Pablo Minces
Agency Producer: Ezequiel Ortiz
Production Company: Bent Image Lab
Director: David Daniels, Ray Di Carlo
