"Dead Ideaville"

This is the month when millions of misguided individuals celebrate the birth of a man, who if he actually existed, would probably have looked a lot like someone coming out of the Taliban strongholds of Afghanistan. How about instead we pay homage to a very real death.

BBC America's launch of "Luther", a six-part mini series about a troubled police detective trying desperately to stay on the right line between light and dark was a very big deal.

Promos were cut. Online content was created. Even outdoor banners were erected. Then I got them thinking about the unconventional.

How did that work out for me? Let's just say I have still to come to terms with the realization that I work for a cold-blooded killer.

BBC America - "Person of Interest"

Detective John Luther is a larger than life character.

Smart. Cunning. Unpredictable. Obsessive. He is the type of hard-nosed cop who leaves no stone unturned in his relentless pursuit of evil.

So how could we bring this vibrant character to life outside the television screen.

This idea turned the user into a "person of interest" for the obsessive John Luther. Through an interactive video, as well as social media like foursquare the user would be able to get a little experience of what it would be like having this obsessive cop on his or her tail.

The Interrogation Room
During episodes of Luther the viewer gets to see him interrogate a lot of suspects. It is an intense experience.

With an interactive video we allow the user to experience first hand what it feels like to be alone in the interrogation room with Detective Luther. The more uncooperative you are, the more violent he gets! 

Being followed
We all love the attention of followers on twitter and foursquare. How about being followed by an obsessive cop who knows your every move.

By signing on to a foursquare-synced app the user can experience what it's like to have John Luther watching your every move. What would you do to lose his tail?

Sans this idea "Luther" still got decent ratings. But no real buzz!

May what's his name have mercy on your soul, BBC America.

"Dead Ideaville"

This death really, really hurts. In fact I'm still in the anger phase of the grieving process. Why oh why Ralph!

To coincide with the opening of his refurbished "Mansion" flagship store in the upper east side of Manhattan, Ralph Lauren wanted an innovative digital idea that would build on the buzz that the opening would no doubt generate. Razorfish were asked to explore ideas and they brought me in to help out.

Teamed up with amazing people we came up with an idea that I think is one of the best I've ever been part of. Augmented reality, mobile, social networking, crowd-sourcing, interactive - it had it all. And a bloody good story to boot.

Ralph Lauren - "Augmented Reality Drama"

When you walk into the Ralph Lauren Mansion, it’s like stepping into a residential home from a different era, rich with old-world tradition and charm. 

Each room looks like it is still being lived in. We can almost imagine the inhabitants and the life they must be living.

Through mobile, in-store and web components, we bring this world to life as an augmented reality drama that gets played out through every room in the Mansion. Here's how we saw it.

The Storyline:

The Mansion is preparing for a grand ball. Within the rooms various characters are getting ready for the ball. Surprising twists and turns to follow.

A/R App:

The A/R App activates the characters in each room. Users can observe them, dressed impeccably in Ralph Lauren clothes, acting out their scenes. Users can also access more information on their clothes, like price points as well as shop via mobile.

Mansion Portal:

A large display encased in a picture frame will allow customers in other Ralph Lauren stores to view the drama in the Mansion. Shoppers can get more information, like price points on the clothes being worn by the characters. A URL link will allow customers to go to the Mansion site to see the full story play out from all the rooms.

Mansion Control:

The Mansion site will not only allow users to see the full drama, but also to control the direction it takes. Through crowd-sourcing technology and real-time voting, users can influence the characters’ behavior and even what clothes they wear.

Audience Participation:

In the dressing rooms of the Mansion, interactive mirrors can take ambient video of customers in Ralph Lauren clothes. This will allow them to be included as extras in the drama. Customers can notify their family and friends of their theatrical debuts via Facebook and Twitter.

Social Engagement:

To add to the reality of the drama, some of the characters could have profiles and status updates on Facebook and Twitter. These updates would be influenced by the choices the users make for them.

Now do you see why I'm taking its demise really badly. Okay, acceptance is slowly beginning to seep in.

"Dead Ideaville"

My dead ideas are deader than yours. Case in point: FT.com

FT.com - "Pay to Win"

I really liked the brief. It was simple and open. The Financial Times wanted a digital idea to help grow their paid subscription base.

Right now members can get some useful information from FT.com for free through their basic subscription.

For a modest monthly fee they can get more proprietary information (standard subscription). And for a slightly larger fee they are privy to all sorts of valuable information and analysis from the best brains in the biz (premium subscription).

The idea was to tap into an insight that serious players in the game of finance understand all too well - that valuable information is a potential game-changer, but it has a price. So that if you’re not willing to pay then you probably won’t win.

The result was a fun, yet strategic business game for users to play, either on Facebook with friends or on a specially created microsite. The game is free and progress and success in the game depends on acquiring and utilizing valuable information. Each player is given a monetary resource with which they buy information. But because the resource is finite they have to be very careful how they spend it.

So really, why play?
The user would win a free month of paid content by playing. Depending on their score they could win either the standard subscription or the premium subscription. In doing so they get to literally experience the ultimate value of paid information for themselves.

Certainly a game on Facebook is not exactly a novel idea. Indeed the social media network is bursting with all sorts of games. But what made this familiar direction feel right for FT.com is that it could have made the conversation about paid content a little more persuasive, yet engaging.

"Dead Ideaville"

I've just finished the first sentence of "The Dead" by James Joyce. And speaking of, here's a brand new arrival in Dead Ideaville. Let's give a warm, or rather cold welcome to the Prostate Cancer Charity (PCC) in Britain.

Every March in Britain is Prostate Awareness Month. The PCC likes to use the month to push their message that Prostate Cancer is a major hidden killer of men, indeed a man dies every hour.

For next year's awareness month they wanted something extra buzz worthy with a dash of non-traditional thrown in. Why do I keep falling for this!!!

Prostate Cancer Charity - "Hidden Voices"

The idea was to create a campaign, designed to spark maximum intrigue and chatter, whereby Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is the big reveal.

In other words, let’s begin a mysterious campaign sometime before the official start of the awareness month, thereby allowing its start to be the big payoff.

To really hit home the “hidden threat” of Prostate Cancer, we would bring it to life as a threatening, cryptic persona that is around you, but you can’t see it. It warns you of the damage it can cause and dares you to stop it, without revealing what it is.

But rather than a visual approach we would take an aural approach. Thus, the hidden presence of Prostate Cancer would be in the form of threatening voices that reach out across the airwaves to sound their warning about how deadly and destructive they can be to men, families and communities.

So how exactly would it work?
During a pre-determined time before the start of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, people all around Britain would hear, but not see mysterious threatening voices that are very much present around them.

In the busiest shopping centers, business centers, sporting stadiums, cinema theatres, the airspace would be penetrated by these voices. They would be live and call out actual people on the ground to prove that they are present. Here is a sample of what the voices could sound like:

  “I just killed a man and like you he didn’t see me coming. One less husband. One less father. One less brother. One less friend on Facebook. And in an hour I will kill another. And another, sixty minutes after that. You there in the green shirt, yes I talking to you, what are you going to do to stop me? That’s right look up. Look left. How are you going to stop me if you can’t even see me.”

To support this mysterious campaign we would initiate a social media dialogue. A Facebook page, “Have you seen the voices?” would be started. It would document all the places where the voices are being heard as well become the venue where users can share filmed footage of this "strange phenomenon. Twitter feeds could also report on where exactly these voices are being heard.

Then on the first day of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month the voices would cease and the reveal begins. A series of trucks branded with Prostate Cancer Charity signage would tour the country in the very areas where the voices are being heard. Fitted with loud speakers, the charity would make people “aware” of what exactly these voices represent.

In effect the Prostate Cancer Charity would become the calming, reassuring voice, explaining what can be done to fight back against the hidden threats of prostate cancer.

Unfortunately no one was able to see the growing hidden threat of timidity in the client until it was too late. A little ironic really that a charity set up to prevent deaths could so easily inflict some of its own.

"Dead Ideaville"

It's not just advertising ideas that die, of course. Television ideas suffer similar deaths, perhaps even more gruesome. Here's one I pitched a while back. The fact that I am here writing a blog rather than living it up in Malibu says it all.

"X-BAY"

It all starts in the office of John Thornton, assistant deputy director for the CIA. He is busy at work when he gets an email message. It reads:

"Greetings. Item #11. George and Barbara. Male and Female Martians in good condition. Bidding will commence 14:30est. www.xbay.com. Username: CIA. Password: Holy Shit."

And so begins X-BAY, a dark comedy/action series that takes the phenomenon of the online auction to an extreme and probably absurd level.

So what is X-BAY?

A very secretive, exclusive online auction site that facilitates the buying and selling of anything of extraordinarily extreme value.

What is “anything of extraordinarily extreme value”?  

Government secrets; multinational corporation secrets; celebrity secrets; patents; international fugitives; government witnesses; weapons of mass destruction; expensive art; historical treasures; first ladies; special services, e.g. assassinations; espionage; terrorist acts.

Who are the participants?
Anyone with an interest to sell or buy, as long as it is of extreme value. These include governments, corporations, private individuals as well as third party bounty raiders. A free market like X-BAY has encouraged savvy, international thieves who can penetrate any facility in the world to steal anything of value. Just to spice up the intrigue, these raiders may or may not be agents for various governments too. Naturally all participants are anonymous.

What is the currency?
Money. National Treasures. Weapons. Anything of extreme value. E.g., Bolivia is looking to buy nuclear weapons from the Chinese. It offers up cocaine, which the Chinese gladly accept.

Why can’t governments shut X-Bay down?
Because governments are their biggest clients.

The first episode will follow the US government as it bids to buy back the Martians from other bidders including world governments and the multinational media organizations that would dearly love to break the story. Who will win? What will be the bidding strategies? And what will be the consequences?

We will also be introduced to one of the bounty raiders, who steals the patent for the cure of cancer. In future episodes we will find out who will bid for the patent and why. Other future scenarios include:

  -  England wakes up to discover that Stonehenge is gone. Stolen by those pesky bounty raiders. When it ends up on X-BAY for auction a major bidding war breaks out. But who will dare buy the stones shrouded in mystery and the occult?
  -  Aztec Lopez, the baron of drug barons is kidnapped and put on X-BAY. Given that there is a multi- million-dollar reward for him in five different countries not to mention rival drug gangs that would like to eliminate him and the stage is set for some interesting and heated bidding.
  -  Nepal needs help in lowering its huge deficit. It puts up the rights to Mt Everest for auction. Why the hell are the Swiss bidding!
  -  Nuclear weapons are stolen in a Russian Republic and are up for bidding on X-BAY, causing major headaches across various capitals. Under no circumstances can they be outbid by a non-government entity.
  -  The first lady is kidnapped and put on X-BAY. But the White House receives unexpected competition to get her back. Who on earth would want to buy the first lady?

"Dead Ideaville"

Alive and kicking one minute. Dead as a dodo the next. It's tough being an advertising idea. Case in point, this recent pro-active branded-entertainment idea for Christian Dior.

Yes it was pro-active so it's chances of survival were less than North Korea's at the World Cup, but it was presented to people who knew people who knew the people at Christian Dior so......Okay it was dead on arrival.

Eau Noir (Dior) - "Lady Killer"

Christian Dior in 2009 began a major branded-entertainment push for its Lady Dior Brand. They commissioned high profile directors to create short films to showcase Lady Dior. David Lynch has just created the third in the series.

There is no similar initiative for the men’s brand. The idea was to take advantage of the opportunity and create branded films for some of the men’s products? Eau Noir cologne seemed like good place to start. 

The five-minute story (a film noir, obviously) is a literal play on the term, "Lady Killer." It follows the police investigation of a mythical man, dubbed the “Lady Killer” who is responsible for the “falling” of a number of beautiful women.

It should be pointed out right away that there is nothing violent about the fate of these women. Essentially, they have just “dropped dead”. So there will be no injuries or marks on their bodies. No hint of any violence whatsoever.

This will be the “Lady Killer’s” M.O. He leaves these women with happy, satisfied expressions on their beautiful faces and the strong scent of a man’s cologne on them. Who is the Lady Killer? And what is the mysterious scent on these women? All is revealed.

Well not yet, anyway.

"Dead Ideaville"

This death is so fresh the next of kin haven't been informed yet. I recently had the pleasure of working with a London based collective of creatives and strategists on a project for the Royal Opera House. 

The brief was to connect with the 18-24 set, not exactly Opera goers, via a viral film. Add to the mix some notable barriers, like the pricey tickets and the perception that the Royal Opera House is the playground of snobs and old farts, and you get a good idea of the challenge.

Royal Opera House - "Interactive Soundtrack” 

One useful insight into this audience is their love and appreciation of music. As a result they are likely to open their ears to different types of music. But they are unfamiliar with the music of opera. They probably don’t realize the many different types of genres there are, e.g. comedy; tragic; romantic; ballad; grand or epic.

So the idea here was to introduce them to opera through the music by letting them play with and experience the power of the music behind the various types of opera genres.

How?
We would create an interactive film with an operatic score. At various stages during the film, the viewer is given the choice to change the genre of the score. The choice of score directly alters the direction of the movie. For instance, let's say a movie starts out as a comedy with a fun, light operatic score. The score then is changed to “tragic” and as a consequence the film gets darker.

In this way the viewer becomes the Director/DJ controlling all the action and sound at the same time. So, not only could we produce an engaging viewing experience, but it also could be a very instructive one as the user learns to discover and appreciate the power of operatic music.

At the end of film we would ask the viewer to visit the ROH website to learn how to experience more of these various Opera genres live.

Ashes to ashes....

"Dead Ideaville"

It's not often you get two bites at the cherry. But that's the opportunity I was afforded when I got a second crack at Viagra. The first time I stayed within the confines of conventional thinking and came up with some very mediocre ideas. Not so the second. Unfortunately this wasn't for Canada or Europe.

Viagra - "The Return of Studs 'Giant' Turtle"

The brief was pretty clear cut. Banish the haunting memory of the "Viva Viagra" barn singing rock band forever with a memorable, engaging idea. If that didn't shout out for branded-entertainment I don't know what will. 

The idea was to create a web series sponsored by Viagra called, "The Return of Studs 'Giant' Turtle". It would be a humorous series that follows an aging former porn star who returns to the industry after a very long absence.

The back story. In the early eighties, Studs Turtle ruled the porn world. Young, athletic, charismatic, good looking and let's just say his nickname "Giant" wasn't ironic. He was the one actor every actress wanted to work with, every director wanted to shoot and every voyeur wanted to watch.

But then a funny thing happened on the way to his next money shot. He fell in love with a Swedish princess, married her, quit the business and entered into a privileged albeit anonymous life of European royalty.

Then twenty five years later in 2008, his princess left him for Steven Twig, lead singer of the ska-punk band, "King Zot and the disciples of pimp". They were divorced soon after and Studs was forced to return to America, penniless. Against the better advice of his friends and family he decided to return to the world he once ruled.

That's where this series will begin. We follow Studs are he struggles to reacquaint himself with an industry that has rapidly moved on without him. Now an out of shape, middle-aged man he finds it hard to relate to the newer, fresher, brasher breed of actors on his comeback film, "No Cunt for Old Men". Will the legend that was Studs "Giant" Turtle be able to stand up to the challenge and mount a successful comeback.

At least he has Viagra at his side to keep him going.

Rest in peace Studs. Or until Cialis comes calling.

"Dead Ideaville"

It's the unexplained deaths that are always the hardest to take. A small Washington D.C. based production company got an assignment from The Travel Channel to come up with a buzz worthy idea. The brief fell into my hands and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for some film making and crowd-sourcing. I still haven't been offered a sensible reason as to why it was killed.

Travel Channel - "Shorts” 

The Travel Channel devotes a fair amount of its programming to food related shows, e.g. Antony Bourdain's "No Reservation"; "Bizzare Foods"; "Chowdown Countdown". In essence the celebration of food becomes the portal through which different cultures are explored and discovered.

The idea was to leverage this emphasis on food in Travel Channel's programming. TC would commission five film-makers from around the world to each make a short film that must incorporate five food related props, e.g. a cucumber, a pepper shaker, a jar of honey, toothpicks and a headless chicken.

It can be extraordinary what kinds of stories are built around food. Remember the erotic "strawberry scene" in "91/2 Weeks". And butter certainly took on a whole new meaning in "Last Tango in Paris"!

Their shorts would be shown during one week of the Travel Channel's prime time line up. As well as showcased on the website. Traditional outdoor and online banners could provide promotional support.

In addition we ramp up viewer engagement by asking viewers to create their own short films using the same five props. The winning film, as judged by the viewers themselves, would be included in the series of films to be aired during the specified week.

A bow of the head, please.

"Dead Ideaville"

The mourning may be over, but this dead idea will never be forgotten. It was for Crowne Plaza and the assignment was, well one of those "great opportunities".

Crowne Plaza had invested millions of dollars in the complete renovation of their Time Square "skyscraper" hotel, transforming an average quality establishment into a luxurious five star destination. They wanted to get major buzz for their buck. They wanted news of their makeover to be the talk of the town when the hotel re-opened. I think you can figure out where this is going.

Crowne Plaza - "Scale-up” 

Alain Robert, aka the "French Spider-Man" is famous for scaling skyscrapers. Robert has scaled 85 giant structures around the globe including many of the world's tallest buildings. His feats are major events with the global media on hand to capture his every move.

Who better then to check out the new Crowne Plaza up close and personal. The idea was to invite Alain Robert to scale the hotel on the eve of the re-opening.

Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but the media buzz and pr generated from the live event would probably have been overwhelming. As would the viral potential from eyewitnesses filming it on their cell phones and posting online.

But there was actually more to this idea than that just gratuitous publicity. Once he reached the top Robert was to unfurl a banner (which he usually does) that would direct viewers to the Crowne Plaza website, where users could take a full video tour of the luxurious hotel. A much safer way to check out the hotel!

There was also a branded-entertainment component. Crowne Plaza would commission a short film documenting Robert's preparation leading up to the big climb. Think "Man on a Wire". This would have been released some time after the event, most probably to be viewed on the Crowne Plaza website, or a micro-site. Live experience. Viral. Branded-entertainment. What more could you ask for.

So why was it killed? Simply, it was the fear that something may have gone wrong and Crowne Plaza Time Square would become unlucky 86 for Robert. The potential negative blow back was considered too much of a risk.

Just out of curiosity, did you ever hear anything about the re-opening of the new Crown Plaza? Didn't think so.

"Dead Ideaville"

We are gathered here today to honor a dear, beloved idea for PODS. The brief was pretty ordinary. PODS needed major recognition. While many people may have seen their iconic white containers, few realized what they actually did. The idea was to introduce PODS to the world, as the very simple yet smart way to move or store. 

For maximum penetration this direct message was to be delivered across multiple media. Big opportunity to try something a little different, you would think. Well you thought wrong.

PODS - "Games” 

Aside from giving PODS the usual media blitz of TV, print, direct mail, banner etc., we also tried to give them the unusual. So we created games which would be available on their website.

The games, one for storing and one for moving would allow users to experience the PODS story while enjoying themselves. In doing so we hoped they would realize that moving and storing didn't have to be so stressful after all. 

In the storing game, basically a Tetris-style game, the user had to use a PODS container to catch items being tossed out of a house. Points were collected for each store. We thought it was a very engaging way to show that with a PODS container you didn't have to throw stuff out.

In the moving game, the user had to figure out how best to pack the entire contents of a house in a PODS container for moving. This was like a puzzle, where there was only one way of doing it correctly. Along the way the user would receive tips on how to move big items properly and which items to store first. 

Perhaps the client was a big fan of first person shooter games and ours weren't bloody enough for him.

Ashes to ashes....

"Dead Ideaville"

You may have missed this one in the obituary column. It's for Cash4Gold, the glorified pawn-brokers with the catchy name. Cash4Gold was looking for a follow-up Superbowl spot to their immensely successful Ed McMahon and MC Hammer duet in 2009.

As you can see I took a very different approach sans celebrities. The result, instant rejection. To be honest I don't think the creative director (shall remain nameless) really understood the idea or even what a mockumentary was. Or maybe he just hated farm animals.

Cash4Gold - "Rehabilitation” 

Cash4Gold is the number one place for sending your unwanted gold for cash. Satisfaction guaranteed. But, ever wonder what happens to those who try to send fake gold to Cash4Gold. Well, wonder no more.

In this mock documentary, we learn what happens to the .01% of people who send fake gold to Cash4Gold. We meet the Cash4Gold "Director of Rehabilitation”, who explains to us how this tiny minority are "shown the error of their ways” by working on the Cash4Gold Rehabilitation Farm. 

We will be introduced to a few of these offenders as they carry out their chores on the farm, i.e. feeding chickens, cleaning pigpens and milking cows. And, this is the fun part, we'll witness the “yucky” consequences that befall them. 

No doubt they won’t be repeating the offense any time soon.

A bow of the head, please.

"Dead Ideaville"

It's time to lay another idea to rest. Colgate Max was looking to make a major splash with a new product, Colgate MaxWhite One. This new whitening toothpaste promised to make your teeth a shade whiter in just one week.

The target was the typical young, skeptical audience with a finely tuned "bullshit" radar. In other words trying to convince them would be a piece of cake.

Colgate - "The One-Week Effect” 

The one major insight into this target that proved very helpful was that they were "progress" oriented and so were willing to try something new if there was an apparent benefit. Couple that with the fact that they were also technology savvy and bingo we had our in. Did someone just say iphone application?

We wanted to give this target a very tangible, yet fun demonstration of just how effective Colgate MaxWhite One is. So the idea was to divert a large chunk of the advertising dollars to creating and promoting a mobile application called "The One-Week Effect".

Here's how we envisioned the app working. First the user takes a teeth baring, wide smiling picture of themselves or their friends. Then, via some amazing technology (probably invented by a nine year old in Bangalore), they would be able to see exactly what their teeth looked like a week later, i.e. a shade whiter. In effect we would create the 21st century version of the before/after demo.

To further enhance the user experience we thought the app should offer other fun "future" related features, e.g. the one-week weather forecast for your area, your horoscope reading for the week.

The "One-Week Effect" app would be available for download from the Colgate website. Print and on-line advertising would support and promote it's release.

Alas it took one week for the idea to die. And we didn't see it coming.

"Dead Ideaville"

The western gunfighter had Boot Hill. The heroic war dead have Arlington National Cemetery. And now finally, I have found my own piece of hallowed ground in cyberspace for all my worthy concepts and ideas that were shot down in a blaze of glory. Okay most were stabbed in the back by gutless, hack creative directors. The important thing is that they be given a home to be remembered and honored.

This first idea to be laid to rest is for Unisys, an information systems and management company. The brief was to create something "not typical" for the category. If I was given a penny for every time I heard that I'd be sipping coconut-based cocktails in Tahiti right now while watching a school of dolphins perform specially for me from my ocean-front mansion.

Alas I followed the brief and, unlike The Who, got fooled again. The idea died because it "didn't feel very business technology".

Unisys - “The  New  Breed of CIO” 

The strategy was to present Unisys as an information systems and management company with the specialized tools and know how to successfully predict future problems and anticipate future opportunities in this globally connected world.

This branded-entertainment idea aimed to intrigue prospective Chief Information Officers by creating a mystery around the apparent emergence of a new breed of CIO, one with the uncanny ability to successfully predict future outcomes. Amazing foresight and effective problem solving would be just two new traits that distinguish them.

The vehicle for this mystery would be a “special investigation” program sponsored by Unisys and to be aired on the business cable channels, maybe even Discovery/National Geographic. The program would seek to answer many intriguing questions with the help of scientists, evolutionists and paranormal experts. Question like, where are these CIO’s coming from? Has the changing business environment caused this new breed of leader to adapt and develop “special” powers of foresight as a way of planning for the future? Or is there another explanation for their emergence?

A very targeted advertising campaign to promote the show would be aimed at CIO’s and all relevant IT folk. Post show, a D/M piece with the DVD of the program would be sent to the same target.

A micro-site would expand and enhance the user experience.

A moment's silence, please.