"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.

Someone had to do it...

So why not Maxime Luere, a CG artist. True it is very derivative of Google's campaign, but I find the story of Alex Droner far more substantial and wittier that its Google counterpart.

That said it still feels a little conformist for my tastes. Alex's life seems to follow a typical Facebook life, i.e. getting drunk, traveling, eating at restaurants, getting drunk, showing off baby.

Much like with a movie, I would have preferred viewing a life less ordinary. Where was the sex change? Or the night spent in a hotel room with Charlie Sheen and a porn star? Or the two months spent in Pakistan at an "Islamic School" with an emphasis on chemistry.

Mind you, Maxime does confirm the old adage, "nothing stimulates a budding relationship like a good poke". So kudos for that.

"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.

The "Make it Happen" Challenge.

Time to "Make it Happen", the crowd-sourcing challenge to see if my big ideas can come to fruition thanks to the rich community of creatives, writers, artists, designers, inventors, scientists, architects, pharmacologists, techies, provocateurs, ethicists, military contractors, etc.

MIH Brief 009

OBJECTIVE:

Plot a new career path for the soon to be ex-FreeCreditReport Band.

Check this out for more background, but to surmise, the financially inept, "love to hate" band in the FreeCreditReport.com ads have been dropped. The financial company is looking for a new band to sing a whole new initiative for them.

It's a sudden end to to an incredulous gig for the Montreal native "musicians". It all started three years ago and since then they've created images and sounds that will surely haunt us for the rest of our lives. Who can forget their "Pirates of Pity" jam. The "Roller coaster" sing along left a whole audience ready to hurl along with them. And the "Twits in Tights" routine at the Renaissance Fair...well it really doesn't need any more explanation.

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote "There are no second acts in American lives". How can we prove him dead wrong (we've got the dead part down) by creating a golden future for the FreeCreditReport Band.

THOUGHT STARTERS:

  -  Let's get the obvious thought out of the way first. Is there any merit to creating a Facebook campaign to persuade FreeCreditReport.com to reinstate the band. (This may be a really tough sell given that FCR will be incorporating social media to find their new band.)
  -  What about other potential advertising gigs? What other appropriate brands could they sing for? Monster.com seems like an ideal partner. Theladders.com may be out of their range though.
  -  Or perhaps they could become the "House band" for a financial related TV show. For example, "The Suze Orman Show" on CNBC.
  -  Reinvention usually starts with a new band name, and new image. What names could break through the clutter and capture the public's imagination? Here are a few possible examples: The Broken Legs; Pre-Approved; Are you kidding me; The Furry Parts; Born Out Of Wedlock.
  -  Perhaps the band needs to start playing real gigs to build up an audience base. How do we can get them onto the wedding, bar mitzvah and advertising industry party circuit?
  -  "American Idol" has a vacancy at the judging position. The band would seem to be ideal candidates, especially given that the producers of the show have lately been employing judges with no real music talent (Ellen Degeneres).

   -  The aforementioned Ellen Degeneres has just started her own record label. Her first signing is some kid with a youtube hit, proving she is a music executive with no taste levels whatsoever. Surely it couldn't be that hard to get the band to be her second signing. 
  -  One hit wonders end up on VH1. Could we create a reality series featuring the band as they try to get signed up by a major label. Maybe even Ellen's.
  -  Perhaps if one of the members was to suddenly "expire", we may be able to create some sympathy for the band which could result in the break they need. It could even lead to a social media campaign to find the ideal replacement.
  -  Could we possibly interest major producers to get behind the band? What could intrigue Snoop Dog to want to collaborate with them, other than bribing him with marijuana?
  -  If their music career doesn't pan out where else can they apply their talent or lack thereof? Could they take their "financial experience" as credit spokesmen to the airwaves as experts on Fox Business Channel. They should fit right in.

MANDATORIES:

  -  The band MUST at all times disparage FreeCreditReport.com
  -  The band can never write their own material.
  -  The old lady that appears with them in their ads must always be included in their entourage.
  -  The band must submit to regular credit score testing.

Good luck and make it happen, people!

The "Make it Happen" Challenge.

Get ready to "Make it Happen", the crowd-sourcing challenge to see if my big ideas can come to fruition thanks to the rich community of creatives, writers, artists, designers, inventors, scientists, architects, pharmacologists, techies, provocateurs, ethicists, military contractors, etc.

MIH Brief 008

OBJECTIVE:

Create a social-media campaign that helps repair the damage to British Petroleum's image and reputation.

Check this out for more background, but to surmise, British Petroleum have had a lousy May. Nothing seems to be going right for them, other than the whopping profits they're raking in of course.

But leaving aside the billions of dollars added to the credit side of their balance sheet, the last few weeks  has been a pr disaster for them. Okay, it's been a bigger disaster for the wildlife and fishermen of the Gulf Coast, but BP as a global brand is fast leaking credibility. Okay the leak is not as fast as the thousands of gallons of oil pouring into the coastal waters off Louisiana as we speak, oh look another dead turtle, but as someone once said, "image is everything".

A classic pr or advertising campaign will almost certainly come across as too corporate or manipulative and will probably fail, albeit not as badly as BP's current attempts to contain this mess. What is needed is something a little more organic. A comprehensive social media campaign seems like the perfect strategy for cleaning up their image.

THOUGHT STARTERS:

  -  A grand gesture of self-punishment is a good first step in trying to win back an outraged public. In Japan they call it Seppuku and it involves disembowelment. Thankfully for BP this isn't Japan, but can we create a "self-punishment" campaign via Facebook that essentially offers users a satisfying incentive to become fans of British Petroleum, e.g. If BP can get ten million fans then its CEO or even better board of directors will be publicly soaked in crude oil.

  -  Bribery is another effective way to reverse negative public opinion. Twitter seems a logical platform for BP to engage and "give back to the community". Is there an opportunity for a treasure hunt via a twitter campaign? For instance, a number of BP stations around the country could suffer major "cash leaks". Hundred dollar bills will literally pour out of these BP stations for people to grab. Information on the times and locations could be hidden in specially coded tweets.
  -  BP stations could also be the venue for an engaging Foursquare campaign. For example, if you check in to a certain number of BP stations you are entitled to free gas. Or perhaps we can create another treasure hunt a la Jimmy Choo's Foursquare campaign.
  -  Sometimes the best way to improve public relations is to just beg for forgiveness. Is there any merit to BP creating the Facebook group, "Please don't sue us, we're really, really, really sorry." How could we get more people to join without bribing them?
  -  To preempt the expected hit to the Gulf seafood industry can we create a blog campaign using high-profile "influencers" to speak out against shrimp and lobster.
  -  Oil companies are notorious for "buying favorable decisions" from regulators. Lately this has involved sex and cocaine parties and it has proved very successful. Is there an opportunity for BP to throw a few sex and cocaine parties to win over a skeptical public? Invitations could be sent out via Facebook, twitter etc.
  -  The name British Petroleum sounds very toxic right now. A new name and logo may help clear the air, if not the sea. Perhaps there is an opportunity for a crowd-sourcing campaign. What better way to engage the public than get them to come up with a new name for you. Let's just hope there aren't too many rude ones.
 
MANDATORIES:

  -  All messaging must carry the disclaimer, "Although British Petroleum aren't to blame for this setback we are willing to take full responsibility."
  -  Illegal immigrants are NOT entitled to any free gas or cash giveaways.

Good luck and make it happen, people!

Bad Facebook.

There are lots of reasons to find fault with Facebook. It encourages shallowness. It breeds envy. It makes users feel unattractive. It fuels divorce. It may be responsible for a surge in rickets. It compromises the identity of spooks.

But this may be the most egregious.


(Sharing credit to Mashable)

The Johnny Cash Project.

If you're a Johnny Cash fan or just a creative type with a little time on their hands then you should love this very cool project. It invites users to help build a music video for Cash's last ever studio recording, "Ain't no grave" (sunshine was already taken).

It's not just an exercise in crowd-sourcing of course, it's much bigger than that. It's all about celebrating the man, the myth, the legend and his music or at least his last recording. But the use of user-generated content is incorporated in a wonderfully non-intrusive and selfless way. The creators of the project quite rightly refer to it as a "communal work".

And the real beauty is that this idea could only really work for a handful of artists. The Miley Cyrus project won't be coming to a website any time soon.

Kudos to director Chris Milk, Aaron Koblin and Radical Media amongst others.

Drink your heart out Doritos.

Big Rock Alberta Craft Brewery have their own ad contest. It's called "The Eddies" and apparently has been going on since 1993. I don't think the person who came up with the term crowd-sourcing was even born then.

Here's a stand-out entry from this year's contest. It certainly gets my vote.



(Sharing credit to mediabistro.com)

Indexed.

Okay I admit it I'm slow. I've only just discovered Indexed, Jessica Hagy's clever blog that uses charts and graphs to say witty, insightful and quirky things about life, death and everything in between. She started it in 2006. Where the fuck have I been!

Here's a particular favorite of mine and it might have to do with my fear of moustaches.

(Sharing credit to Brain Pickings)

Hee hee Craigslist "ad of the day".

copywriter needed to write copy about fine art & panting - work remote (ny, ny)

It begs the question, are they seeking a creative or erotic service?

Battle of the crowds.

In 2008, Doritos took their "Crash the Superbowl" crowd-sourcing concept across the big pond. The Brits gave us Rick Astley so it's only fair we reciprocated in kind.

The 2010 version has just been rolled out. Boldly dubbed, "King of Ads" (I guess they're already ruling out a female winner) the competition will challenge users to not only make their own Doritos commercials, but then audition them before a panel of judges.

It should be interesting to see what the British crowd comes up with this time. Given differing tastes and senses of humor I suspect it will be a little different from what we endured on the Superbowl. But will it be better?

Sarah Palin in bed with Hugo Chavez.

Yesterday Sarah "If only Rush Limbaugh had insulted me then everything would have been okay" Palin was outraged. Outraged I tell you, at the Fox animation series "Family Guy" for allegedly mocking her son who has Down's syndrome. So she went on Facebook and complained about being "kicked in the gut" one more time.

It's a free Facebook so she's entitled to rant, as is first daughter Bristol. Perhaps they need take it further and turn their whining into action. For starters they should friend that other "Family Guy" hater, Hugo Chavez. Last year he called for the show to be banned in Venezuela for allegedly promoting the use of marijuana. He even threatened to punish any TV station that continued to broadcast it.

Together, the Palins and the Chavezs (he also has a big beef with "The Simpsons") could form their own Facebook group, "Real people against American liberal elite cartoons". Judging by the thirteen thousand plus who gave Sarah the thumbs up as well as the huge masses, willing or not, that Hugo will be able to deliver it could be quite the constituency.

Sarah and Hugo. S.B.I. (Strange Bedfellows Indeed)

Perspective watch.

As of right now, there are 411,249 fans of "I'm with Coco", the Facebook fan-page set up to support the plight of the poor, ravaged Conan O Brien as he battles the odious NBC.

In contrast, I looked at advocacy pages relating to healthcare reform. There a dozens and dozens of them, too many to mention. But they all have one thing in common - meager fan bases. Here is just a sampling:

• Healthcare Refom - 441 fans
• Reform Healthcare Now - 11 fans
• All I want for Christmas is Healthare Reform - 851 fans
• Universal Healthcare - 2,891 fans
• Public Option Please - 10,478 fans

Two points to draw from this. First, healthcare reform could have done with a SINGULAR, catchy name. And secondly, maybe if NBC threatened to take away Conan's healthcare, all his fans would now be fans of healthcare reform too. How about, "Coco wants his healthcare".

More Doritos trashing.

Here's Barbara Lippert's take on that affront to creativity known as the Doritos Superbowl finalists. While I don't always agree with Ms. Lippert she pretty much nails this one.

Let's try this again.

Here's a project by Canon that promises to be a real treat. A piece of branded-entertainment wrapped around a fresh center of crowd-sourcing. "The Story Behind the Still" is a film competition encouraging creative types to make their own short films based around a still image. It's the film version of one those cooking shows with a secret ingredient. Sort of.

Filmmaker Vincent Laforet kicks off the competition with the intro short film, which he shot on one of Canon's latest HD cameras. This is where the branded part comes in. Not sure exactly what cameras the crowd are supposed to shoot with, but I doubt it has to be a Canon.

Now I know what you're thinking. "Shiraz, you're a two-faced weasel. Wasn't it just twenty four hours ago that you exposed us to the ugly side of crowd-sourcing. Those so-called Doritos commercials will haunt us for the rest of our lives. And now you're pushing more of it."

So why am I so full of anticipation in this case. To put it bluntly, I believe the make up of the crowd will make for more engaging content. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty darn sure that this competition will attract a more skilled, creatively focused set of participants. Creating thirty seconds of "Doritos love" is one thing. An original short film is quite another. I should know, I've tried and failed horribly!

More importantly though, I believe, and I'm not the first person to say this and won't be the last unless the world ends NOW............So as I was saying, this competition should demonstrate that crowd-sourcing works best when the crowd is "niched". Or to put it another way, the more concentrated the pool with like-minded talent, skill and experience the better the content.

Kudos to Grey, Vincent Laforet and Vimeo, the folks behind the still.

(Sharing credit to jawbone.tv)

Crash and burn.

In an October 26th, 2009 post titled, "Advertising's Public Option" I said, "So no more sneering from me. I say let the consumer have their fun and flex their creative muscles."

The comment was in defense of consumer crowd-sourcing and related specifically to Doritos's 2009 "Crash the Superbowl Party" promotion.

Well, the six finalists for this year's (2010) competition have been announced and having just suffered through their viewing, perhaps I spoke too soon. The work is shockingly bad. I mean CACA. If you like ingesting fresh road kill then by all means have a peek. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Maybe I should retract by saying, "Consumer - stand back from all writing materials. Keep the power button in the off position on your cameras, you've done enough damage thank you very much. Asshole!"

Well, not exactly. I still believe in the value of crowd-sourcing. People had their fun. Doritos probably got the necessary branding boost they wanted. The fact is that from a creative content point of view crowd-sourcing will work better in some cases more than in others.

Off course, another indirect even unintended value of crowd-sourcing is that it may just illustrate clearly how difficult it is to create smart/effective/entertaining/original/challenging/humorous advertising. The truth is that it can only really flourish in the hands of a few.

Victors & Spoils.

The world of advertising has a new agency. Hello Victors & Spoils. "The world's first creative (ad) agency built on crowd-sourcing principles" is how they tout themselves. A bold touting, indeed.

I have to confess though, it's an intriguing proposition. Having already dallied with some creative crowd-sourcing sites, notably Idea Bounty and been disappointed with the end products, I look forward to seeing what they come up with. One of the problems I have with most of these sites is that there is no room to grow your idea, i.e. it wins or not. And that's not really the way creativity works. Usually most great ideas start off good, but then need lots of care and attention to blossom.

It sounds like V&S has the creative direction apparatus in place to succeed. I wish them luck. And yes, this is a groveling post as I attempt to get accepted into their community.

Advertising's Public Option.

On this day eight years ago I watched a focus group of 18-34 year old young men rip apart my advertising concepts for Norelco. It still haunts me to this day. As I munched furiously on M&M's, I felt a sudden rush of revulsion when one of the young men actually had the temerity to come up with his own idea. "Why doesn't Norelco just pay them to create their advertising", I sneered loudly to which my advertising cabal chuckled madly. No one is chuckling any more.

Welcome to the age of consumer crowd-sourcing aka consumer generated advertising. Or Hoi Polloi Inc, as I affectionately call it. Hundreds of years ago, the crowd was toppling monarchs. Twenty years ago the crowd was breaking down the walls of totalitarian regimes. Today, they're writing ads. Isn't progress a beautiful thing.

Okay I admit it, I'm still rather skeptical, but no longer contemptuous. You see, I totally get the rational. The game today is "two way consumer engagement". Thanks to technology and new media applications like social networking, consumers not only interact with brands but can now directly engage with them like never before blah blah blah.

Doritos's "Crash the Superbowl Party" promotion is a stand-out example. Doritos gives consumers the chance to create their own superbowl ad. Joe Public meet Joe Pytka. Last year's winning work wasn't bad and to be fair the production values were generally high even if the budgets weren't. As someone who has produced a fair amount of "spec" lately, I'm a big believer in low budget productions. They can help concentrate an idea. And low budget means NO CELEBRITIES!!

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Fanwatch.

Coke has over three million fans on Facebook. Starbucks has over four million. Adidas almost two and half million. And then there's AIG with a paltry 637.

But hang on a minute. AIG were the chief architects of a complex scheme that almost brought down the entire global financial system as we know it. So any fan base north of zero is actually pretty impressive.

What's up people, you couldn't just become fans of Chinese Toy Companies? Union Carbide not bad enough? On the other hand you have to admire a group, who not only are willing to stand by their favorite brand, but also not afraid to show their faces. All advertisers would kill for loyalty like that.

My point exactly.

Elizabeth Bernstein has it spot on about Facebook. Although I can't quite bring myself to join Enemybook yet.

(Sharing credit to Farhana Gani)