October 28, 2005
Comcastic Games
Erik Natzke and Branden Hall worked together to build the puppets section of this promotional site for Comcast. The rest of the site was done by the folks at Number 9 and The Barbarian Group.
Check out the site.
Check out Waxpraxis.
Posted by richard ting at October 28, 2005, 11:31 AM
October 26, 2005
iPod Nano QR Campaign on Tokyo Metro
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From the heart of Japan's youth culture -- Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district -- Flickr user Purpin describes how Apple is advertising the iPod nano:
"As part of their rather unique advertising campaign, huge iPod nano posters now adorn the platform walls of Toyoko Line Shibuya Station. As you depart the train you'll be faced with a stream after stream of 1:1 iPod nano cutouts, in which you can pull off and take home. Much to my suprise, I later realised that these cutouts weren't made of cardboard but of plastic, and are very rigidly built too. On the reverse side were the URL and QR Codes of a site where you can download iPod nano wallpapers for your mobile phone."
Posted by richard ting at October 26, 2005, 03:15 AM
October 24, 2005
In Japan, Billboards Take Code-Crazy Ads to New Heights
[from wsj.com]
Northwest Airlines is harnessing Japan's love of gadgets to open a new frontier in interactive advertising: tempting consumers to access prizes and games by scanning giant bar codes with their cellphone cameras. In its latest Tokyo outdoor campaign, Northwest Airlines, the fourth-largest U.S. airline by traffic, is covering the city's billboards and subway stations with ads containing the bar codes, which look like huge geometric Rorschach tests. The ads taunt passersby to unlock a message hidden inside the square of black and white pixels called a QR code, which requires a special reader to decode.
Sound complicated? Not in Japan where already some 30 million people carry the special readers around, tucked inside their cellphones. With a snapshot, the information is decoded, directing the phone's Web browser to coupons, games or further details on a product. QR codes have grown in popularity in Japan over the past year, showing up thumbnail size on magazine and newspaper ads as a quick automatic link between print and online media that doesn't require the customer to type in an Internet address or remember a special code. Similar attempts in the U.S. haven't caught on, probably because the scanners aren't built into an existing gadget.
Read more.
Posted by richard ting at October 24, 2005, 05:08 AM
October 22, 2005
Bluetooth Marketing for Nike
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In Barcelona, in Plaza Cataluña, Nike has installed a huge outdoor ad featuring tennis player Rafael Nadal, and powered with Bluetooth technology. By turning their Bluetooth connection on, users can download the new Nike Pro Tv spot and an exclusive Nadal screensaver. The campaign was planned by Media Planning Barcelona. |
Posted by richard ting at October 22, 2005, 02:03 AM
October 20, 2005
XFire
XfireTM is a new, free tool that automatically keeps track of when and where gamers are playing PC games online and lets their friends join them easily. It works regardless of game type, server browser, or gaming service that a player is using. Xfire eliminates the hassles of running multiple programs like IRC, instant messengers, or in-game friends lists to keep track of when and where a gamer's friends are playing. It supports the best and the latest online PC games including server- and non-server-based First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy, and Role Playing Games.
Xfire was founded by Dennis "Thresh" Fong (World Champion of Quake) and Mike Cassidy (former CEO of Direct Hit). Xfire, Inc. is funded by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, New Enterprise Associates and Granite Global. Xfire is based in Menlo Park, CA.
Posted by richard ting at October 20, 2005, 11:59 AM
October 19, 2005
David Axelrod - The Edge
Listen to some streaming tracks, click the links below:
The Edge
The Smile
David Axelrod- The Edge: David Axelrod at Capitol Records 1966-1970
Though he worked for a series of labels over the course of his storied career, David Axelrod is best known as one of Capitol Records' foremost producers during the company's glory years in the 1960s. Under his production, actor David McCallum released four albums; soulster Lou Rawls released a countless number of LPs (including his first gold album, Lou Rawls Live); Cannonball Adderly released Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (1966), one of the highest selling jazz albums of all time; and countless artists from Letta Mbulu to Common People released albums that spanned the gamut from funky African folk to psychedelic rock. Axelrod himself released three albums as a solo artist on Capitol - Songs of Innocence (1968), Songs of Experience (1969), and Earth Rot (1970) - the first of which even legendary producer Quincy Jones admitted was the immediate precursor to jazz-fusion.
David Axelrod was instrumental in creating the Black Music division at Capitol Records in the mid-'60s, and had a string of hit albums with artists such as soul singer Lou Rawls and jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. Today he is best known in the hip-hop world for three albums he released on Capitol under his own name between 1968-1970. Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, Earth Rot, and other ancillary Axelrod productions are among the most sampled records in hip-hop history, having been mined by producers as varied as Madlib, DJ Shadow, and Dr. Dre, Mos Def, and many others.
Original LPs that Axelrod produced are coveted among DJs and crate-diggers. This definitive retrospective is the first release to put his career in its proper context and present it with the sonic quality it merits.
Produced by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt (of Stones Throw Records)
Posted by richard ting at October 19, 2005, 12:32 AM
October 15, 2005
Jazzanova on a Blue Note Trip
[lucy, thanks for the hook-up]
Listen to some streaming tracks from the album, click the links below:
Bobbi Humphrey- You Make Me Feels So Good
Horace Silver- I've Had A Little Talk
Chico Hamilton- The Morning Side Of Love
Gene Harris- Losalamitoslatinfunklovesong
JAZZANOVA ON A BLUE NOTE TRIP
ACCLAIMED DJ/PRODUCER COLLECTIVE COMPILES BLUE NOTE MIX CD
When Blue Note Records' Netherlands division approached Jazzanova about assembling a compilation from the storied jazz label's rich catalog, the German DJ/producer collective was in fact surprised, not that they were asked, but rather that they had not been asked sooner. A deep jazz influence has pervaded the group's work from the start, having first been collectors of Blue Note vinyl on their own. After having contributed to 2004's global remix project Blue Note Revisited, the opportunity finally arose for a full-length endeavour. The result is Blue Note Trip.
The German collective consists of DJ team Jurgen von Knoblauch Stephan, Alexander Barck and Claas Brieler, and producers Axel Reinemer, Stefan Leisering and Rosko Kretschmann. Aiming to offer a broad perspective on various cultures and musical genres and melt them together, at their inception Jazzanova's love for jazz and modern beats led to a fusion of almost every genre, from jazz to soul and from hip hop and drum & bass to Latin and boogie.
"Our name might be Jazzanova, but the DJ sets we play now are not jazz", says Jazzanova. "It's house, Latin, dance oriented music. This project only had one theme, old jazz music, that was new for us, but also old. Because that's how we started, by playing old jazz records. Since then we've developed. But by going back, we've made another step forward."
Jazzanova always respects the original artist, something that has earned them a lot of respect as well. "We haven't changed the original songs, we respect them too much, but the song selection and the way we blend them together is typical Jazzanova style. We've tried to create a real 'trip.' A lot of young people find jazz heavy and difficult, we try to open the door to the world of jazz by an accessible compilation. We've chosen to use mainly songs that haven't been in the spotlight as much, although artists like Horace Silver and Gene Harris are included."
The mix features selections from all corners of the storied Blue Note catalog, songs from the 50s (Ken Dorham's "Afrodisia"), 60s (Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage"), and 70s (Donald Byrd's "Think Twice"), both instrumental (Freddie Hubbard's "Blue Spirits") and vocal (Sheila Jordan's "Baltimore Oriole"), both popular (Horace Silver's "Señor Blues") and more obscure (Charlie Rouse's "Merci Bon Dieu").
"It's important to really create a Jazzanova moment, the way the tunes are connected, songs that would normally not fit together but to create a point of energy where two worlds collide, like mixing a ballad with a Latin song, with the right harmony or timing it's possible."
Blue Note has been watching Jazzanova closely and considered them to be the ideal group to compile and mix the new Blue Note Trip. A case of perfect timing as well for Jazzanova. "To ask Jazzanova to make a Blue Note compilation is like bringing sand to the beach. That's what we do, and what we like to do. Blue Note is for us the most influential jazz label. We already had a huge collection of Blue Note records, with interesting compositions and inspiring material," says Jazzanova.
"When they asked us to make this Trip, we already had it in ourselves. It was all about the selection. That was the easy part. The real challenge was trying to fit them together, the mixing of the songs. That wasn't so easy. But it was a lot of fun and a big honor to do this on the Blue Note label."
Posted by richard ting at October 15, 2005, 12:09 AM
October 14, 2005
Mercedes R-Class Site
Here's a cool site that shows motion by using lots of panning and rotating of still images.
Posted by richard ting at October 14, 2005, 07:24 AM
October 13, 2005
Perfect Dark Zero Campaign
Microsoft is hoping this game will be their next Halo-caliber success for Xbox 360.
“Visitors to this intriguing site are caught in a dark web of email, online and mobile phone experiences that come together to promote Perfect Dark Zero, the highly-anticipated video game exclusively for the Xbox 360 console. The multi-pronged viral campaign assembled by interactive marketing agency AKQA was launched on October 4, and kicks off with an email that directs you to a web video where you'll witness your own "death" at the hands of Joanna Dark. You then get a chance to send the sexy heroine to "take care" of a friend of your choice, who'll receive a similar email directing them to the web video—and once they get there, you'll receive a cell phone call from Joanna herself, informing you that the job is done.”
Posted by richard ting at October 13, 2005, 08:06 AM
Mini Roof Studio
Add a photo of your roof graphic to the Mini permanent collection.
Check it out.
Posted by richard ting at October 13, 2005, 07:54 AM
October 11, 2005
Clipse - When Was The Last Time - Video
Click here to watch the Clipse -- "When Was The Last Time" video.
Posted by richard ting at October 11, 2005, 03:18 PM
Wonderbra Site
Here's the latest Wonderbra site called 'Experience Wonder You'. Aside from the nice-looking ladies in the site, it's actually a really well designed site that simply tells the story of the four various effects of wearing a Wonderbra. Each effect aligns with the product benefit story of each story so the user walks away from the site better 'educated' about Wonderbras. The clean visual design, smooth animation, and simple storytelling make this a cool site.
Posted by richard ting at October 11, 2005, 04:51 AM
October 10, 2005
Jin - Top 5
Click here to watch the Jin -- "Top 5" video.
Posted by richard ting at October 10, 2005, 03:49 PM
Yahoo Podcast Site
Yahoo launched on Monday a podcast service that offers access to much of the streaming audio on the Web and features user reviews and other information about the programming. Yahoo Podcasts is intended to enable people to easily search podcasts through keywords, categories or user-generated topic tags. The beta site also highlights podcasts of note, those that are particularly popular and user recommendations and ratings, said Geoff Ralston, Yahoo's chief product officer.
Searchers can listen to or subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds for individual shows or episodes of programming or entire series, he said.
Users who listen to a podcast through the Yahoo site can increase the playback speed to hear the audio at up to twice the actual speed, without the voices sounding like chipmunks. Yahoo plans to eventually offer tools that will enable people to create their own podcasts, Ralston said.
Posted by richard ting at October 10, 2005, 02:37 PM
October 05, 2005
Warriors by Rockstar Games
[from IGN]
A battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The army of the night numbers 100,000 strong, and tonight they’re all after the "Warriors" -- a street gang wrongly accused of killing a rival gang leader. The Warriors must make their way from one end of New York to their turf on the other side of the city. All that stands between The Warriors and their survival are 20 miles and thousands of street gang members. The army of gangs owns the streets and there’s no turning back, The Warriors must fight for their lives and learn the meaning of loyalty as danger and uncertainty emerges from the city night.
Posted by richard ting at October 05, 2005, 04:34 AM
October 04, 2005
Absolut Metropolis
In its new campaign "Absolut Metropolis, the vodka brand Absolut picked up eleven "creative types" off the streets of Tokyo and asked them to put together an outfit/artwork inspired by the "Absolut" brand. I can't tell from the website whether these are "real" amateurs or recent Bunka graduates or what, but each individual conveniently has a different extreme-subcultural style. Put together, they are like a street-fashion Justice League Jr.
