Anticipated Viral – Sony’s Long Awaited ‘Foam City’ Arrives (VIDEO)

(TrendHunter.com) The long-aniticipated and much blogged about Foam City Sony viral ad has arrived. The ad promotes Sony’s Handycam, Cyber-shot and its new digital camera brand, α (alpha). Interestingly, the ads have been anticipated to become viral, long before today’s launch.

A while ago, Sony flooded downtown …

Crystal Ball of Flight Delays – DelayCast.com

(TrendHunter.com) The number-crunchers over at DelayCast have crunched some historical data to predict the likelihood of your flight being delayed or canceled. They can predict a broad range of delays by looking at specific times of day, airports and regions rather than specific flights.

What’s even cooler, as their…

Sony’s new ‘Foam City’ ad isn’t the ‘Balls’

When advertisers find creative success, it’s hard to stop them before they go back to the well too often. Sony had a certifiable hit with a cool Bravia commercial showing thousands of balls teeming down a San Francisco street. Then, it followed up with a so-so paint effort. Now, it’s officially jumped the shark with foam (above). I guess the ad has something to do with cameras. PSFK is none too impressed, that’s for sure. It calls the spot “all froth,” even after Sony flew one of its contributors out to the shoot, as if it were a movie set. Maybe Sony should hire Christo for its next commercial.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Farley Wants to Break ‘Pattern of Apathy’ Toward Ford


LAS VEGAS (AdAge.com) — Jim Farley's moment of truth came when he told his Santa Monica, Calif., neighbors he was leaving Toyota for Ford. They told him his move was "heartwarming," but added that they wouldn't buy a Ford. "I realized they had gone past skepticism to apathy," said Mr. Farley, who is now group VP-marketing and communications at Ford Motor Co. "We have to break that pattern of apathy."

Styrafoam Robots as Art – The Robots Exhibit: Evolution of a Cultural Icon (VIDEO)

(TrendHunter.com) This huge styrofoam robot, Styrobot, was unveiled at the San Jose Museum of Art recently. The Styrobot which is 22 feet long, is made out of that white foamy polystyrene packing material most of us are familiar with.

The Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon exhibit will be on display until Octobe…

Algorithm Authoring – Man “Writes” 200,000 Books Using Software (VIDEO)

(TrendHunter.com) The New York Times reports that Philip M. Parker has written more than 200,000 books with the help of computer software he created; making him, “The most published author in the history of the planet.”

Parker, a chaired professor of management science at Insead, has developed computer algorithms th…

Help a New Generation Navigate Its Way


We all have a responsibility, whether we benefit directly from the outcome or not, to inspire those who are just beginning to answer that all important question: "What do I want to be when I grow up?"

Naughty Haircuts – Knockouts Combines Pretty Girls, Short-Shorts, Hair Cuts and Free Beer (VIDEO)

(TrendHunter.com) Knockouts is a sports-themed franchised salon chain providing haircuts and grooming services including coloring, massage therapy, manicures, pedicures, hair waxing and FREE BEER while you wait. It caters specially to men.

The attractive women are in Knockouts Girls boxing uniforms, large leather ch…

Chocolate Better Than Blogs

BlogHer released the BlogHer/Compass Partners 2008 Social Media Benchmark Study today, which reveals new insights into the power of the blogosphere and the significant role it plays in the lives of U.S. women.

Women are so passionate about blogging that large percentages of women said they would give something up to keep the blogs they read and/or write:

  • 55% would give up alcohol
  • 49% would give up their PDAs
  • 42% would give up their i-Pod
  • 43% would give up reading the newspaper
  • 20% would give up chocolate (some things are sacred)

“Several recent surveys indicate that our trust in institutions is declining. We are losing trust in the government, politicians, the media and many corporations. But as it turns out, we trust each other,” said Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO.

Relics Revisited – Marilyn Monroe (and JFK?) Sex Tape Gets $1.5 Million (GALLERY)

(TrendHunter.com) According to a report in the New York Post, a long-buried naughty tape from Marilyn Monroe has returned from the past. The steamy 15-minute 16 mm tape of Marilyn Monroe features her oral performance on an unidentified male. The tape recently hit the market and has been acquired by a New York busin…

U.K. Marketers Continue to Cut Ad Spending

LONDON (AdAge.com) — British marketers are cutting their budgets for the second consecutive quarter, resulting in a flat ad-spending outlook that reflects a steadily declining confidence in the state of the U.K. economy.

Letting Design And Designers Lead The Way

Paul Isakson, Senior Strategic Planner at space150, wants ad peeps to start thinking like designers, not like ad peeps.

As an industry, we have to stop thinking about things like traditional advertising people. We need to start thinking about things like designers, engineers, architects and the like. We need to think about the action we want people to take and what will be required to make that action happen. We can’t just think about what we want to tell people. Odds are, telling someone to do something won’t be effective alone, if at all. Today’s congested media landscape requires a lot more than a campaign built on 30-second TV ads with a heavy media buy to create any real change. It’s in creating total experiences that we will see success.

Hmmm…sounds like a great argument for inviting experiential agencies to the decision-making table.

Here are some more thoughts from a designer working closely with The Martin Agency:

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Is It Wrong to Want to Live in a World Manufactured by Sony?

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Having teased us for weeks with PR-disseminated photos, Sony has launched a video for its Foam City spot, which promotes a line of camcorders and cameras, not the Bravia TVs like we originally thought.

Nike: Jump Over a Moving Car. Kobe Bryant: How High?

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Jun Group is distributing a Nike-sponsored YouTube video where Kobe shoves some shoes in the camera’s face and then jumps over an Aston Martin coming at him from 50 MPH.

Where The Talent Is

Bob Greenberg, CEO of R/GA told Adweek why his agency is opening an office in San Francisco.

“We opened in San Francisco not based on business but based on talent,” he said. “Talent is the biggest issue facing agencies today. It’s the biggest open creative and technology talent pool other than New York.”

“It’s not so much the agencies but the Yahoo!s and Googles,” he said. “All the technology companies have many potential hires for us.”

R/GA is looking at office space in San Francisco that could house as many as 80 employees. By the end of 2008, the shop expects to employ roughly 25-30 workers in San Francisco.

One of them will be Mauro Cavalletti, who is returning to R/GA as executive creative director after three years at Organic and most recently AKQA, where he was group creative director.

Tim de Lisle appointed to Economist supplement

The Economist has appointed Tim de Lisle as editor of its quarterly lifestyle magazine Intelligent Life.

Robots, empathic artefacts, air vehicles and other works commenting on artificial life

Hello readers! Here’s something i was keeping in my Magic Bag for ages: the videos of the projects which received an Award or an Honorary Mention at the VIDA competition. This international competition on art & artificial life, set up 10 years ago by Fundación Telefónica, rewards works of art produced with and commenting on artificial life technologies. Most of them will give you a fantastic glimpse into the mind of the creators of projects which include empathic blobs, cabinets of curiosities for the biotech age, exploration into digital survival and animatronics.

I guess no one in the assistance will be surprised if i tell you how excited i was when i first saw the video explaining one of the latest project from Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr (SymbioticA): NoArk.

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Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, Noark

I’ve also been impressed by Julius Popp‘s bit-flow video and found extremely sweet the OMO robot of Kelly -Blendie- Dobson.

This way to discover them all. In english with spanish subtitles or vice-versa.

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Award ceremony in Barcelona last November

Banksy Outdoes Himself – Three Story ‘One Nation’ Graffiti Next to CCTV Camera

(TrendHunter.com) Graffiti legend, Banksy, has plastered his finest work yet, a three story piece of work on a post office guarded by a CCTV camera. The commentary reads, “One Nation Under CCTV.” At its base, a graffiti watchman, with signature Banksy design, looks over the work.

To create the work, Banksy erected…

Sony: Foam City – a commercial like no other?

I have to admit, I’m a pretty big fan of the Sony spots, even including the momentarily controversial play-doh spot. When I first saw the clips on YouTube hyping this new spot from Sony, i have to say I was a bit excited. The continued buzz about the spot kept me eager, although it also got my hopes up.

Well, the newest Sony/Fallon UK spot is finally out, advertising Sony’s line of digital cameras with the tag “images like no other.” The similar tag, similar beautiful cinematography, and an excellent soundtrack make for another impressive spot. Not to mention the fascination and joy at the idea of Miami being flooded with foam.

More info, including a download link for the spot, which will air worldwide beginning in May, at Sony’s website. Enjoy!

Celebrities as Religion – Religious Propaganda That Relates Oprah, Obama and The Occult (VIDEO)

(TrendHunter.com) Is Oprah entrancing the world with her own religious beliefs? A new book, “Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid,” allegedly uncovers the shocking truth that Oprah is pushing a new age religion. The book also draws in the conspiracy related to Oprah’s endorsement of Obama.

The author, Carrington Steele, is a …