Hasta La Creative!

Host has just designed a new online interactive campaign for Virgin Mobile (Australia) where you the punter gets to choose the ending of three commercials for Australia’s Virgin Mobile. On the site – whathappensnext.com.au – there’s pens, speech bubbles and various “ka-pow” and “ker-plunk” sound effects that you can storyboard with to draw your own ending of either on of the three scenarios. The scenarios are “Mafia Kidnapping”, “UFO Abduction”, and “Police Getaway” – all situated around a strange diner in the middle of a desert. You could win a road trip adventure, complete with one-way flights to Cairns, $5000 cash, a Canon HD digital video camera, a phone… and that’s on top of Virgin Mobile actually making the winning ad and it going on TV. There are also tons of runner-up prizes. The flash tool is pretty neat, but all I did was add arrows to everything and dot bomb-sounds all around.

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LONDON – Almost three fifths of UK marketers have serious doubts about the effectiveness of the 2012 London Olympic logo, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Virgin, thanks to Host have launched a new campaign called What Happens Next. Choose your scene and then direct what happens next. The best entry will get turned into an ad (i think Virgin did this before?) and you win a trip to Cairns. That’s northern Qld not Southern France. Oh and 5 grand cash too so that’s pretty sweet.

The actual drawing tool is quite nice and the film genre video changes are nice too but the entries themselves so far are quite boring to view. I guess I was on the look out for dick and balls, but I think those wont get past the moderators.

I did enjoy the man turns into rabbit entry but look forward to see the gallery fill out over the next few weeks.

Collateral Damage sent me a link to this goofy but fairly amusing boy-band-inspired music video for Eppendorf’s epMotion. It’s all about a new automated device or process (or something) for “pipetting,” which involves transporting measured volumes of liquid in research settings. That’s pretty dull material, so kudos to Eppendorf for taking a new tack. (They’ve even dolled it out with wallpaper, a downloadable MP3 and a gallery of behind-the-scenes photos.) Still, if this revives ’N Sync’s career, that would be a crime against science and all that’s holy. (Now, a Hanson reunion we all could enjoy.) When you think about it, the word epMotion does sound kind of musical, almost like the title of a Beck song. When the company lays down some smooth make-out grooves for DualChip GMO Microarrays and Silverquants, then I’ll be impressed.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Heals their burn and your guilt, fast.

Advertising Agency: JWT Cairo, Egypt
Creative Director / Copywriter: Hesham Ellabban
Art Director / Illustrator: Asmaa Yehia

Advertising Agency: Loud, North Sydney, Australia
Creative Director: Andy Firth
Art Director: Darren Seddon
Copywriter: Joe Van Trump
Photographer: Mark Mawson
Model maker: Ben Trowse
Published: July 2008

LONDON – Zoo founder Barry McIlheney is stepping down as editor-in-chief of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers to be replaced by Murray Morse, former editor of the Cambridge Evening News, who has been asked to revamp the recently relaunched titles.

7 accounts won for 4 agencies in one year. It must be talent.

In France, stepping in dog shit with the left foot will bring you luck.

Advertising Agency: Melville, Paris, France
Photographer: Steve Murez
Published: June 2008

You do the math.

Advertising Agency: Grey Worldwide, Doha, Qatar
Creative Director: Omar Gebara
Art Director / Illustrator: Joanna Menassa
Copywriter: Punit Manek
Published: February 2008

LONDON – Lowe & Partners has been awarded the June ad of the month in this year’s Awards for National Newspaper Advertising, for its John Lewis ad highlighting that the retailer is a “million miles” away from the hustle and bustle of the high street.