'The Next Big Idea' Getty Images announces winner of their International Film Competition

Getty Images have announced Mark Tapio Kines from Los Angeles, CA as the grand prize winner of "The Next Big Idea," a peer-judged short film competition that garnered more than 200 entries from 23 countries.

Kines' "The Closest Thing to Time Travel," which depicts an invention that enables people to witness past events, was selected from a shortlist of 28 films that made it to the final round of the competition for online peer voting. In addition to receiving the US$10,000 grand prize, Kines' film will be premiered around the world.

The competition brief was simple: explore the one thing that links all creative work -- "the big idea" -- and produce a 60-second film with at least half of the content originating from the vast collection of digital film and still imagery available at www.gettyimages.com

"The Closest Thing to Time Travel" and the nine finalist films can be viewed online at www.gettyimages.com/thenextbigidea, and are scheduled to premiere at Getty Images' events around the world.

Source: Yahoo News

Tags: getty+images the+next+big+idea competition finalists winner shorts films film archive time+travel

Virgin Mobile Motormouth Ad, Down Under

Virgin Mobile in Australia has launched its new round of television commercials featuring the monotonous motor mouth Russell.

Voting closed on Saturday May 6. Since then production has been in full swing in preparation for the launch of the new exciting ad recently shown on Channel 10.

The Virgin Mobile Motormouth Ad is available to view online. Somehow the creative team has managed to tie together a horror genre, birthday suit, a nun on a piano and disco music.

The new exciting ad is available in 60 second, 30 second and 15 second versions from the Virgin Mobile Exciting Ads page.

The campaign has been developed by Virgin Mobile’s regular agency and production company: Host and The Glue Society, the same combo who produced the Warren, 5 Cent and Jason Donovan campaigns. Host and Glue Society will have ten days to film Russell in the chosen genre.

Michael, the actor behind the Russell character, has his own MySpace web site - “Oh What a Mindblast!”

Source: Duncan's TV Ad Land

Tags: virgin+mobile tv ad motormouth australia russell

City AM and Titan Outdoor launch City PM 'bluecasts'

City AM has launched a podcast via mobile using Bluetooth technology targeting homeward-bound business commuters using London's Liverpool Street and Waterloo stations.

Under a deal struck with outdoor specialist Titan, the "transvision" screens in both stations will run a 15-second commercial for the service, every two minutes from 5.30pm to 7.30pm daily. The ad will air 45 times a day.

The five-minute podcast can be delivered to 150 mobile phones simultaneously.

Capital Spreads, the online financial spreadbetting service, has signed up to sponsor the podcasts as well as the transvision ads.

The project was conceived by outdoor media agency Kinetic.

More at Guardian Unlimited

Tags: cityam titan outdoor advertising podcast bluecast bluetooth

Google Moves to Sell Space for Video Spots

Google will launch a new pay-per-click video ad product and syndicate it out through its Adsense Network today.

Like Google’s normal text ads, Advertisers will bid for placement and will be charged when a user clicks on the video. A graphic will appear on the website displaying the ad.

According to the New York Times, which Google presumably briefed, says that Google hopes to bring video advertising to small businesses.

Michael Arrington at TechCrunch is "betting against it".

Full story at the New York Times

AdWords official info blog post

Tags: google adsence video internet search advertising

An Online Market for Video Clip Reruns

A new entry into the market for providing video clips is Clipsyndicate, which is an aggregator for traditional broadcast outlets to be licensed to bloggers or other web publishers. Clipsyndicate will either let you supply your own ads with the clips or will embed ads that have been bought through them.

"Web sites and bloggers would love to add video, and news outlets would love to give it to them, but they haven't figured out a way to do it without getting ripped off," said Allen Weiner, an analyst with Gartner, a technology consulting firm. "So this addresses a major pain point."

Source: NY Times

Tags: ClipSyndicate tv advertising blogs websites

Mini Viral: Aveaword.com

Mini in the UK has launched a new viral marketing campaign you can find at: Aveaword.com. The site allows you to customize a video of a bloke to insult your friends and convince them that the new Mini is actually a "man's" car.

And guess what? Mini can still have great virals without Crispin Porter on the roster. This one was created by Glue London.

Source: Random Culture

Tags: mini glue london viral ad aviaword

Wrong Guy Interviewed on BBC News

How would you do if you found yourself on live TV answering questions on something you have no idea about? Would you freeze? Would you explain who you really were? Or would you rise to the challenge?

Guy Goma was waiting in BBC reception for a job interview. The producer asked for Guy Kewney, editor of Newswireless.net, who was due to be interviewed about the Apple vs Apple court case.

After being pointed in Mr Goma's direction by a receptionist, the producer - who had seen a photo of the real expert - checked: "Are you Guy Kewney?"When he confirmed this he was rushed through the BBC, into a bright studio and seconds later he was being interviewed on live TV.

See how he did

Source: BoreMe

Full story on the BBC website. BBC reports the story on TV

Wrong Guy recalls live TV moment

Tags: BBC tv news mistake wrong+guy apple

Tango's new twist on the Sony Bravia Ad

Following the popularity of the Fallon produced Sony Bravia Commercial, Tango has made a mess of an English town by dumping several tons of fruit down the street.

The incident sparked a protest from the Swansea North Residents Association who insist they "will not be dumped on."



Tags: fallon sony commercial tv ad fruit

Create your own Bollywood edits at Bombay TV

Make your own subtitle edits utilizing schlocky Bollywood film clips, send 'em to friends (or enemies).

Source: Fallon Planning Blog

Tags: bollywood tv film edit

Glue London wins top spot at MSN awards

Creative agency Glue London has been awarded Best in Show at the MSN European Creative Awards.

The awards, which celebrate the region's creative and planning teams, received 255 entries, double the entries for the previous year's awards.

The judges awarded 14 winners across five categories. Glue claimed three prizes including the "Snickers Bowl" campaign for MasterFoods in the consumer goods/FMCG category, and first and second place in the financial services category for its Virgin Credit Card "Plastic surgery" campaign and "Say yes" campaign.

The 14 winning campaigns were awarded with cash prizes and entry and attendance to the 2006 Cannes Cyber Lions Awards.

Source: Revolution

View Winners

Tags: Creative agency Glue London Best in Show MSN+European+Creative+Awards

Clear Channel launches digital billboard network

Clear Channel Outdoor is set to pilot a scheme to roll out the UK's first network of outdoor digital billboards in London.

The locations include sites at London's Vauxhall Cross and on the high-profile Cromwell Road. The company plans to introduce the 10 digital screens in the third quarter of this year.

The billboards will use reflected light using sunlight in daytime and front-lit lights at night instead of the LED technology used across Clear Channel Outdoor's existing digital networks in the US.

Barry Sayer, UK chief executive of Clear Channel Outdoor, added: "The screens will not only provide unparalleled flexibility, enabling advertisers to target audiences at different times of the day, in different mindsets with different messages, but they are also more energy-efficient than traditional LED screens."

Paul Meyer, global president of Clear Channel Outdoor, said: "We are very excited about this pilot, which employs a new generation of digital technology that furthers our commitment to make all of our outdoor displays as energy-efficient as possible."

"The knowledge we gain from this project and our existing digital networks in Cleveland and Las Vegas, combined with the additional digital networks that will be deployed during the second half of the year, will be invaluable in developing our long-term strategy for rolling out digital displays across our many markets."

More details: Brand Republic

Tags: clear+channel outdoor advertising digital display screen led technology billboard

The 2006 Webby Winners Anounced

10th Annual Webby Winners, Webby People's Voice Winners and Webby Special Achievement Honorees have all been announced!

BEST USE OF VIDEO OR MOVING IMAGE

WEBBY AWARD WINNER: Freedom of the Seas
AGENCY/CREDITED ORGANIZATION: Arnold Worldwide/IQ Interactive

PEOPLE'S VOICE WINNER: THE BOOK OF COOL
AGENCY/CREDITED ORGANIZATION: Ocelot Productions Ltd

View all the Winners

Tags: webby+awards awards video moving+image web internet winners

First Post magazine offers £5k online viral prize

Daily online magazine The First Post has launched a competition offering £5,000 for the best original viral film or animation.

The winning virals will be used as part of an ongoing marketing campaign for the online magazine and will also feature on a number of entertainment websites.

The judging panel, which includes: Patrick Collister, former creative director and vice-chairman of Ogilvy & Mather London; Graham Fink, creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi; Mat Smith, managing director and creative director of The Viral Factory; and Mark Law, editor of The First Post, will be looking for "style, humour and a healthy dose of irreverence".

Source: Revolution

More info at: The First Post

Tags: first+post viral prize competition film

The Da Vinci Code: Google Quest & Sony Ericsson Trail

For all the Da Vinci Code fans out there (film released in the UK on 19th May), not only is Google offering the Da Vinci Code Quest we now have the Sony Ericsson Da Vinci Code Trail to keep you busy!

Enjoy the weekend!

Tags: da+vinci+code quest google sony+ericsson trail website game

Amateur snappers get their reward

Members of the public who have shot newsworthy images or footage could get their reportage recognised by a new award.

Backed by Nokia and the UK's Press Gazette the Citizen Journalism Award will spotlight people who found themselves witnesses to events that made the news.

It has been created because so many people own phones that can shoot snaps or video clips, said the Press Gazette.

Amateur snappers have until 30 June to submit entries.

The competition is open to anyone that has shot stills or video that has been printed, broadcast or appeared online in the last 12 months. Working journalists are excluded from entering.

More details at BBC News

Tags: nokia press+gazette citizen+journalism award photography film competition uk

Xenophile Media combine TV and the Net

What do you get when you combine TV and the 'net? If you do it right you get ReGenesisTV

What if you created a web site for a TV show that isn't just an ad for the show but actually involves viewers in the plot - sometimes even inserting them into the show itself? What if you created nine sites and a podcast? That's what Xenophile Media has done for the Canadian TV show ReGenesis.

Inside the Net talk with Xenophile creative director Evan Jones about the site, the design, and the idea of truly interactive television.

Check out the podcast

Tags: tv show regenesis xenophile+media internet website game podcast advertising

ABC Gives Fans a "Lost Experience"

ABC has devised a way to keep fans of its hit show confused, guessing and on the edge of their seats during the lazy days of summer reruns.

The network announced Monday the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure-hunt game called Lost Experience that will introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost's signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.

The Lost Experience will require players to trade email messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and Websites to gather all the necessary clues.

"Cutting edge technology has vaulted us into a new era," ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said in a statement. "Audiences are demanding greater depth of content and more creative ways of storytelling."

In a savvy stroke of synergy, the game's first clue, in the form of a toll-free number that you must call, will air during a May 3 Lost episode. The first clues for Others in the U.K. and Australia are being released May 2 and May 6, respectively.

One of the most exciting parts of the Lost Experience will be the interaction it fosters among people all over the world, according to Michael Benson, a senior VP at ABC. He said that Lost's writers, not ABC marketers, were responsible for plotting the game's course. More than 20 broadcastes on five continents will air the series of clues in different ways and ABC would like to see fans reaching out to each other to stay up to date on the latest Lost Experience info.

"We wanted to tell stories in a nontraditional way," Lost writer and executive producer Carlton Cuse told the New York Times, "and there were certain stories that Damon [Lindeloff] and I were interested in telling that don't exactly fit into the television show."

Read more at: Eonline.com

Check out the official Lost podcast

Tags: lost tv television the+lost+experience interactive game abc

ICA goes Viral with 'Outrageous and Contagious'

The Institute of Contemporary Arts has teamed up with Channel 4's IdeasFactory to launch an exhibition celebrating viral ads called 'Outrageous and Contagious', a title that picks up on the medium's association with the controversial.

The exhibition consists of a showcase of classic, weird, funny and outrageous virals, including a Sky News viral that featured the text "Bush: one of the worst disasters to hit the US", under a picture of George W Bush, Ali G talking about drugs to the British drugs czar and the Volkswagen Golf ad that featured Gene Kelly singing in rain.

It will be followed by a summit where participants can discuss the phenomenon, share ideas and talk about its future.

The exhibition will also include the launch of this year's Germ, the second annual viral 'Oscars', which includes categories such as 'best video viral' and 'best commercially produced viral'. The nominees will be judged by an expert panel of digital, creative and broadcast professionals.

Some Viral examples from boreme.com:

VW suicide bomber spoof

Great moments in presidential speeches

Football hazards

Read more at: Brand Republic (subscription required)

Tags: ica viral vw spoof exhibition advertising germ

Firefox Flicks Crowns a Champ

While Internet Explorer teeters, Firefox is roaring, most recently with the completion of the do-it-all browser's grassroots marketing campaign.

The winner, "Daredevil" by Venice, Cailfornia's Pete Macomber, will be shortlisted in the NY Festival of Advertising's 2006 International Advertising Awards next month. Judges for the competition included StrawberryFrog chief creative officer Scott Goodson, Charlie's Angels director McG and Six Feet Under actor Freddy Rodriguez.

Source: AdCritic.com

Tags: firefox internet+explorer marketing competition