Toyota's Social Network Racer

So Toyota comes out with a game where you race their new car around a track that is made up of your name. Sounds like a stretch to reach the consumer on a personal level right? Wait. The 3D flash game takes  photos and data from Facebook to customize signs, billboards, and other surrounding items. After gaining points, you could win a trip to Japan to see the concept car. Hey Toyota, after spending hours and hours on racing cars on the computer, how about giving the winner a car... Anyway, it is a nice try to use this more personal approach which I am beginning to see more and more across the internet. It will not be long before people start complaining on the issue of privacy but, while you can gain information from consumers and form a more personal experience, take advantage. Search it on facebook and check it out!

https://apps.facebook.com/socialnetworkracer/

What the future holds. Glass.

Must-Watch-Video

This video is one of the coolest displays of future technology. This shows us the innovative minds that could possibly build new media vehicles of advertising. Advertising is getting so personal that it is scary but it opens up many opportunities to reach the right consumers at the right time. With smart phones and tablets we are not far off from this world of glass. The imagination of the future is endless and I cannot wait until some of this technology comes to life. It will reshape the way we advertise and give us another medium to spread creativity.

And then there was an example to my previous post... haha

http://adage.com/article/the-media-guy/facebook-s-horrifying-brand-exposure/230443/

My previous post had talked about using bad publicity to create buzz around a brand. This newest ad age article is a pretty hilarious example of that. Rebecca Black sang a song that was a youtube sensation from being so bad. Lance Bass' supports the new crew Heart2Heart who may have just did the same. They sung a horrible song about Facebook causing some to think that Google+ might be behind it. Listen if you dare, but really... you don't have to... I'm extremely fascinated with this new way of advertising. It definitely gets attention. Hopefully it does not get out of hand because this ad trend could become very annoying and could bring on the law suits.

Bad Publicity, Good Thing?

Bad publicity is still publicity. Even if people are ripping apart your brand, they are talking. This buzz causes brand awareness and many are benefiting from it. Ben and Jerry's new ice cream flavor (Schweddy Balls) caused huge controversy but the protesting has spread the awareness of the new ice cream. Matter of fact, a new agency is being established to do just that. Brand Anti-Endorsement and Boycott Services helps advertise in very untraditional means. One thought that was funny was if you cannot endorse an A-list celebrity, hire a D-list celebrity to wear your competitors products. Oh geeze... what is the advertising world coming to?... Or are they onto something?