buildaband.org

It's nice to see that not all music competition are done via myspace or youtube. With Rough Trade behind this and some offline activities this campaign should produce some great results. A minimal site that concentrate on the content but could have benefit for a little more blink and some Send to a friend / Widget to encourage publicity. They are using http://www.filepipes.com/ for the media, an interesting proposition for development. http://www.buildaband.org/

pepsi.youniverse.com

Massive reap off from Army path finder . The photos are not distinctive enough to make a distinctive choice and the end result is disappointing. I wanted to see the TV ads but the only thing I got was the making off. Don't forget to check out http://www.youniverse.com/ where you will find some better use of the so called visual DNA test but I personally think people will get bored of choosing pictures for everything or even use this new social place. http://www.pepsiyouniverse.com/.

news.bbc.co.uk

After the controversy surrounding their homepage, the BBC launches their new design for their news section finally going into 1024. Luckily they haven't gone personalisation mad but made better use of the extra space to let the content breathe, enlarge the pictures and faciliate visual browsing. Good job http://news.bbc.co.uk/

walkmankomiks.pl

Sin City with hamsters? why not? Create your own comic tale or your own music video...This site is just fun, fun ,fun...granted it doesn't push for a sale but the great experience will reflect on your attachment to the product and for their target audience that all they need. http://www.walkmankomiks.pl/

myspace.com/dominospizzauk

Myspace promotion seems to still happening, not that it's a bad thing but the formula is a bit tired as seen by the quality and number of the videos uploaded. Trying to use recycling as part of your campaign is also starting to be a tired idea too. http://www.myspace.com/dominospizzauk

3-para.co.uk

I usually hate anything that ask for my mobile phone but it's worth doing in this case even if from a practical point of view I had to move my headphones. They could have just push a bit more the design of the site as user might just navigate away from the page without trying the piece. I hope that with the footage they managed to create some great ads or posted some teaser on youtube. http://www.3-para.co.uk/

catslikefelix.co.uk/mischief/

Poor design, poor navigation, poor user experience but considering the media budget on this and the fact that cat owners are proud of their pet this will still end up being a successful campaign. The prize on offer doesn't reflect the competition, there is no real download or incentive to take this viral or reward the consumer. http://www.catslikefelix.co.uk/mischief/

21

Good design and great characters videos, sadly the rest is a bit to conventional. The games are poors but in line with the film and the 21 widget / tournament make it so more interesting. They really are at least covering every angles with mobile, promotions and some interesting back stories.

diesel.adidas.com

Beautifully crafted site that can not be faulted for his design but 83 things might be a bit too much for people to browse or choose as the navigation is not straight forward enough despite the shortcuts in place. It's good to see that user generated content is not dead and can still create interesting campaign. I would have like to be able to see the submissions in a bigger format and I would have put a bit more spotlight on the collection itself. Tags search and facebook apps de rigeur. This site can succeed only if promoted throughout the year. They could then create an exhibition or a book out of it. http://diesel.adidas.com/

guinnessworldrecordsgame.com

What's interesting here is not the site itself but the fact that you can see the Nintendo spirit been used more and more in products. A better link to the new Guinness World of Records Gamer's Edition (perhaps as prize) could have make this a better proposition. http://www.guinnessworldrecordsgame.com

testyourbreath.ca

Funny? Perhaps for some but what a shame the only interaction here is to click on 'Try again'. The idea to blow in your microphone was a good one but they could have done so much more especially as this is classic 'send to a friend' material. No widget, no info on the product, nothing.... http://www.testyourbreath.ca/

vizwoz.com

Can this site really compete with the like of Habbo , Disney, There or even Second life ? It's linked with http://www.mystickers.co.uk/ so they might be able to convert some of their exiting members... Will report if any of these make it to my kids school. http://www.vizwoz.com/

ukchampionofthehousehold.buzzthegame.com

A new Buzz and a new set of questions for a site that doesn't change its offering. It's a shame that there isn't any 'Buy now' option or more info on the different versions of the game. A classic 'in action' video could help sell the product as you do not get fully the fun of the game by playing on your own. http://ukchampionofthehousehold.buzzthegame.com/home.php

Happy Easter to everyone

See you next week...

pgtips.co.uk/ataleoftwocontinents/

It's the year of Indiana Jones so PG Tips is spot on with this campaign. Granted they have an advantage as the monkey is already a hit with the public, just look at his myspace profile but it's good to see that PG is making better used of it offline. Just the fact that they are offering a Monkey goody bag will get people entering. http://www.pgtips.co.uk/ataleoftwocontinents/

instantwhite.co.uk

How to market a teeth whitening product on the net? This is perhaps the most obvious solution but the design let it down. There is an app and Bebo profile that might improve the campaign. Perhaps the real solution would have been able to see what people looks like without using the products. http://www.instantwhite.co.uk/

thelostring.com

This is a McDonald ARG campaign, as long as this not finish on 'the lost onion ring' then it should be a fantastic adventure for all the teenagers that have: 1 Too much time on their hands to surf the web 2 To much time on their hands to actually search for the artifacts 3 Don't care about the Olympic games 4 Consume to much McDo.
Fantastic stuff to be honest...
Be sure to check the Wiki, the blogs and the mysterious site.

You have to praise the team for delivering an experience in 7 langagues.. http://www.thelostring.com/

volkswagen.co.uk

For a site that must used a complex CMS the experience is slick and the loading time kept to a bare minimum. Showing the car in action give you a strong connection with it from the first click. My only problem is that the site swap to a darker different design when viewing particular aspect of the car, this seems to be a barrier to the otherwise well though navigation. The build section is impressive considering all the configuration possibles. http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/

100cheergirl.jp

From Japan with love, great design and bang on their target audience as the only thing you see from the girls to start with is their chest. All the videos are probably an answer to a male fantasy, well maybe in Japan....You can class them by blood type, save the one you like, vote for them and embed their profile on your blog. Piclens influenced? http://100cheergirl.jp/

leica-camera.com/experience.php

Leica new offering is some well shot flash narratives. The products are showcase for their beauty more than for their performance and with no resolution to the story you wonder why you had to go through this when the Leica site does the job perfectly. It's preaching to the converted, not a bad thing in itself just some missing opportunities. http://www.leica-camera.com/experience.php

enjoy.cheapflights.co.uk

The logo is a mix between Coke and Virgin and the content is a mix between Nuts and FHM. Sadly this will only attract the Club 18 audience that is in decline anyway... I would love to see the ROI on this one to prove me wrong... http://enjoy.cheapflights.co.uk/

hortonmovie.com/adoptawho/

Some simple and effective ideas to promote the movie: Printable assets and a cool personalised widget that will make the kids happy combine with the now usual reveal experience. A 'Who' gallery linked to the reveal with the name of the Who's owner would have finished the experience nicely. The official site is organised for you to get the most of the content available, the games are standalone so they can be share and the usual downloads are here.

For the adult a philosophical viral about living on a specs could have been fun to bring back childhood memories of reading the book. http://www.hortonmovie.com/adoptawho/

rejecttheordinary.org

With such a great URL I was expecting so much of the most expensive pre-launch campaign Ford has ever done in the UK. What you get is a site that you can browse in 1 minutes, with no real call to action (having a link on the page doesn't count) and the off-road animation is, well, mind blowing for the wrong reason. Do people really download wallpapers of car? http://www.rejecttheordinary.org/

babelgum.com

Could they beat Joost ? could they beat Getty ? Supposedly aimed a the more professional video makers and with the possibility of getting a share of the ads revenue this is one to watch indeed. The site is trying to be Web 2.0 but could do with a bit of design to make it a bit more cool with the kids... http://www.babelgum.com/

shinealightmovie.co.uk

There are some good intention here with footage of the movie between sections and a RSS feed but sadly the site failed everywhere else. You will need 3 clicks to actually get into the site if you found it bury amongst the links to purchase tickets, soundtrack, reviews and so on... the site should reflect the status of its protagonists but sadly does not deliver. They could have done specific behind the scene footage for the web, a deal with Joost or a Pay Per View site... http://www.shinealightmovie.co.uk/

scionspeak.com

It look smart, it look stylish but it's boring as hell. The crest creator has some some problems: no remove option, limited range of colors that you can actually used without your creation being to dark, no user input, only drop down list of terms or words. And all that for what? a fucking wallpaper and a buddy icon...please...if only you could order your crest as a vinyl for your car, a T-shirt or at least embed it on your blog, myspace...
Blame Toyota, do not blame Thunderdog, they still rock. I am still looking for the real community strategy in this campaign. http://www.scionspeak.com/

neverbackdownthemovie.com/beinthefight/

Uploading your face viral seems to be still popular with marketing campaigns but this get it so wrong. The film is trying to appeal to people that loved ' Fight Club ' for the wrong reasons and claim that ' The Fast and the Furious ' is more than a film about cars. Therefore making one of the key scene of your film in a Monty Python parody will not appeal to your audience. They should have stick to their Facebook application. http://www.neverbackdownthemovie.com/beinthefight/

earthhour.org

The WWF Earth Hour campaign has a cool visual widget but still relied to much on PDF downloads, a Wiki could have been a great tool in this campaign. Ideas of what to do during the hour could have lead to some fun viral possibilities. At the moment the site is stuck between trying to appeal to official organisations and anyone. http://www.earthhour.org/

jvcfootball.com/euroball/

Harder than it looks, this is an interesting twist on the usual flash related football game. The prizes are tickets to the games and the more people play the more tickets are released. But the best bit is the widgets that is a small version of the game. http://www.jvcfootball.com/euroball/

bebo.com/sofiasdiary

At least they are not tricking anyone pretending this is a real person. The plan here is to integrated products placement into the story line. They should make it available on mobile too in my opinion. Only time will tell if Bebo has just created a new cult drama or just a pointless campaign. http://www.bebo.com/sofiasdiary

bow-street-runner

It's not of Guiness standard but this is still a great way to introduce children to history, with small interactivity pieces to keep you interested especially as they introduce a lot of mechanic found in DS game, Trauma Center being one of their inspiration for sure. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/C/city-of-vice/game/bow-street-runner/game.html

Don't forget the real world...

Sorry for the lack of updates but I haven't been near a computer all week... Hopefully back to normal soon.