We established long ago that Lego was one of the more brilliant inventions on the planet, with all sorts of design applications from jewellery to life-size sculptures. However, this video is truly something else.
The inventor has managed to create a fully-functional printer using bits of Lego and a felt-tip pen. We particularly love the little lego figures dotted around the machine as if they are actually working it – brilliant touch. We were not expecting this to work anything like as well as it does…
Yes, it’s another blog post about an iPhone accessory, and yes these really should be getting dull by now. However, we actually think this is something a bit new.
The MoviePeg brings the iPhone (or iPod Touch) into a comfortable position to look at movies without the need to hold it up yourself. And it works horizontally and vertically, comes in a lovely variety of colours, and it is only $4.99…
We know it’s basically just a block with a dent in it, but we love it as ultimate proof that sometimes it’s the simple ideas…
We’ve been loving the row between Greenpeace and Nestle over the last few days. For those who haven’t come across this yet, Greenpeace took objection to Nestle using palm oil grown on land that had been claimed from Indonesian Rainforest – the last refuge of the orang-utan. So they made this film:
A few people saw it and Nestle got all hot and bothered and made YouTube take it down for copyright infringement. At which point Greenpeace migrated the video to Vimeo and the viewers flocked in, driven by the winds of controversy.
Firstly, can we just say we love the ad. So it is a little bit gross, but equally you definitely get the point. And we bet you remember orang-utan fingers when (if) you next eat a KitKat.
Secondly, we really thought Nestle were smarter than to ban it. Anything prohibited instantly becomes more desirable, be this sweeties, alcohol, drugs or forbidden fruit. And it just looks like they have something to hide.
So we just thought we’d do our bit and get involved in the whole saga by posting the video to yet another site.
P.S. we got the video from YouTube where it has mysteriously reappeared. If Nestle get that one removed too, there’s always the Vimeo link here…
We love this stunt from Heineken Italy. We don’t want to say too much, but they basically managed to convince over a thousand fans of football team AC Milan to abandon the game of the year so far (the Champion’s League fixture against Real Madrid) to go to a night of poetry and classical music…
As far as experiential advertising goes, this has to be just about one of the best examples we’ve seen, purely for the look on all their faces.
It’s rare you come across something that involves new technology, good design and environmental concerns, so when we do we’re always very happy. This laptop designed by Tord Boontje for HP is one such thing.
What stands out is of course the amazingly intricate design of the case, which is in fact crafted using HP Imprint 3D, a world’s first in 3D surface technology. The design features flora and fauna in interlocking patterns and layers and the overall effect is excellent. But that’s not all:
A closer look reveals shy animals hiding delicately within the flora – like taking a walk in the woods and discovering animals along the way. But these are no ordinary animals – many are endangered animals such as the polar bear, the blue whale, the red squirrel – just a few of the many creatures relying on us to help sustain the world that we share.
Which brings in the whole environmental issue very nicely. And the packaging is all made from recycled materials, and the screen is designed for energy efficiency, just to beef up the environmental package.
All of this is however secondary to the design, which is what you’d buy the laptop for. Especially when it comes with matching backgrounds and accessories…
It doesn’t seem so very long ago that Flashmobs were the new big thing. And they were interesting, cool and ultimately effective.
They have now been done in just about every corner of the world in just about every conceivable format, and you do still get the occasional good one. Of course, good ideas spawn imitation, and that’s all fair enough. But then you get this kind of thing.
We came across this in Creative Review and couldn’t agree with their comments more.
Give up, and go back to making posters and TV ads. Please.
It’s not often we come across a website that we think it’s worth commenting on, but here’s one that brought a smile to our face. Eggwatchers.com is, quite simply, a website to help you boil an egg, but simple doesn’t always mean bad.
The site asks you to select your size of egg, whether it is fresh from the fridge or not, and how you would like it cooked, then gives you the time required to cook it, through a series of cute animations. We chose a runny egg from the fridge, giving the animation a pair of sneakers and a wooly hat.
And while you wait for your egg to be boiled, start the timer, and the website plays you a YouTube video of precisely the right length to keep you entertained for the duration.
This may sound a little lame, but give it a try, and we bet you love it.
Every so often we find something that we just have to post to indulge our inner child…
In this instance it’s a business card that can be used to fire pennies, and at some speed and power. This is at the moment just a prototype, but it has to be fun. We’d certainly be much more inclined to keep a business card that looked like this anyway. If they can just sort out the design front (it looks a bit rubbish), we might even order a bunch.
It’s always a bit stupid to call something ‘unbreakable’, just as the makers of the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic discovered. So when CES did just this, they were asking for trouble. Not necessarily from a mild-mannered BBC reporter however, and not necessarily on live TV.
This will be our last post of the festive season, so we thought we’d end on something uplifting…
The following film is from fellow ad agency Mother. It features them sending a ‘spam’ email promising $10,000 to anyone who replies… the difference is this is for real. We love the email, as well as the fact that someone actually responded.
And then the winning guy goes and does something philanthropic with it all just to complete the truly magical Christmas story… lovely stuff.
