Thursday, May 22, 2008

Addiction Skinned


So a few posts back I told you how much I loved the BP Gas Mania game and what I terrific job they did on the branded entertainment portion. Thankfully, I had gotten good enough at this game that it wasn't much of a challenge and I wasn't spending gobs of time on it any more. UNOFORTUNATELY the people at WEtv went and skinned my addiction. Yup, they went and developed a version for the WEtv show "Bridezillas". OK, now this show seems questionable to me in terms of content. I mean after watching one or at max, two matrimonial meltdowns I personally have seen enough. However, if ever there was a show ripe for viral treatment, this would be IT. And the WEtv folks have done a pretty good job of brand extension with this thing. There are a variety of games including one where you dodge "Bridal Hurdles" and one where you "Whack a Worry". As cute as the other games are tho, they don't match "Wedding Planner Bridezillas" for execution. They added a cute Bridezillas jingle when you start the game. And as a subtle but brilliant nod to the Bridezilla Brand, the characters in the game roar like Godzilla when they get impatient. I love it. I HATE IT because I've wasted way too much time on it already, but I love it. They also have some quizzes (Bridezilla Boot Camp, You Might be a Bridezilla if, etc.) and apparently there's a "Make Yourself a Bridezilla" application on the way. But for now, I'll just contentedly waste time with my Bridezilla Wedding Planners, thank you VERY much.

The One ID Man

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Green Porno and Illicit Insects




Brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT. What else can I say about Isabella Rosellini's Green Porno? Fantastic marketing hook, great concept, great writing and a very clear understanding of what works well in a broadband/mobile screen. Don't read a single word more until you go watch it here:

GREEN PORNO

See what I mean? Simple editing. Simple backgrounds. Beautiful colors. Blissfully short. This stuff is specifically designed to make the most of teeny tiny screens and it shows. Isabella really gets it.

It puts me in mind of another group of performances that may not have been specifically designed for mobile (they are videos of live performances) but would translate beautifully. Take a look at Lejo:

You'll see a lot of the same fantastic qualities of Green Porno, with the added bonus of being language free and ready to be viewed anywhere in the world.

Now one thing to keep in mind here is that these are not mega budget projects. They are very well shot with excellent lighting, good sound, good image quality and good compression. But they shine because somebody had a great idea that connected well with viewers in the screen space and time allotted.

Something to think about when planning your next broadband or mobile magnum opus.

The One ID Man

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Fortune Cookie Wisdom, Glamour and Celebrity Swag

So, I've been planning a special section for this blog for some time. I decided I'd call the section "Fortune Cookie Wisdom" as I am always fascinated how often the my cookie fortunes come true. I'm sure this is a sort of cosmic, psychic, placebo effect, but I enjoy it nevertheless. So, ever since my ever lovin' got me a digital camera I have been taking pictures of the fortunes I get at Asian-inspired restaurants. (Naturally, I've procrastinated about the actual POSTING part.) So tonight, we went to Panda Inn. And at the end of the meal they brought us those white chocolate dipped fortune cookies. And naturally, mine had a wonderful, positive, upbeat fortune in it. And naturally, I took a picture of it.

Now, my camera is relatively new, and I really, really suck at taking pictures. So this process of taking a picture of a cookie at a restaurant is not nearly as covert as would be prudent. It generally involves a lot of cursing and "here let me look at thats" and "RTFM darlings". Anywho, a very bright general manager at the Panda Inn saw the proceedings and asked me, "Oh, do you Yelp?" No, she wasn't talking about making sort of squeaky, distressed noises. She was talking about Yelp--a wildly popular, online review site where ordinary people post reviews of restaurants and stores.

I couldn't tell a lie. I told her that I was preparing a section on my blog called "Fortune Cookie Wisdom" and that I frequently photograph fortune cookies in restaurants. "Oh," she said. "Well I thought you might be doing a review." I told her that I was doing a review of sorts, on my blog. "Cool," she said.

Now actually this manager was not only attentive about the whole picture taking thing, but had been attentive all night, in making sure that we had what we needed--full water glasses, hot food etc. And so overall, I'd say our experience was pretty positive.

But for the sake of honesty and total avoidance of flogging, I must disclose that she ultimately offered me a bribe. She ultimately came out with a bag of 12 of those chocolate dipped fortune cookies. "Now you can have a different one, every day for 12 days!" I was pretty impressed, I can tell you.

So how do you like them apples? This represents the very first celebrity SWAG for my little blog. I guess that's a sort of glamorous and luxurious. I mean it's not the Academy Award gift bag, but it's a start.

I'm telling you, those fortunes are simply uncanny.

The One ID Man