Okay, guess what this is.

Maybe the scale of the photo is throwing you off but it is actually a new space-saver from Whirlpool. According to the literature, the Sub-Tub Bath & Washbasin Unit doubles as a bathtub and vanity. When the vanity is hidden, there’s full access to the whirlpool-equipped tub and OLED screen that allows users to set a customized image during use. Once finished, you can flip down the OLED to utilize the unit’s pair of sinks and mirror. Perfect for dorm rooms, Japanese hotels, and my brother’s apartment.

Perhaps you are familiar with DDB’s work with VW in Sweden called The Fun Theory. That concept continues with “Fast Lane”. It challenges commuters to move a little quicker at the Alexanderplatz subway station in Berlin. People can either take the staircase or have fun and save time by sliding down the Fast Lane. This follows on the piano, bottle deposit machine, and trash receptacle that established VW’s Fun Theory as generally accepted science.

New Jersey-based, Automated Media Services, has developed 3GTV, little screens attached to the shelves of supermarkets aisles, which will run commercials of products carried in these stores. 3GTV will allow media agencies to buy commercial time just as they do on TV channels, and bring advertisements to the retail point of purchase. The company hopes to influence people at point-of-sale with information and promotion concerning specific products.

Arguably, many aspects of healthcare require reinvention and innovation so along rolls a new medical cart called Pocket. This is meant to replace the ubiquitous carts that healthcare professionals use for just about everything. Going forward these carts will need to perform increasingly high-tech tasks, all while remaining easy for caregivers to move and clean, and still feel friendly to patients. Created by a health care company called Modo, Pocket was designed by a division of Steelcase called Nurture to address the changing needs of healthcare.

I will take three of the following please…

Aussie Marc Newson, is responsible for this new luxury powerboat designed for the Italian company Riva. I love the retro look and lines. Can’t you picture Sean Connery’s James Bond or Frank Sinatra or JFK lounging on this beauty? Unfortunately the $1.5 million price tag takes the wind out of my sails. But just look at the sleekness and personality…




The cockpit is definitely an homage to the 1960’s but with all the latest technology one needs to ensure the Gin and Tonics do not spill.




Well one can dream can’t one? And that sometimes is the beginning of the creative process – to envision something almost dreamlike. Send us your favorite examples of creativity, innovation and design for our next ‘Random Bits of Creativity’.

Jeff Swystun, Chief Communications Officer, DDB Worldwide

Posted on August 2, 2010 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s time to start thinking beyond viral and even beyond mobile, at least as we think of them now. In this blog post, I’ll talk about how to enable new forms of creativity by harnesssing emerging technologies to elevate the OOH consumer brand experience.

Experience Proximity Series
The Experience Proximity series is an interactive 3-D media platform designed to redefine the out-of-home consumer experience. The Experience Proximity series presents first-of-its-kind mixed-reality digital signage that is capable of transforming both time and three-dimensional space. The only limitation to augmenting any physical location is the creative vision of the designers.

The Experience Proximity consumer experience platform uses proprietary technology to spatially register and align a targeted physical area with one-to-one, millimeter-to-millimeter precision. By tracking the dynamic viewpoint of the observer, the Experience Proximity Lens allows 3-D virtual content to be spatially aligned with and immersed within the surrounding environment. As the observer moves, the content is dynamically repositioned, creating a window-like viewing experience.

OOH Interactive Signage
KABOOM! This larger-than-life superhero smashes into your theater lobby. As an observer enters the “proximity zone,” the experience proximity display transforms into its immersive mode, engaging the movie patron by using full body tracking and in-world registration. Advanced 3-D rendering capabilities and dynamic gesture recognition allow the observer to cross into this imaginative world by interacting with the characters and engaging in a full micro-gaming experience.

Retail Consumer Experiences
Merchandise comes to life as stunning lifelike visuals and audio transport your customer into a remote natural paradise. By engaging the natural senses, experience proximity can capture the customer’s attention and provide an emotional connection to the product. Allow this experience to become reality by enabling the customer to book a campsite for the weekend.

Continue reading "Dream a little dream" »

Posted on June 25, 2010 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Social connectivity is the driver behind the greatest leap in human and brand evolution so far this century. Social media is the single greatest agent of change in both the wider world today and specific commercial channels. From the news being reported real-time through Twitter, to brands developing and altering their products based upon social feedback and democratically enabled creativity and utility - the meek have truly begun to inherit the earth.

Bernbach said: “Word of mouth is the most powerful medium of all.”

Trusted conversation, referrals and advocacy are the most powerful purchasing factors in the marketplace, making social media the most important but least defined of the digital channel tiers. Those that get the fundamentals right will be the most powerful brands of the new century.

In this Cannes seminar, delegates learned how to best leverage social media. In addition to drawing on examples from across the industry, TribalDDB highlighted client Hasbro, and delegates heard a leading brand’s beliefs on this new age of social media as well as how those are informing future business and marketing decisions. They also heard about the latest social media practicalities: the way that brands can harness the social power of Joe Public, create marketing mechanics and experiences wherein public opinion is facilitated and incentivized in order to reach a specific campaign goal, and how to best facilitate this social creativity.


Matt Ross
Head of Creative
Tribal DDB, London, UK

Posted on June 25, 2010 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The first two and a half days of the Festival have been a blur of activity. As in years past, the majority of attendees appear to be more interested in seminars, workshops, and screenings than the actual award shows. The days (and the auditoriums) are packed with discussion of digital, mobile, brand integration and the agency model of the future -- topics we have been discussing and debating over and over for years.

I would argue that the best conversations are the ones being had after a long day of these presentations. You can go to seminars and screenings all day, but nothing compares to the depth of knowledge shared this week through face-to-face communication. Which is why you'll find a great number of the more seasoned marketers hanging out on the Carlton Patio -- the center of the advertising universe during the Cannes Lions.

Early scuttlebutt has centered around the topic we have all been discussing as of late -- what method of communication is most relevant to consumers today? As my friend Chris Rossiter, director of production for Leo Burnett US, put it, "We are living the dream of Orson Welles -- reaching everybody in every form imaginable."

So, who's to say there is one best method? That branded content trumps a TV spot? Or that print is dead or digital is king? Maybe we should stop trying to name a winner and start coming up with more ideas worth talking about.

According to director, film-maker and creative genius Spike Jonze, "No one genre connects best with consumers. It's all about the idea." He believes that the idea must come first and then we can decide how best to communicate it. I don't think you'll find many people here that disagree with that. At least, I hope you won't.

Interestingly, that notion has led to a great deal of discussion around the kind of people we want to work with and that we want working for us. Maybe that's why Cannes feels like one long round of speed dating.

So, after my first few days here, the biggest reminder I am giving myself is that it all comes down to people. The people that develop the ideas, buy the ideas, and ultimately, the people that engage with our ideas, pass them along, buy our products and of course, talk about them with their friends.


Lisa Bennett
Chief Creative Officer of DDB West
DDB San Francisco

Posted on June 23, 2010 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)