Aap! - Alternative Advertising Possibilities

Electronic Arts Japan as decided to use Japanese political election style advertising to promote its new Nintendo DS Simcity port.  Look out for the little car in a city near you blasting Simcity news.  The little branded vehicle will be driving throughout the country.

More on Simcity DS 

Via Famicom

An interesting and well edited video exploring the various rental costs of traditional outdoor media spaces.

From billboard and transit displays to park benches and bus shelters, the out-of-home segment grew 8% to $6.3 billion in 2005, according to the 2006 Veronis Suhler Stevenson Communications Industry Forecast. The category is projected to grow 7.9% this year to $6.8 billion, largely fueled by favorable ad budget shifts and rising commute times, the forecast says.

In recent years, more advertisers seemed to reawaken to the medium’s potential to reach mass audiences in multiple venues and formats in a cost-effective manner,” it states.

Read more of the great article @ PromoMagazine 

We’re giving kudos to MINI USA for connecting new technologies to the millieum old media platform of the billboard.

MINI USA has launched it’s latest advertising campaign aimed at MINI owners.

From MotoringFILE.com we learn
“The idea is simple, first give MINI USA some irreverent information about yourself (nothing too personal). MINI USA then sends out a special keyfob (4-6 weeks after sign-up) that identifies you to each of the Motorboards you pass. When the boards detect that you are about the drive by, they deliver a personal message based on the information you originally gave.

Look for MINI USA to roll-out the Motorboard program to a wider MINI-owning audience later in 2007.”

More info and pictures of the platform

Created by ad agency, Zapping, Madrid - the charity awareness campaigns uses molded deposit points on shopping carts to build awareness of global poverty.  Feed the little mouth your euro and be reminded that > “You can feed a child for two days with what you spend renting this cart.”

Via - Cool Hunter

Via a related patented filing Google is revealing an interest to enter the physical advertising industry.

The patent filing itself alludes to placing adverts on billboards, with the primary innovation being that they’re interactive and connected to the internet. Personally I don’t see this as a patentable idea as companies are already doing this with a variety of sign age solutions. What is interesting is that the system apparently works by only advertising products that are available and in stock within stores in the local area.

Stores will be able to buy advertising on these local electronic billboards through a similar system to how AdSense currently works: by logging into a computer and buying them. One of the key positive developments — at least for busy consumers — is that once stock of the product has run out, the advertised project on display automatically switches onto the next one that’s in stock.

An interesting concept but I doubt it will materialize. For one thing - regardless of a store’s stock of a particular product - most store owners would want the foot traffic.

More over - with out of home representing less than 10% of the global advertising pie I’d find Google focusing more on its already digitized mediums like television or larger share mediums like print or radio where its impact can be better felt.

Via - New Scientist

A fan of Aap!Rails sent us a picture of the back of a New York MetroCARD with the strange but important message: “Please use handrails on stairs and escalators - they’re free.”

We couldn’t agree with them more. Riders please remember to use the handrail when riding escalators.

And property owners and media company take lesson from the message - remember to use Aap!Rails. With comparatively less investment than traditional outdoor media spaces - Aap!Rails turns existing spaces into fun, influential and enjoyed advertising spaces.

A great, simple guerrilla marketing campaign, promoting Spar’s Seafood that placed artificial clams on the beaches of Mumbai, India. When you open the clams a large print mentioned ” Looking for seafood? Spars Seafood festival.

I wonder if it has a coupon?

Via > “How Advertising Spoiled Me Blog”

We just wanted to share a fun and fresh outdoor media campaign found.  Creatively executed - this campaign reminds individuals and corporations to spend on trainings or else staff will end up in the trash.
Enjoy.

More shots @ Flickr

We’ve got to give credit to Saatchi & Saatchi, the creative agency behind this very ingenious (and possibly offensive) fun outdoor media campaign for Head and Shoulders Anti-Dandruff shampoo that placed a camera into the ceiling of British photo booths. When the users snapped a photo of themselves - besides receiving a set of traditional prints, the user also received a photo of their recipient’s hairline with instructions and notes on the dandruff shampoo.

Via Core 77