Midgets and Mexican Wrestlers, oh my. Recently I stumbled across an interactive video advergame execution by Tribal DDB Paris for Airwaves, a Wrigley chewing gum. In the game you are El Invencible Chlorophyllo, a Mexican wrestler who gets his power form the secret ingredients in Airwaves. The evil Dr. Negra and his pack of marauding maniac midget wrestlers are out to steal the ingredient and once and for all bring Chlorophyllo to his knees.
Complete with a story mode, arcade mode and leader board, the adver-game repurposes footage from the 1971 Mexican film, “Los Campeones Justicieros – The Champions of Justice” to drive its interactive narrative path. Check out the original films climax, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1GI1XxbFf4, apparently the film served as the inspiration for Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black.
In the game the user simply has to smash on one side of the keyboard or the other at the appropriate time to deliver a body blow, climb up the side of a mountain, avoid from falling off the roof of a car and even toss midgets. Although midgets and Mexican wrestlers is not necessarily an original idea, the interactive execution is well done.
As the plot of the original film is ridiculously hilarious, complete with lucha action, a mad scientist, scantly clad women, cheesy effects and super strong midgets the B-Film classic lowers the users expectations for shot continuity. This creates a forgiving audience and provides a great comedic stage for creative interactive editing. Who cares if one minute you’re a hundred feet from the top of the mountain struggling to make it to the next branch and the next your crawling onto the edge of the road? Chloromenthol Power!
Nice abs my fellow French men and ladies. Time for me to go kick some ass; I am as strong as 16 bulls, 4 chilies and 7 tractors. See if you can top that. Check the game out at http://www.chlorophyllo.fr/en/index.html.
Anyone else catch this? Just two days after President Obama fired their CEO, GM today announced their Total Confidence Plan. GM’s plan, in essence “sees” Hyundai’s now famous Assurance Plus Plan, and goes “all in”. Upping Hyundai’s offer of 3 months of payment protection (if you lose your job) to 9 months. They also match Hyundai’s 5 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. And all of that is all well and good, but here’s why I’m writing about this, the campaign is driving to a site www.gmconfidence.com that isn’t even up yet. Well, that’s not exactly confidence inspiring now is it?
Wait, as I was getting ready to post this it looks like they finally got their act together. Darn me for living on the west coast… At any rate, a screengrab of the page I ran into this morning is pasted below. Still, a bit of a FAIL to have a whole morning of downtime for a campaign launch of this magnitude, right?
This isn’t breaking news but I did want to pass along the significance of the Dexter iPhone game along with the latest screens (courtesy of Joystiq).
First off, Dexter is one of the best written shows on television. A lot of people were initially turned off to Dexter because of the premise – a serial killer that works for the Miami Police and only hunts “bad guys”? Really? For any film geeks out there, this is a similar premise to Suspect Zero and what the eventual film should have been. Anybody who has worked in script development during the last 10 years knows that Zak Penn’s Suspect Zero draft was often cited as a pure work of art. For film geeks at least, Dexter became their (our!) version of that impeccable Suspect Zero script.
Anyway, this is the first game based off a major brand that is being released specifically as a native iPhone application. Usually most games developed for PC, Xbox, PS3, Nintendo, etc. have modified versions or ‘ports’ of those games that graphically and feature set challenged when conforming to mobile gameplay. There’s Rolando, Monopoly, soon to be Madden and the list goes on. The Dexter game though is originally designed for the iPhone first and will use some of its unique capabilities like the accelerometer. I can definitely say that I’m interested to see if they can pull this off as it would only help to have another quality ‘branded’ game on the iPhone platform – even if it’s app number 30,001.
Now if they could only throw in Location Based Servicing or Google Maps integration to hunt your friends, then you could really call this a Killer App for the iPhone – bah rump bump. Thank you everybody I’m here all week!
If you are at all like me you’re always looking to see how “big brands” are engaging consumers in the social space. With that in mind I wanted to point you in the direction of what I’m 99.9999999999999999999% sure is a brand spanking new Converse campaign.
The campaign centers around an alleged titan of industry, Charles Charles Magall, who is challenging one Dwayne Wade (who when he’s not too busy selling Lincolns, T-mobile, Gatorade, or Topps Cards, is actively pitching Converse shoes) to a game of one on one (“to 10 by 1. Gotta win by 2. Mr. Wade”). As you will see, Mr. Magall looks auspiciously like your stereotypical agency creative, so, um… he doesn’t exactly look like what one would describe as an “athlete” – no offense. To date, D Wade has ignored Mr. Magall’s advances, so I’m sure tons of hi-jinx and hilarity will ensue over the coming months as the story builds (e.g. Mr. Magall has already bought billboards outside of the Heat’s stadium down in Miami challenging D Wade to the game).
For now, I’ll reserve judgment (I have several questions and reservations, not the least of which is regarding this particular storyline, and who it would appeal to versus who Converse’s primary basketball shoe buying consumer is), as I want to give them the chance to let their strategy play out.
At any rate, check out the links below, I’d love to hear your thoughts, either here, or over on twitter @jack2point0.
Newsweek recently had a fascinating article on a Los Angeles based entrepeneur who leveraged Twitter to build a community and encourage a form of ‘Flash Mobs’ for his Korean Taco business. Since his business uses “Taco Trucks” and you can only park in one place for a set period of time, Twitter was used to update fans on where they would be each night in the LA area. Great use of social media in a new and exciting way…
The perennial effort to marry the Internet to the TV has finally started to gain momentum in recent months, and no application exemplifies this better than PlayOn ($40, Windows Only). This Windows-based application is widely regarded as a front-runner in the race to use the PC to funnel Internet-based video content to the TV.
Historically, the major challenge from a user-experience perspective has been to overcome the “Last 10 Feet” problem: How do you get the video from the PC into the TV? Of course, directly connecting the video output of a computer into the TV, essentially using it as a big monitor, is a possibility. However, this option has not been widely adopted for a few reasons, most of which are centered on the issue of making the system accessible to the whole family. First, relatively few people outside of technology enthusiasts have a spare computer to put in the living room. Also, even for those that do, having a keyboard and mouse on the couch to control the system, even if they are wireless, is impractical. The extra cables and bulk tend to be an eyesore. Moreover, computer displays on TV’s (even HD) tend to be hard to use due to the need to read tiny computer-sized writing.
PlayOn addresses these issues by leveraging the Media Center capabilities of the increasingly ubiquitous console gaming systems – XBOX 360, PS3 and Wii. All of these systems can communicate with the PC with PlayOn installed wirelessly and provide a simple menu-based system for accessing content.
MediaMall’s offering certainly makes the overall process easier and more seamless than previous efforts – but it still falls short of seriously challenging its non-PC based alternatives. Consider a basic use case: a family that wants to watch a movie. First, the entire system needs to be installed and configured – this poses a daunting challenge for people who aren’t technically-oriented, and certainly more confusing than a competitive service, such as Pay Per View through DirecTV. Additionally, the overall user experience is not nearly as smooth. For instance, a typical process for watching a movie would require booting up the Playstation, a process that requires perhaps a minute of waiting – a long time in this age of instant gratification. Perhaps worst of all, seamless playback relies on a (typically) WIFI connection. Buffering problems or other technical glitches have plagued the system. For people comparing the experience with Pay Per View, the movie absolutely must play back without interruption in order to be in the same ballpark. The WIFI issue is pernicious, as the vast majority of people have 802.11b or g based WIFI, for which the problem is endemic.
However, the main draw of PlayOn is it’s ability to stream video content from Hulu, YouTube, CBS.com, and other content based sites. Say you missed the last few episodes of 24 and you really don’t want to sit in front of your 15-inch laptop screen to view them. That’s where PlayOn’s main niche fits in as it’s very easy to connect to Hulu through the software though as mentioned previously, you do need one of the major game consoles to run it.
Overall, for people who have a technical background and an appreciation for the hurdles a system like PlayOn must face, it is a fun and convenient way of watching content on the television. But in terms of seriously challenging the closed systems of DSS and Cable TV for the dominance they hold in at-home, on demand video delivery, Internet-based systems have a ways to go.
A common concern among clients who want to engage their customers via communities is the need for moderation. There is a balance that need to be struck between freedom of expression and the need to tame excessively inflammatory posts. Clive Thompson of Wired recently described several interesting techniques to rain in trolls without having to resort too heavily on expensive moderation. Instead, here are some tricks to let your community do the policing:
1. Crowdsourcing. Let a randomly picked group of readers describe posts for a limited period of time. These descriptions are then converted to a rating. Users can then filter out low rated posts, making them less apparent.
2. Selective Invisibility. Again, based on reader ratings. If a comment gets too many negative ratings it gets removed. The trick is that it becomes invisible to everyone except to the one who posted it. This way the troll thinks everybody is ignoring him and hopefully goes away.
3. Disemvoweling. Using this technique, a post that crosses the line gets all its vowels removed making the message still understandable (and thereby not really censored) yet still clearly flagged as inappropriate.
Of course, the best way may be to simply ignore the trolls. NPR, for instance, has a rule not to “feed” the trolls. They remove both the original inflammatory post as well as replies to curb the practice. In addition, requiring registration or some form of identifier in order to post will help create a barrier to entry for the random hatemonger.
Adage recently reported on a Honda / Xbox Live partnership where: “The automaker will be the sole sponsor of Xbox Live Primetime’s “Play and Win,” a three-month-long interactive quiz game that will launch May 15. Using Xbox’s internet-connected Live platform, the game will pit one gamer against 100 other gamers. Honda will run the car’s 30-second TV launch ads or 15-second versions in the game for people in the waiting room and during an intermission”
The article goes on to say that the Honda Insight: “is aimed at people between the ages of 24 and 54. Honda expects buyers to range from first-time new-car buyers to empty nesters. The Insight TV ads that will appear in the Xbox game don’t target young people but have a youthful feel.”
Ok. You’re targeting Xbox Live users but not young people but your ad has a youthful feel for that 45 year old businesswoman who after a hard days work is just itching to get on Xbox Live??? Maybe I’m missing something here, but did anybody bother to do their homework? Anybody’s who played on XBL (that’s Xbox Live for the uninitiated) knows that this is ground zero for a much younger demographic and not exactly appealing to the majority of Honda Insight’s target market. Let’s see what the ‘official stats’ say…
Nielsen recently released demographic statistics for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii that showed:
Wii: The best selling of the three systems appeals to boys age 6-11 and women age 25-34. Usage of Wii by women 35+ is much higher than with the Xbox 360 and PS3. Games such as Wii Fit, Guitar Hero and Rock Band appear to have engaged an older female gamer like never before.
Usage of Wii by the 18-24 age group, considered the core/hardcore gaming segment, is low for both genders compared to the other two consoles. However, Wii has been successful in broadening the gaming market to a wider demographic audience. (My note – the casual game audience they seem to want to target…)
Xbox 360: For males, the largest percentage of usage is in the 12-17 age group, older than Wii, but younger than PS3. For females, the 25-34 age group had the highest percentage of usage. These consumers may also be attracted to the other services featured such as Xbox Live, which offers online play, online audio/video chat, and the ability to download movies (now with Netflix as part of the NXE Xbox Live update), classic video and user-generated games, additional game content and music videos.(My note – I can see how they might feel that the female 25-34 age group is right in the demo wheelhouse….but keep reading)
PS3: The Sony console skews the oldest of the three consoles, and that could be the result of consumer brand loyalty, since Sony has been the dominant market player since it introduced the PlayStation in 1994 and PlayStation 2 in 2000. Gamers who owned one or both of these consoles in their youth may have “graduated” to the PS3 in their assumed adulthood. For both males and females, the highest usage came from the 18-24 age group.
In terms of overall usage, males using the Xbox 360 are playing almost twice as many days per months as females (10.2 vs. 5.4 in December), but on the other two consoles, usage days for males and females are much closer. On average, the least used console is the Wii.
To me this last paragraph is key. Most XBL users are much younger males that are more active than the target demo of the Honda Insight promotion. This leaves a very small percentage of XBL users that fall within the target demographic and then you’re banking on that small percentage playing casual games on XBL. Swing and a miss…
This reeks of an agency convincing a client to do something ‘cool’ and ‘cutting edge’ without doing their due diligence. Sure, doing a promotion on XBL sounds cool (and costs a crapload) but you’re much better off targeting casual gamer sites like Pogo, Big Fish Games or Pop Cap Games. Well, at the very least, hopefully the Honda Insight will still be around in 5 – 10 years when the XBL demo they’re currently targeting gets old enough to actually purchase one…
“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” As the world markets continue on their bearish trend, not knowing where the bottom lies, automotive companies are struggling to survive. Consumer confidence has plummeted and the world’s leading automotive manufacturers will have to redefine their brand in order to capture a much wiser and cautious consumer base.
Ford’s latest commercial sets a tone for their future. Juxtaposed with Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”, the commercial identifies with the crossroads at which we all stand in today’s turbulent times. Automakers and consumers alike face serious decisions. Do we continue on the same path or do we take a chance to redefine ourselves and make a difference, for better or worse? The Australian spot strikes at the heart of the American spirit, playing a resonant chord of hard work, risk, passion, and ingenuity, the same spirit that has helped shape today’s global economy. It is a suggestion of a life of integrity and choice, a life of freedom and possibilities, something most can identify with. We have all stood at a life-changing crossroad. Will consumers take Ford’s road? Yes, if their product meets the expectations created by their story.
We Are Organized Chaos (WAOC) is Zugara’s (www.zugara.com) interactive marketing and advertising blog where we’ll be featuring some great projects and discussing upcoming trends in the digital world. Work — good and bad — will be critiqued. Hope you’ll enjoy reading our insights and thoughts on interactive.
