technically speaking

Sites using social media as a cheap method to both promote and host their videos/photos/etc has been done before, Skittles and Boone Oakley are two mentioned here previously.  Celebrities taking jabs at their image is also not new….but using James Lipton and his beard for PSA’s on mobile harassment is pure genius.  The Give It A Ponder campaign, sponsored by LG, is a mix of TV, print and web promotions all revolving around James’ beard and thinking before texting.

The videos (featuring James Lipton) are campy, creepy, funny and to the point.  The imagery and quirkiness leaves a lasting impression and the copy is so Lipton’esque that everything seems normal yet far from it at the same time.

Carlos is Angry

Stephan and Zoe

Tracy and her beard

The print campaign is also humorous though not as powerful and may be confusing as to what it’s actually for.  Still they’re eye catching and well related to the TV/Videos and Web experience.

The Virgin

Peanut Butter Muffin

Junk Drawers

Source:
AdFreak
Bee

Putting Mother Nature to work for your promotional needs is brilliant.  Keeping PETA happy in the mix is even more impressive.  Before I say more…

In case you skipped the video Eichborn, a book publisher, used flies as moving billboards to promote their exhibit space at the Frankfurt Book Fair.  They glued (via a light wax) ultra-light banners to 200 files and set them out into the wilds of the book fair.   Ingenious in so many ways.

Twitter has exploded over the past year.  Earlier this year there was talk about membership growing some 400+ percent over 12 months.  More recently it’s been calculated at over 1300 percent (via Mashable).  Shaq is no longer the lone celebrity and Jimmy Fallon has integrated Twitter into his new late night show ultimately introducing millions of viewers to the service.  Soon Oprah just joined the twiterverse on her show with Ashton Kutcher, whom just hit a million followers.  Along with Twitter’s numbers exploding so has power/influence of a Tweet.

Here’s a quick list of some of the

• January 15th, 2009 – a plane crash landed in to the Hudson River.  Before the news networks or other media outlet could get images, Janis Krums’s was sending out a photo of the floating plane via Twitter.  From there it spread like a virus till his photo was viewed thousands of times.  Soon the story of his twet was almost as big as the crash itself (WSJ).
• Twitter’s community is a way for bands to connect with their fans.  With the Internet providing a way to distribute the music, Twitter is providing the marketing platform and a way to connect with fans.  Amanda Palmer explains how she uses Twitter as her primary way to market her music, sets up places to stay on her tours and stay connected with her fans. (link cred: @trent_reznor)
• A few weeks back Mac Heist was offering their latest bundle of applications.  Part of their promo was that additional applications would be made available based on how many bundles they sold.  They also offered an additional app if you tweeted their message.  I had at least 6 friends and a number of others I follow take them up on their tweet deal.  I was interested in one of the apps, but it was one that was locked until they reached their final milestone.   Again it was a tweet that informed me that the milestone was reached.
• Even classic literature is getting the Twitter touch, Homer’s The Odyssey

Links:
@JKrums
Janis Krums’s photo
Amanda Palmer’s email
@Trent_Reznor
@MacHeist
Homer’s The Odyssey