Kmart continues down the almost rude route

After their 'Ship my pants' advert, Kmart and agency DraftFCB have created a new borderline ad.

This time promoting fuel prices, they use American expressions to create a rude sounding commercial with their 'Big Gas Savings' spot.

Perhaps not as funny as the previous advert, mainly as you have an idea what to expect, but it still has some funny moments and does lead you to wonder where can they take this next. 

Watch the advert below.

Scrabble points equal Wi-fi minutes in Paris

In this age of smartphones, tablets, emails, text messages and instant messaging, one thing has become slightly neglected: spelling.

To try and address this, at least in part, Scrabble and Ogilvy Paris have created wi-fi hotspots in areas that normally have no internet connection across Paris.

The catch? You have to earn your time by playing Scrabble. Given some letters users must create a word, the higher the scrabble score for the word, the more wi-fi minutes they get.

A clever idea to promote proper spelling, Scrabble and remind people of the fun they can have with words. Take a look at the video case study below.

Scrabble WiFi - Case Study from Ogilvy Paris on Vimeo.

Heineken takes interviews to the extreme

Interviews can be stressful at best, but preparation is everything. That is however unless you were interviewing for Heineken's internship.

The company decided that they didn't just want someone who answered the right questions, they wanted someone up to the challenges that would lie ahead so they put the interviewees to the test.

During the course of the interviews the candidates were subjected to hand holding, fake heart attacks and fire alarms.

The one who kept their cool was voted for by the Heineken Internet community and the winner was taken to a Champions League game to represent the brand, having their success broadcast at the Juventus v Chelsea game on the 20th November 2012.

A great strategy for weeding out the chaff in the interview process or a very clever viral marketing campaign?

Watch the video below and choose for yourself.

V&A membership campaign

In an effort to boost membership, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, has teamed up with Rose Design to produce a series of print ads.

Rose Design worked with photographer Nick Turpin and copywriter Jim Davies to create the posters, which aim to highlight the benefits of becoming a member.

The posters all feature black and white shots of visitors enjoying exhibits and objects from the V&A's vast trove of historical artifacts.

B&Q rolls out new brand strategy

B&Q has released a new brand strategy, courtesy of Karmarama, to help drive sales.

Called "Handy Prices", the campaign will see the DIY business lower the prices of hundreds of products, predominately those used on a more regular basis, and keep them at this new lower price, permanently. 

The campaign is the first piece of work completed for them by Karmarama since their appointment last year, and may come as a surprise to some as they are without a Marketing Director since the departure of Katherine Paterson in October, the spot being covered in the iterim by brand director David Hutchinson.


The campaign will run on TV, radio and print. The TV ad is shown below, the most notable thing is the lack of products in this ad, so it will be interesting to see how this approach works for them. Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think.

A brand identity for a new way to power LED lighting

The Think Tank was recently appointed to develop the brand identity and launch a new way of powering and controlling LED lighting from a start up company, Isotera.

The challenge was to develop a clear identity and messaging that allowed audiences to gain a quick understanding of what the company offered whilst explaining a completely new concept in installing LED lighting.

We worked with Isotera to develop their brand values and positioning and then created an identity that represented these and communicated the core offering of the business. The Think Tank developed a marketing strategy to bring the new product to market and launch the brand combining Press Relations, Direct Marketing and Events.

The initial response to the launch of this innovative new system has been very positive and it is set to change the way LED lighting is installed both in the UK and beyond.

for more information please view their temporary website here. A new website will be launched early in the new year.

'C' word used in announcement eShot

Disaster hit soup restaurant chain Hale and Hearty last week when an eshot was sent out  to its customers with some quite surprising text.

Don't read on if you are easily offended.

The eshot announced the opening of a 'new' location and then added, "As an added bonus: Mary- you know the cxxt from 47th street- will serve you personally in any manner you choose. So cum one and all to our new location at 464 West Mount Pleasant Avenue, Livingston, NJ."

So how did this happen? Was it a disgruntled employee or placeholder copy that never got caught? No, it was a case of email hacking.

Apparently the passwords have now been changed so hopefully it won't happen again.

Waterstones campaign that makes you think

We like this new ad campaign for Waterstones by Leagas Delaney. Nice copy writing that hits home and gets you thinking.

The Think Tank shortlisted for three Construction Marketing Awards

The Think Tank has been shortlisted for three awards in this year's Construction Marketing Awards for our work with SAS International and Rexel.

The shortlisted entries are:

SAS International - Best Product Launch
Rexel - Best Campaign over £25k
Rexel - Best Branding and Positioning

We are very pleased to have been shortlisted again this year and look forward to hearing the results on 6th December.

See the full CMA shortlist here.

Muhammad Ali tribute by Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton has been running a campaign called Journeys and in its latest release they have created a tribute to Muhammad Ali which sees hip-hop artist Yasiin Bey and calligraphist Niels Shoe Meulman get in the ring.

This is the first time they have released a short film as a part of the Journeys campaign and it focuses upon the enduring appeal of boxer Muhammad Ali with Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) reciting some of Muhammad Ali's immortal words combined with the brushstrokes of Niels Shoe Meulman.

Atmospheric, engaging and emotional.

Enjoy.

Louis Vuitton - Dream from Stuart A. McIntyre on Vimeo.

Developing the creative campaign for the B2B Marketing Awards 2012

Having managed the B2B Marketing Awards event for the past five years, The Think Tank was approached by the organisers, Silver Bullet Publishing, to develop the creative theme for the 2012 awards.  

Seeking to engage a wider audience, and increase entry levels from  all sectors of the B2B marketing industry, The Think Tank was asked to produce a campaign that would resonate with marketers from both agency and client side and encourage them to engage with the awards at various levels. It was also very important that the theme could work in an integrated manner across a range of marketing channels as well as providing an engaging and fun format for the Awards event itself.  

The Think Tank developed several concepts that would answer the brief and the High Flyers campaign was chosen. This is designed to celebrate the outstanding creativity in the B2B Marketing sector and position the awards as the premier industry event, not only for agencies but also for clients side marketers.  

The flexibility provided by the 'retro feel' creative execution allows the campaign to be extended from launch to the event and beyond, offering B2B Marketing the continuity of message they were looking for in 2012.  

The Think Tank is continuing to develop an integrated campaign to promote the awards over the coming months and encourage entry and engagement.

For more information about the awards please click here.

Dad dancing, rapping and socks with sandals

Sandals with brown socks, ride on lawn mowers, Disney videos and BBQ's - all part of Dad's Life, an ad for American Greetings.

Celebrating Father's Day with four 'super cool' rapping dads is one not to be missed.

Who said dads can't dance, or rap for that matter.

Shock advertising for journalistic freedom

This hard hitting press campaign for the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression highlights the plight of correspondents working overseas and the risks they take to bring us the real news.

They were created by agency Juniper Park in Toronto, Canada

Toads take to the screen in Ford ad

This Australian ad for Ford brings two new stars to our screens - native cane toads.

Produced by JWT Melbourne it is quite humorous and reminiscent of the old Budweiser ads that ran some years ago putting toads (or were they frogs) in the limelight.

Enjoy.

Raising the profile of Signalling Solutions

In the build up to a period of significant investment in the UK's rail infrastructure Signalling Solutions approached The Think Tank to raise the profile of the brand and support the marketing function of the business in a variety of ways.  

Signalling Solutions is a joint venture between leading energy and transport solutions company Alstom and Balfour Beatty, one of the world's leading infrastructure businesses. It was formed to provide advanced signalling solutions to the rail sector in the UK, combining the technology of Alstom with the contracting expertise of Balfour Beatty. The company provides design, installation, testing, commissioning and product support for signalling, power and telecommunications applications. 

In answer to the brief, The Think Tank developed an eye-catching advertising campaign that promoted the three core products provided by Signalling Solutions. These combined abstract images that represented the core benefits of the products alongside a new brand style for current and future advertising.  

This campaign was also extended to a corporate advert which brought together the three core solutions to demonstrate the opportunities for integration that Signalling Solutions offers.  

An advertising schedule was planned by the client with ads appearing across the rail press in the build up to a series of tender opportunities. The goal was to position the Signalling Solutions brand at the forefront of the minds of specifiers and purchasers within the sector during this period, raising awareness whilst also communicating the brand ethos and values.   

Find out more about Signalling Solutions here.

Skype challenges impersonal social media in new ad campaign

Skype has launched a new ad campaign challenging the lack of humanity in social media and focussing on the theory that technology makes communication more efficient, but less personal.  

In a $12 million campaign Skype looks to leverage consumer anxiety about alienation promoting that it is better to talk face to face than via text or Twitter. The campaign launched last week in transport hubs, like Heathrow Airport, with a series of ads by Pereira & O'Dell which challenge the superficiality of text-based technology like Facebook, Twitter and SMS.  

These are quite challenging and make you think about how social channels are changing our lives, similar to the impact that email had a few years back. We often talk in the office about how email has killed the art of conversation. How will social channles eventually change the way we communicate?

What do you think?

The Kraken - Myth or Reality

We recently found this great brand work for Kraken Rum by Brooklyn based agency 'Dead As We Know It'.

The campaign launches what was apparently the world's first spiced black rum. The agency developed the backstory of the Kraken’s true existence from a scientific point of view through a journal and a series of movies which brings the brand to life in an interesting way.

There is a series of animated videos for the brand which you can find here. We have added Chapter 3 of the series below which we thought was great fun.

Well done on a very engaging launch campaign.

Cadbury Dairy Milk launches latest 2012 Olympics video

Cadbury Dairy Milk has launched its latest online music video in its Keep Singing, Keep Team GB Pumped campaign, the most motivating arm of Cadbury’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsorship - ‘Danger Zone’.

The music video sees some of the UK’s biggest fans going to extreme lengths in a bid to get up close and personal with 10 unsuspecting racquet sport athletes.

Below you can get a glimpse of it in the making as well as the video itself - what lengths some fans will go to!