Budweiser lets you make friends with a clink

It's an age old tradition across the globe, you say "cheers" (or regional equivalent) then 'clink' glasses, an almost universal symbol.

Now American beer brand Budweiser in Brazil wants to make this social act, even more social, with their Buddy Cups.

The smart cups detect the contact between them and adds the other person as a friend on Facebook, this is done via a chip in the bottom of the cup and a code which you scan with your smart phone to activate it.

The cups are reportedly going to be used for events and concerts, but how far afield no one is sure.

Watch a video about the new cup below.

Man-Made Tornado in a Museum

The Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart has a bit of an unusual attraction.

The building has the world's most powerful man-made tornado, and whilst this does attract visitors, this is not the reason for its existence.

Created from 144 jets spewing 28 tons of smoke in a 112-foot-high column, the idea of a tornado in a showroom containing over 150 luxury vehicles may seem like an odd one, but it is actually a clever fire-safety mechanism.

The building is made from a steel structure based on a double-helix, featuring a massive central atrium viewable from the floors that spiral around it. All rooms are open, all walls are curved and each of the 1800 triangular window panes on the exterior walls is unique. This however means that there are no fire zones within the building so by creating this tornado they are able to expel smoke emissions from within the building. It is said to take about 7 minutes for the jets that line the interior walls to get the smoke to whirl into a tornado and escape through vents in the roof.

Watch a video of the tornado in action below.

Jaguar's mini movie to celebrate new release

Jaguar's F-Type is their first sports car in 50 years. To celebrate that fact they have released what can only be described as a mini movie.

The twelve-and-a-half minute film, created by The Brooklyn Brothers in London and RSA Films, stars Homeland actor Damian Lewis and also features a specially commissioned song, "Burning Desire," from Singer Lana Del Rey .

Shot in Chile's Atacama desert, the film plays up Mr. Lewis' upper class British heritage, comparing him to Prince Harry and casting him as a smooth operator with a dry sense of humour.

Whilst it has been compared to BMW's 2001 film by Fallon, but George Bryant, founding partner of Brooklyn Brothers has denied the similarities.

Watch the video below and let us know what you think.

Scratch-and-Sniff banner ad

From the company that brought you 'the man your man could smell like' comes a new kind of banner ad. Old Spice, who are becoming renowned for their crazy ad antics has produced the internet's first scratch-and-sniff banner advert.

Unlike Google's April Fools joke, this one won't have you pressing your nose up to the screen, instead you fill in a form and they will send you "the smell of the Internet".

Another clever and amusing campaign from the brand, promoting their Wolfthorn line of products.

Take a sniff for yourself here or see it in action over on the Onion's Sport Page.

ThingLink lands on Facebook

This week interactive image platform ThingLink officially hit Facebook. Already available for use on Twitter since November, the platform allows users to embed links to anything, meaning that you can link an image to a website and the person viewing it would not have to leave their Timeline.

The images work by having anchor points embedded on them, when a user hovers over that point they get information and with a click, they can open YouTube videos, audio clips, other websites and virtually anything else that would previously have been linked to in the description.

This could open up new avenues for brands, marketers and general users providing interactive images that will have more impact than normal posts might.

Whilst this isn't the first interactive image brand to launch their services on Facebook, Stipple launched on the network back in January, it does show a growing trend for people and brands trying to improve the level of engagement they have with their followers. One company to already try it has been Doctors Without Borders with this post.

The platforms reps have said that since it launched on Twitter, engagement on posts was increased, with some up by five times, so the scope seems to be there for it to do well on Facebook.

Is interactive imagery the next step for social marketing? Let us know what you think.

Clerkenwell Design Week

Next month will see the return of the Clerkenwell Design Week. The event is a showcase of architecture and design works from across the globe, with a focus on British designs.

Held in a variety of locations in the historic Central London area, it will see show regulars returning as well as some new faces such as Arper, Plumen and Foscarini.

Brands returning to the festival include Vitra, Knoll, Boss Design, Domus Tiles, Deadgood, Dare Studio, Jennifer Newman, Muuto, Magis, Zanotta, Johnson Tiles, and Dezeen.

The week takes place across 50 furniture showrooms and several special locations. The Farmiloe Building, a former Victorian merchants warehouse, will play host to high-profile international brands; The House of Detention, a subterranean Victorian prison, will form the festival’s hotspot for new designers, and the 12th century crypt and charming garden of the Priory of the Order of St John, will act as the hub for interior decoration trends.

Taking place the 21st to 23rd May 2013, it is the fourth time the event has taken over the area, being spread out over several different sites, and will offer talks, debates and parties throughout it's course.

To register for the event click here.

Immersive app for exhibition

The British Museum has released an app to coincide with its latest exhibition; Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The app gives users the chance to browse the 250 exhibits on display at the museum as well exploring maps of the area where these ancient cities sat in the Bay of Naples.

Built by mobile app developer Apadmi, it also contains exclusive video content including interviews with the curator.

It was created to help those who may not be able to attend the exhibition in person due to its popularity, to explore the sights, sounds and artifacts.

The exhibition curator Paul Roberts said: “We are delighted to invite tablet and smart phone users all over the world to explore the content of our Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition. Good clear explanations and beautiful, detailed images of the remarkable objects offer an exciting opportunity to investigate the stories of these cities in the pail of your hand.”

The app is available now for iPad, iPhone and will be on android devices from May 2nd, whilst the exhibition is running until the 28th September 2013.

Find out more here.

Regent Street windows

Have you popped down to Regent Street recently? Well if you can handle the crowds you should, as this year's RIBA Window Project is currently in place.

The project includes six architecture studios working with shops along the famous road, creating unique displays in six of the most iconic stores.

Supported by RIBA and the Regent Street Association, the project is in its fourth year and runs until 6th May 2013.

Topshop has a rotating wheel of mannequins designed by George King and Mark Nixon from Neon, which will allow for different outfits to be displayed throughout the day.

The installation at Karen Millen is made of sports fabric and cable ties, and spans the 30-metre length of the window. It is the creation of Mamou-Mani.

John Tollitt and his team at Gensler drew on the emotional response one may feel driving one of their cars for their display for the flagship store of Ferrari.

The atrium of Espirit's store was transformed by naganJohnson into a beach scene, complete with a wave of chestnut paling fencing.

Carl Turner Architects referenced American artist Gordon Matta Clark's images of cut-out buildings at Jack Spade's Brewer Street store, just off Regent Street, creating fantasy New York streetscapes on the facade, in the windows and on blackboard illustrations.

Finally, interlocking panels to form freestanding screens at Moss Bros, creating a three-dimensional herringbone effect was the idea of AY Architects.

Find out more information and see more images here.

Photographs are by Agnese Sanvito.

LED flowers for film festival opening

A new LED installation has been designed and fabricated by BWArchitects for the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

1,600 LED bulbs were made into pink and blue “flowers”, swaying in the wind at night on the courthouse steps in NYC. 

The reusable flowers were made by hand over several days and mounted to painted wood boards held in place by sandbags. For the opening ceremony a field of the swaying LED 'flowers' was mounted to thin metal rods, once the lights were activated, the wind provided the movement at different rates due to the varied lengths of steel.

Justin Weiner of Studio Kenji created a short video of the installation which can be seen below.

Tribeca Film Festival Lighting Installation from Justin Weiner on Vimeo.

Clever ads target French literacy

Illiteracy is apparently a big problem in France and to highlight this DDB Paris has created a clever campaign that suggests one thing whilst actually highlighting literacy.

These are clever, engaging and very well executed.

You can see more of them over at It's Nice That.

Evian's dancing babies make a comeback

Evian is back, and so are its dancing babies.

The bottled water company's adverts have become synonymous with dancing babies since 1998, working along side their slogan of "live young".

This new ad, created by BETC Paris, see's adults catching their reflection and seeing themselves as a baby, a dancing baby.

Whilst this is in no way as entertaining as the previous outings for the talented tots, it has it's moments.

Watch it and the previous ads below.

Gnomes go on the rampage

Ikea has asked you to retake your home from clutter, now they want you to retake your garden for the summer.

In a new ad from Mother, we see a couple trying to spruce up their outdoor space only to find they face opposition from some diminutive foes.

A clever and entertaining advert, worth the 2 minutes of your time,  watch it below.

Dove ad receives unflattering parody

Recently a new advert for Dove has been taking the Internet by storm, no not that Dove Men+ Care shampoo advert, a new one from Ogilvy Brazil.

The video has women talking to a criminal sketch artist, describing themselves, they are then described by a stranger and the 2 sketches are shown together. 

However in the name of equality New Feelings Time Comedy has produced one featuring men.

See the results of both below:

Elevated bike path for Regents Canal

The paths along the Regents canal in London are incredibly busy with cyclists and pedestrians, especially under bridges.

To offer a solution for this problem, Anthony Nelson, a landscape architect from Design International, has offered up a design for an elevated path for cyclists. The proposal, which is still being worked on, would see a steel pathway constructed that would hug the canal and it above the current path. 

The new path will offer more than a safe route for the 500 cyclists that use the canal each hour as it will provide retail opportunities at off ramps. The only issue yet to dealt with is how to accommodate the larger boats that use the canal. Nelson will be working on the plans further before presenting them to the city in Autumn.

The state of B2B social media

B2B Marketing has produced an infographic on The State of B2B Social Media 2013, built from the data included in their 2013 B2B Marketing Social Media Benchmarking Report.

From the infographic we can see that Twitter is the most popular platform for B2B businesses, however there looks to be an increase in the prevalence of Google+ in the B2B market.

We also see that a lot of companies don't calculate the ROI from social media.

Click on the image to see the full Infographic, or click here.

Account Manager Role with The Think Tank

The Think Tank is looking for a knowledgeable Account Manager to work on a variety of Business to Business clients.  

This Account Manager position will combine all aspects of marketing, both on and off-line, and the successful applicant will ensure the smooth running of accounts, including client liaison and managing timescales, budgeting and creative output.  

A background in a similar B2B marketing agency account management role or digital experience is preferable. Any candidate should be pro-active and self-starting with strong administrative, communication and organisational skills.  

The right candidate will manage a range of client accounts and should have the knowledge and experience to support a variety of marketing activities and will be rewarded with a competitive salary.  

This is an opportunity to make your mark within an established forward thinking business to business marketing agency that is growing and offering great prospects for development and career enhancement.  

To apply for this role please send your CV with a covering letter to Liam Bateman at liamb@thinktank.org.uk.  

Please note: this is not a PR Account Management position.

Design of the Year award winner unveiled

The Design Museum in London has announced the  winner for the 2013 Design of the Year Award, the Gov.uk website!

The website, which won by a unanimous vote, was chosen for it's simplicity and ease of use, being built to allow visitors to quickly find the services they are looking for.

Chosen from a shortlist of seven catergory winners,  which were unveiled on Wednesday 10th April, the overall winner was announced on the evening of 16th April.

The catergory winners include a folding wheel for wheelchairs, the Medici chair and a medicine packaging designed to fit between bottles of coke.

The Catergory winners are as follows:
Architecture: TOUR BOIS-LE-PRÊTRE, PARIS
Designed by Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Digital: GOV.UK WEBSITE
Designed by Government DigitalService

Fashion: DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL
Directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Furniture: MEDICI CHAIR
Designed by Konstantin Grcic for Mattiazzi

Graphics: VENICE ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE IDENTITY
Designed by John Morgan Studio

Products: KIT YAMOYO
Designed by ColaLife and PI Global

Transport: MORPH FOLDING WHEEL
Designed by Vitamins for Maddak Inc.

Previous winners of the award include the Olympic Torch by BarberOsgerby and the Plumen 001 light bulb by Hulger and Samuel Wilkinson.

The exihition will remain open until the 7th July 2013, further information can be found on a previous blog post here.

Cheese brand's ad girls mock diet adverts

Most diet food products try and sell themselves as a route to a better life, not this Irish cheese brand. 

They decided to break the mould and poke fun at traditional advertising with it's ironic 'girls from adland' video. The advert from Kerry Low Low features the standard three types of ad girl, the smug girl, the ditzy girl and the muffin girl. Each has a trait you may recognise from a number of diet food ads. 

Clever and humorous whilst also obvious - it even has a catchy song.

Have a look at the video below. Enjoy!