DASI

www.livingsasquatch.com

We like this for 2 reasons; because it is a nice idea and because it’s for a Jerky brand, and we’re big fans of dried meat based products at DASi.

The site was created by Australian agency www.boffswana.com. Fundamentally, it’s nothing groundbreaking – It’s the same technique that’s been around for a while now with some nice touches, but as I’ve mentioned previously what is key is that rather than the technology being the star, we’re now at a point where it’s mainstream enough that the creative element once again takes the lead.

The key to this piece’s success is its use of UGC, as it gives the campaign much more life and a far greater reach than it otherwise would have. Many campaigns which aim to become ‘viral’ fall down because of a belief that if you add the ability to forward something on, people will automatically do so; it’s just not the case. If your campaign provides no genuine element of interest, whether that is humour, competition, the ability to shock or reward the receiver, it’s liable to be a waste of time and money.

Living Sasquatch works so well because it gives the user the opportunity to be creative with what is a nice core idea, the creativity of the user is much more important that the fact it’s an Augmented Reality piece and this allows a far more mainstream appeal. As an agency head we met yesterday said, “The best technology is practically invisible.” It’s also fantastic to see they haven’t overly branded the site, I’m not sure it would have had the same effect if midway through the legendary Sasquatch suddenly whips out a packet of processed beef. Top Stuff.

I don’t imagine this is the last we’ll see of concepts similar to this, particularly as more agencies have a grip of the technology, driving down the cost in the market, but the interesting part will be who comes up with the next creative level.

My.IKEA from Robin Westergren on Vimeo.

Following on from my post last week, is this little beauty. More proof that once you understand the technology properly, then you can really be creative.

There’s a few other nice (and more importantly useful)  examples beginning to appear now for AR which is a sign that the technology has reached a point where it has established its own niche and isn’t just being used as an extension of another idea.  I had a conversation along these lines with Scott Seaborn, Ogilvy’s head of mobile technology recently.  He’s an incredibly enthusiastic chap, with a real passion for mobile; the type of champion that less established areas need. His belief is that for a completely new medium to become really established within advertising it might take as long as ten years.  During this gestation period, the new technology will evolve from just being used as another format for an existing area, to a standalone channel, one that has independent briefs and ideas.

We see smaller versions of this all the time within the digital space- new ideas and technology emerge, and for a while they’re seen as cool but very few people make them work commercially. Some never get past this stage and eventually begin to fade (you could argue Second Life is in this group) but for others there’s the penny drop moment; when the technological possibilities are matched by an understanding of them.  This time is when you get the mainstream uptake, and to me this feels like where AR is at the moment.

Clearly for clients, it’s hard to know when to invest some of that precious budget into relatively uncharted media waters – too soon and it will whizz over all but the early adopters’ heads, but too late and you’re just a ‘me too’ brand.  It’s not an easy balance, but with a good agency partner and a little luck the potential rewards are great. One thing is for sure though; the worst thing you can do is stand still…

This has been all over Twitter the last couple of days, and I’m not suprised. Augmented Reality (AG) has been around for a while now, and has been the darling of a few agencies on the R&D front of late, we recently ran a pitch that 2 of the 4 agencies presented an AG concept; they were lovely in their own right, but there wasn’t really a practical edge, just a cool one. This is often the case with new bits of technology, as agencies always want to be doing the coolest and and most interesting work- that’s what makes them creative beasts, but that can sometimes mean that the true business needs of the client aren’t top of tree (where they should always be).

Step forward AKQA in the states who’ve produced the above. It’s amazingly simple as an idea; but then the best ideas are often are and there’s a real end user value, something that will make an impact past the couple of mins initial dwell time.  It might not be the sexiest of products or uses but who cares, no doubt you’ll see this come awards time, and we’ll not be arguing. Smashing.