Not only people watch television, pets do that to, but the content they see doesn’t usually tug at their heartstrings. Nestlé Purina, which last year released a first-ever movie shot by cats under its Friskies brand, now is about to launch a 23-second TV commercial designed especially for dogs in Austria this week after broadcasting it in Germany this summer. To create an advert for Beneful, the brand teamed up with pet behavior experts from the USA, who guided the production team, consulting on what sounds really can make the canines turn their faces to the screen.
Author: Anna Rudenko
Pentawards, the world’s major packaging design competition, announced its 5th year winners. At the award ceremony, which took place in the heart of New York on September 29, the Diamond winner along with Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners were announced in a range of categories including beverages, food, body care and luxury to name but a few.
Global alcohol manufacturers pay attention not only to the amount of drinks they sell, but to responsible drinking as well. One of them, AB InBev UK, has initiated a study, conducted by Populus and Mumsnet, to reveal what influences young people’s attitudes to drinking and what they consider the most reliable source of information when it comes to talks about alcohol. The study revealed, that young people in the UK believe parents educate them better on the alcohol consumption issue than teachers or even health advisers (31% compared to 9% and 9% respectively)—but it’s better for them to source advice from other parents (37%), shared through a website (82%). To encourage the talk, AB InBev UK launched a new project dubbed Family Talk UK on the Facebook platform, where parents of teens are able to get advice related to the theme.
IBM is addressing a range of city challenges with its groundbreaking technologies to help make metropolitan areas around the globe a better place to live. As part of its Smarter Cities project, the technology giant offers solutions to a variety of urban problems in transportation, building, education, public safety, healthcare and more areas, creating cities of the future. On September 28, the company announced its collaboration with Streetline, Inc., the leading global provider of sensor-enabled mobile and web applications for smart parking solutions, aimed at helping people with tips for finding parking spaces faster and providing urban areas officials with the ways to alleviate traffic congestion.
Starbucks wants its coffee to be available in all countries of the world, to all people, but this requires not only opening new chain stores, but also offering equal purchasing opportunities to all customers. For visually impaired consumers, the coffee giant has released its Fall 2011 card featuring the word ‘Starbucks’ in Braille, which is now available in participating Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada for a limited time and can be also purchased online at StarbucksStore.com while supplies last.
Jameson, one of the biggest fans of cinema in the world of alcohol brands, is offering its consumers once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collaborate with a Hollywood celebrity on a short movie. The brand, which has presented a bunch of initiatives related to the world of cinema (Jameson Short Film Award and John Jameson Production are just a few of them), is now inviting emerging filmmakers to visit its Jameson First Shot website and enter the competition for a chance to get Kevin Spacey cast in a short film, based on their script and directed by them.
The worst thing about mornings is waking up, but Philips helps mankind deal with it. Last year, the domestic appliances manufacturer launched the hilarious ‘Wake up the Town’ project, a one-of-a-kind experiment which took place in Longyearbyen, Norway, the world’s northern-most settlement with a population over 2,000, where sun doesn’t rise for about four months each year. There, the brand was testing its Wake-up Light, gadget, an alarm-clock, which uses light, not the usual annoying sounds to help people shake off drowsiness in the morning—it was a tough challenge regarding the fact that in the town the polar night lasts from October till February. The residents of the town received the gadget to use it during the dark period and when the long night was over, they provided their feed-back. After six weeks of the experiment, 87% of respondents said they “were waking up feeling more refreshed, alert and ready for the day,” so Wake-up Light proved its effectiveness in extreme conditions (see the report here), but will it help people in countries where sun doesn’t disappear for longer than 12 hours?
Any huge event, be it a concert tour, royal wedding or sport activity, offers brilliant opportunities to marketers. Next year, London will host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, which makes companies busy these days, getting ready for new clients and partners from abroad. A range of brands including Cadbury, BMW, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have already started the promotional activity, and now the governments also steps in with a new campaign dedicated to the event. On September 21, the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced the GREAT promotion, which is led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and aimed at showcasing the best in the country to attract new investors and tourists.