Cherryflava

All new BRAND HOOLIGANS in July - Creating a world-class South African brand

On Thursday 30 July 2009 Cherryflava will host an all new BRAND HOOLIGANS experiential marketing conference in Cape Town, this time with the theme - Creating a world-class South African brand.

The event will showcase some of the city's most driven and successful entrepreneurs and creative thinkers in a unique marketing conference format designed to generate maximum insight into their successful strategies and future opportunities as they see it.

It's a must-attend event for marketers, creative professionals, entrepreneurs and strategists keen to gain insight into how a South African brand can break through onto the global stage. With the world cup less than a year away, there's never been a better time to be part of brand South Africa. Tickets to the conference are very limited. Only 45 are available for purchase.

The speaker line up includes:

Dr Andrew Baxter [founder and MD of Capestorm] - from a rock face in the Cederberg Mountains in 1996 to the international brand it is today, Andrew will share his Capestorm story.
Justin Letschert [CEO of Union-Swiss and the man behind the international success of Bio-Oil®] - having recently been honoured with the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Award, Justin will tell it like it really is.
Mike Schalit [co-founder of Net#work] - known as Mr Advertising in South Africa and the holder of two Cannes Grand Prix awards, Mike will share what it take to win a world cup.
Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden [owners of Yuppiechef.co.za] - from simple weekend brainstorms to world-dominating online megabrands - their story.
Jonathan Cherry [editor of Cherryflava] - presents 'the streets of Cape Town like you've never heard them before'.
The &Union experience - come hungry for this one

It's going to be a cracker.

When: Thursday 30 July 2009
Where: &Union, 110 Bree Street, Cape Town CBD
Time: 12:00pm - 6:30pm

NB: Places are limited, only 45 tickets available

Price: R950 per ticket

To book your seat: E-mail Jon Cherry - jon@cherryflava.com
Bookings close: 27 July 2009 [no tickets to be sold after this date]

Innovation with an edge - a perfume that smells like sperm

So we were paging through the latest Destiny magazine [which was sent to us because we're in it] and came across a feature on 'Fragrances of the FUTURE'.

Right up there at R710 for a 50ml bottle is a scent called Sécrétions Magnifiques [Magnificent Secretions] - the logo of which you can examine of the right over here.

You won't find subtle notes of lavender or hints of sandalwood in this captivating bottle of joy, just the raw, natural, old-as-time smell of semen. Mmmmm.

Here's the perfume notes straight from the makers:

And here we thought they were pushing the limited of moral decency when they introduce Angel to the market a good decade or so ago.
Not too sure how attractive smelling like a jockstrap is, but an interesting branding exercise and product innovation which challenges society's taboos all the same.

If you like the sound of it - you can get it locally here.
More: The French perfume factory site

SECOND BASE - thanks

Simon Back from Backsberg Estate getting to grips with the task at hand.

Our SECOND BASE marketing workshop went off like a supercharged Nissan 1400 yesterday. Thanks to all who attended and got their hands dirty by creating a new media 'try me' button on the back of a bottle of Warwick wine in under two hours.

Big thanks to our inspirational speakers: Mike Ratcliffe, Gareth Cotten, Andrew Smith, Nikki Friedman and our legendary celebrity MC SeanO.

Alexa Keymer from Waterford getting her point across.

Mad props to our partners who made the afternoon of rapid fabrication possible: the Grand Daddy Hotel for the outstanding service and awesome venue, Digicape for the five iMacs which we put through their paces, Nokia for the N95s, Tradewinds for the prizes, Warwick for the wine, Mobilitrix for the use of their world-class mobile tools and Steri Stumpie as well and Seidelberg for the thoughtful gifts.

Virgin Active's Powerplatevertising

Not sure when last you popped in at a Kauai - well they have these vibrating discs which go mental when your order is ready.
Well at the Kauai in Cavendish - Virgin active are advertising on that little thing with the message: ‘WOBBLE YOUR WEIGHT OFF’ - TRY A VIBRATING POWER PLATE WORKOUT AT YOUR NEAREST VIRGIN ACTIVE.
Most of the time those things just come across as spam - but this one is pretty appropriate and the message fits the environment perfectly.

Golf R32: Make kids nervous

How literally should advertising be taken? Surely this print ad should have the 'blue-rinse brigade' up in arms that it appears to promotes irresponsible driving. The kids are clearly too nervous to fetch the ball just in case they end up as a bumper ornament thanks to a speeding maniac in a Golf R32.

Outta touch or genius?

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy, Cape Town.

[via]

Blink 182 goes all Augmented Reality crazy on a chip packet

Since Travis Barker failed to bite the head off a Kimodo Dragon in concert back in 2005, we've packed away the Blink 182 tracks and the poster of that Baywatch chick he was dating / married to in disgust.

All the money they were flashing around on MTV must have run out now, cause they're planning a reunion - and to get the kids excited about seeing them instead of shedding tears for Michael Jackson - they've gone the Augmented Reality route on the back of a chip packet.

A special symbol printed on limited-edition packages of Doritos Late Night chips, which should hit shelves Monday, will serve as a “ticket” to the show. To unlock the online video, fans visit the Doritos Late Night website, flash the AR marker at their webcams and watch as a stage appears to pop out of the package of snacks.

In the Doritos Late Night campaign, the 3-D image of Blink-182’s taped performance can be manipulated by moving and shaking the snack bag, letting viewers zoom in and otherwise interact with the performance.

Now if NIN had to do a similar stunt the packet of chips would end up bursting into flame, a hand would reach out from the inferno, rip out your heart and braai it on the glowing embers. The ash would then fall softly to your lap forming a perfectly crafted complimentary concert ticket. Now that's rock & roll.

More: Wired.com

New Nandos homepage looking pretty hot

Check out the new Nando's homepage. It's all flash and fun and pretty much devoid of corporate drivel-type stuff that nobody reads in anycase. Just makes you wanna click everything to see what pops up. Mmmm...chicken.

What to do with 5 cent coins

The South African Reserve Bank probably won't be too impressed with your idea, but here's a good way to make your useless small change more useful.

This restaurant, that has used US pennies as floor tiles, is in New York. For a real money shot, substitute the 5 cent coins for 5 Rand coins. It's one way to lock capital into your business.

via

More 'Shop-in-a-box'

Looking almost exactly like the Illy pop-up store from a few years ago, here's another example of a solar-powered lunch box - this time from Montreal Canada.

It goes from shipping container to fully-working restaurant in less than two minutes - which is just about 30 seconds faster than the motorbikes that turn into sidewalk stirfry bistros in Thailand.
Cool music in this promo video for the concept. Sounds like something out of El Mariachi or From Dusk till Dawn. Throw in a Desert Eagle .50 and a few snappy one-liners and we'd be there like a 'cleaner'.

via

NSFW: More Wrangler 'We are Animals' ads

Not as elegant or 'sexy' [for most of us] as the original Grand Prix award winning versions, but they still manage to drive the point home. We are animals - so wear and pair of Wranglers and avoid getting lassoed by a cowboy. [thanks Alexis] 

Cherryflava marketing workshop: How to get to SECOND BASE

Here's your five step guide to getting your brand to SECOND BASE:

Step 1: Buy a ticket [how to do that here]
Step 2: Arrive on Wednesday 8 July at the Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town ready to score
Step 3: Absorb the experience of our presenters [here's a taster of what they'll be covering:]

Mike Ratcliffe - Seen in the wine industry as somebody who is using innovative thinking to carve a unique niche for his Warwick and Vilafonté brands, Mike has been using tools like blogging, innovative packaging design, special events [like the Design Indaba], video and t-shirts to break the traditional marketing mold.
Mike will share his thinking, strategies and plans for the future of how he intends to build on his successes.

Gareth Cotten - The man with a plan, Gareth sprouts business ideas like other people grow facial hair. Although he admits to having a bedroom door filled with Post-it notes of possible new business’ to start, Gareth will share with us his ongoing practice of how to take an idea and get it going before it goes stale and somebody else does it before you.
Fear, laziness and self confidence are all barriers to germinating your ideas - this is how to overcome all of that and just do it.

Andrew Smith - Having started a business in exactly one weekend and constantly prototyping, testing and executing innovative new media marketing ideas to drive online sales, Andrew still hasn’t forgotten the ‘analogue’ touches which make a physical product purchased via an online store a complete brand experience.
Andrew will share just a few of his tricks and ideas of how he turned a three year old online store into one of South Africa’s most powerful online brands without ever turning to traditional advertising.

Nikki Friedman - Knowledge of how to use innovative marketing tools is useless unless you give your work a soul.
People don’t fall in love with a blog page or Twitter feed - they are attracted to the honest story behind the tools.
As a professional story engineer, Nikki will share a few insights into how you can capture an audience with an honest and open story [even if it’s 140 characters long] and keep them coming back for more.

Jon Cherry - In between, we'll be sharing a flurry of new ideas and trends on where the lines between digital media and reality are being blurred.
We write about then all the time here on Cherryflava, now we'll pack them all together into one presentation to get your innovation juices flowing.

Step 4: Get your hands dirty.

Warwick wines have kindly donated samples of their product to experiment on, Digicape are supplying Apple computers, Nokia have hooked us up with N95s and the Grand Daddy the inspiring space. Armed with knowledge and tools the group will brainstorm and then execute innovative ways of turning a wine bottle into an engaging and value-adding media tool. Wild ideas and theory will become reality all in one afternoon.

Step 5: Leave armed to create your own and take your customers to SECOND BASE.

Improv Everywhere: An MP3 urban experience

We've never been a big fan of flashmobs. The idea of a group of people pitching up at some random venue and acting like idiots without being fueled by copious amounts of beer seems pointless.

But something called the Improv Everywhere MP3 Experiment makes a lot more sense when it comes to a collective urban experience. The idea is that a whole bunch of people download an MP3 episode, gather at a specific location and at exactly the same time hit play. They then follow the instructions given and see where is takes them.

It's a bit whoop whoop and would definately appeal to Americans more than South Africans, but an explorable idea all the same.

video link [watch it for more]

[via Wooster Collective]

Philips' Carousel commercial is one hellava shot

Behold the Cannes Grand Prix Film winner, which is a 2min 19sec long promo for the new Cinema 21:9 LCD TV.

A mixture of Heat, The Matrix and The Dark Knight - the short feature is filmed in one continuous tracking shot and offers an exploration into the world of movies being made for the cinema screen through the eyes of the director and the special effects and lighting experts. During playback of the movie [at www.philips.co.uk/cinema], users have interactive touch points in which they can access additional content and feature demonstrations.

Video link

Check out the 'making of' video here

This is the sexiest print ad...ever

Copy: We are animals - Wrangler

At least that's what the judges at Cannes felt and then handed the agency that made it, a Cannes Grand Prix statue for their trouble.

We had all but forgotten that there's a jeans brand that goes by the name Wrangler. We may even have owned a pair when we were ten. Throw in a dolphin-print lilo and pool noodle and you probably could have taken the same picture back then. Edgy.

Check out all the Grand Prix category winners here.

Musica produce a Michael Jackson tribute TV ad faster than you can say Vicodin

In between watching Schalk Burger trying to claim a Lion player's eyeballs as souvenirs and gawking mouth-open at Mphela firing a rocket past Brazil from halfway over the weekend, we were amazed at the Michael Jackson tribute ads Musica were already flighting and the speed at which they were able to put that all together. Apparently even here in SA Michael Jackson's 'number ones' is top of the charts, edging out 'Bliksem dis koud Winter Sokkie Treffers' and the new Black Eyed Peas album. [thanks Nadia]

Check out the Michael Jackson TVC right here

Giant football smashes into Cape Town building

Best pic we could get with the sun shining into the lens of a cameraphone, but the MTN 2010 'building-wrap' just outside Woodbridge Island looks impressive.

It's perhaps not as dramatic as a version done for Adidas during Germany 2006, but it's early days and things are still just warming up.

Death is REALLY good for business

Guess which artist is completely dominating the Amazon bestseller music chart right now?

It also kinda helps that every radio station on the planet is playing your music and everyone hearing it is going 'Oh yeah, that's a wicked tune - I remember dancing and snogging Betty at the school disco thanks to that tune. What a laugh. Good times...snigger snigger. Lemme get that one for the ol' collection'.

Michael Jackson - King of Innovation

We were at the Michael Jackson show in Green Point when he was here in the 90's. Stood next to a guy with no front teeth [which kinda describes most of the golden circle] who for 40 minutes couldn't stop screaming 'I love you Michael' with tears streaming down his face.

Gizmodo has a nice piece on the 'Secret of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" forward leaning move'. The gravity defying stunt is at 07:15 on the clip. From music, to the dance moves to the fashion - the MJ brand was built on innovation.

Sad.

Cannes Cyber Grand Prix winner - the Fiat eco:Drive

Unfortunately the winner this time was not a South African agency, but the idea that did take home the trophy is a cracker.

Fiat eco:Drive is system that is very similar to Nike+. When you plugin in an USB stick in to your Fiat, all the data of your drive will be saved on it. Back at home, you can upload that data to a small piece of software that analyses and visualizes it. Then you’ll get tips how to drive more efficient and save fuel to be more eco friendlier.

A marketing idea that saves money, adds value, saves the planet, helps you drive better, wins an award and all neatly packaged in a simple USB drive. Excellent.

More

Net#work BBDO makes the best radio ad in the world and TBWA the best billboard

Following on from the Cannes Grand Prix that they won in 2007 for the Nedbank solar-powered billboard, last night Net#work BBDO won their second Grand Prix for a radio campaign for Virgin Atlantic Airways, called ‘Plain Insanity’.

If you haven't heard them yet, direct your attention and ears to these three:

Download DANCER - VIRGIN ATLANTIC[1]
Download DOG - VIRGIN ATLANTIC[1]-1
Download DOG - VIRGIN ATLANTIC[1]

Winning a Grand Prix at Cannes is pretty big. It's like winning the Rugby World Cup and getting to drink Absinthe with Barack Obama, Susan Boyle and The Stig in the changeroom afterwards. Not much comes close to it in the ad world.

TBWA Hunt Lascaris also won a Grand Prix in the outdoor category for the banknote billboard which was created for The Zimbabwean.

Great accolades for the South African creative industry. Nice one!

More: Zimbabwean newspaper campaign turns worthless banknotes into gold - Guardian