Okay… Not really. But as usual they did come through with (not surprisingly) a GREAT viral video what makes us all wish we had them. NIKE’s creative agency Wieden and Kennedy’s Tokyo office were at the helm of this global campaign and of course we applaud. Often we tell our clients the importance of video to create viral buzz with their brands and to help increase conversion. At the time of this post, this video has over 780,000 views. Now… I don’t have any conversion data but I am pretty sure they’ve gotten some solid brand recognition

Watch the whole video. Not only is it well directed and produced… it’s also VERY entertaining.

In a city best known for its manufacturing, tourism, defense and agriculture industries, you would be hard pressed to find a concentration of innovative, creative, and inspiring professionals looking for way to change minds and spread good ideas, right? Wrong! At Jacob Tyler Creative Group, just one of many great agencies in the heart of downtown San Diego, we jump at any opportunity to positively influence the exchange of creative ideas and facilitate effective collaboration.

This explains why our office has been beaming with excitement since the announcement of an independently organized TED event coming to San Diego and the opportunities that come along with it. We are not only looking forward to listen, learn, and collaborate with this great independently organized not-for-profit design and technology based discussion, but we are hoping become more involved as well.

For those who aren’t in the know… TED prides itself on this core foundation: “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other (Source).”

Visit, Tedx-sandiego.com, to nominate an inspired San Diego thinker to speak, share and influence the spread of ideas and the power of collaboration at the upcoming Tedx Conference. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

“In November 2010, San Diego will host its inaugural TEDx event, The Next Wave at Anthology. Participants from throughout southern California and Baja are invited to interact in a sea of change of new ideas and shared passions. TEDx San Diego brings together innovators, explorers, teachers and learners in an environment that encourages collaboration, conversation and interaction. Join us at TEDx San Diego and come prepared to be the change that makes a difference. TEDx San Diego is a not-for-profit event organized entirely by local, unpaid volunteers (Source).”

Augmented Reality (AR) tools are changing the way consumers visually interact with both the real and virtual world. Today, users can place 3D animations directly into live video streams, integrate images from the external user environment, and essentially connect the digital to the physical experience. AR is being used in everything from video games and Iphone apps, to military training programs and mechanical maintenance.

Lego has been experimenting with this technology for the last year or so as it has rapidly become a popular interactive marketing tool. The mega toy company has been using “Digital Boxes” that superimpose a rendering of the fully-assembled and functioning Lego model sitting on the product’s box when it is held up to the screen. The Digital Box was designed by Metaio for Lego, and is currently in select toy stores and Lego shops all over the world.

Lego has been pushing Augmented Reality in their packaging as well as at point-of-purchase displays and stands with the ultimate goal of increasing in-store sales. The ability for consumers to see what the fully-assembled toy will look like as well as how it can be used creates an entirely new and unique mental and emotional purchase process. Consider the kid that did not intend on buying one of these toys that is featured on a digital box: If he can actually see himself playing with it, maybe he can see himself playing with it… even though he might not have considered it beforehand… if that makes sense.

The already-limited attention span of today’s youth has been cut down even further by new and competitive technologies like this. Simply holding the toy box, looking at the pictures and imagining yourself playing with it hours later after you get home doesn’t cut it anymore. The new challenge to toy companies, their creative agencies and marketing professionals, is to create an individualized and increasingly-interactive user experience from the first moment the consumer comes in contact with the product.

by Jonathan Marshall

Advertising agencies like McCann New York and Universal McCann teamed up with others in the ad community to put together this 30-second spot with the International Rescue Committee. The creative agencies hope the video will encourage immediate donations for Haiti relief efforts.

The Haitian Red Cross believes up to 45,000 and 50,000 people have been killed by the quake and as many as 3 million people injured or made homeless. Huge numbers of people in the Haitian capital lack food, clean water, shelter and medical care, even as one of the largest international relief efforts in recent history gets underway.

I really like the message, and with the help and assistance of most major cell-phone companies, we can all easily and quickly donate without having to fill-out any paperwork, call anyone, or even provide bank account information. It’s VERY easy and every dollar counts.

Please text HAITI to 25383 to donate $5 to help the International Rescue Committee rescue lives in Haiti.