dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better

They’ve done lots of lovely things leaping off from this core thought. Things like this;

But one of the really interesting projects that has come out of the initiative is this (as described succinctly byDanielle and Mark over at CreativeSocial…)

…“The Fun Theory Award” whereby the general public was challenged to suggest fun ideas which would either improve traffic safety or benefit the environment. A total of 700 projects were submitted and VW are now bringing the winning idea (see above) to life. They have collaborated with the National Society for Road Safety (NTF) in Sweden and launched the test of a road safety project in Stockholm which aims to improve both the environment and traffic safety. Instead of using a speed camera to detect and fine speeders, a speed camera will register drivers who keep the legal speed limit and give them the chance to win a cash prize of SEK 20,000. With the project, NTF and Volkswagen hope to encourage drivers to slow down the pace of vehicle traffic in Stockholm

Now then. This is interesting. This is a nudge.

Show people the carrot, not the stick. It’s a pretty simple thought.

Might be worth keeping an eye on the ‘Big Society‘ initiatives to see how much this is applied by the coalition suits.

As Dave points out, it takes two after all.

Well written, nicely shot, “on message” and engaging. Cracking content. Tip of the cap folks

So, when I did my usual weekend trawl of online football goodness, I came across this on one of my usual football feeding troughs.

Here’s the full version;

Straight away I had the urge to share this. I showed my flatmate who already had a youtube link of his own up his sleeve (goddamit) of some insane skills from a six year old French Algerian boy…

What’s the common denominator that turned them both into ‘spreadable media‘?

There was a narrative. A story. A hook. A deep understanding of what will get me excited and want to share with my peers. Are W&K now a PR agency?! If so, I’m sure they’d be pleased with their coverage for this.

Never mind, though what I thought was interesting was the accompanying ad spot from W&K towers for the same Nike 5 campaign released a week later

Although I like it and it certainly imbues all the brand qualities that I’m sure Nike would want to communicate, wouldn’t they have been better using the media spend on the initial Rooney nutmeg footage and just end on the swoosh after the megs? Would this not have just amplified the talkability even more of the campaign rather than another ad alongside another set of ads? Isn’t there an argument that the nutmeg would have gained even greater stand out because it is ‘content’ in a prime time ad slot (a talkable factor in itself) rather than on youtube (where my flatmates and I can guarantee to find this kind of material and waste away a Saturday morning)? Wouldn’t Nike want people to google/youtube their “ads”?!

The view counts on the two videos speak for themselves though I guess;

The ad; released on the 20th Feb; 5,995

The nutmeg; released on the 13th Feb; 200,000 + cumulative views

Needless to say, none of my football team-mates have seen the ad, but nearly all of them has passed on the Rooney nutmeg.

Either way, a cracking bit of skill whatever way you look at it or found it.

TicTac and their agency WCRS, have been quick to turn a negative into a positive after the other week’s FA Cup game between Everton and Liverpool…

Hat tip to Laurence and the team behind it. Goes to show, a good solid idea should have the nimbleness to behave in loads of different ways and without having to complicate or muddy the thinking so the idea can be banged out quickly and painlessly maintaining its news-value.

Being quick and reactive is something that James and the 77 kids talk a lot about. He positions speed and tactics as PR’s real advantage over ad agencies. With more work like this though, ad agencies could quickly start giving their PR friends a run for their money.

Perhaps though, and talking of spondolees, it comes ultimately down to how agencies are renumerated as to their ability to generate good, quick and cheap executions for brands; project vs retainer. Can. Worms. Opened.

Of course, I’m not sure the Nike business model quite stacks up to producing all their boots in the same way though I pretty much manage to hoodwink myself every Saturday afternoon that they are at the moment when I pull on a pair and imagine the “craftsmanship” that has gone into my footwear and consequently will turn me into a world beater. Unfortunately, this dream is normally shattered after my first touch of  a ball.

Aaah, the power of a decent video and a decent story to create a bit of product theatre. Unfortunately when it comes to footy boots, I’m a sucker every time.