talkable likeable

This collaboration between Google and Arcade Fire to show off HTML5 is amazing.

Be sure to choose your childhood postcode.

Bang on the money guerrilla marketing.

link via the next web

This extraordinary ad/short film from Diageo makes for compelling viewing. Aside from the green screen magic (presumably?) and great choice of actor in Robert Carlyle, it is notable for two other reasons:

• Use of story
  Appreciation of stories is hard-wired into our beings, and this is a good yarn with arcs, conflict, ambition and resolution. We’re being fed a brand story, but in such an engaging way that we accept it.
• Breaking media format
  They’ve made an ad that is six and a half minutes long. Up until recently, such a length would have been laughably prohibitive, and indeed the days of 60 or even 90 second spectaculars seemed to be on the wane. But of course nowadays, good content spreads on digital channels where media cost is free and not constrained by programming breaks or convention.

thanks to the excellent Word magazine for the spot

Like most people, I get much unsolicited email inviting me to a wide range of dreary sounding events, so it was a pleasant surprise to receive something that actually made me laugh.

Planet of the Apps is a great name for a conference. Getting noticed always matters

If Carlsberg are behind this, then full respect for speed and creativity.

If they didn’t, then credit is still due to them as a testamant to the power of their campaign idea

Surely the most talkable Google Doodle for a while? A fully playable pacman, even with “Insert coin” button for two player mode!

I wrote last year about how staying likeable would help lessen worries about Google’s size and influence. After a year of fairly flat launches (Wave, Buzz), it’s good to see they’ve got their playfulness back (and some cool products too).

Meanwhile, facebook is the new 200lb gorilla that could do with a refresher in the importance of likeability. The current concerns about privacy seems to be getting real traction.

Spoofing ‘missing’ posters might be a touch questionable, but this ad for Twin Peaks certainly made me look twice

Way to get noticed

Via Boing Boing