MOST CONTAGIOUS / 2008

most contagious / 2008 / p.02

/ MOST CONTAGIOUS / 2008INTRO

‘If 2006 was about user-generated content and 2007 about socialmedia, then 2008 is about the conversation.’ So predictedContagious editor Paul Kemp-Robertson in The International HeraldTribune back in January. ‘In other words, brands will have to steelthemselves to the idea that marketing is a two-way street, not just aconduit for directing their messages toward pliant consumers.’Welcome to Most Contagious 2008. Lasting way longer than aChristmas card, this is our review of the most talked-about trends andtechnologies that have influenced the global marketing industry overthe past 12 months. Contagious Magazine’s mission is to spread thegospel of non-traditional media and innovative thinking, so please feelfree to pass this on. 2008 highlights for Contagious included speeches and consultancytrips to Athens, Bangkok, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubai, Helsinki,Hong Kong, Madrid, Meribel, Miami, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Paris,Parma, Prague, Seattle, Seoul, Stockholm, Toronto and, er,Dunstable. In June, the Debussy Theatre in Cannes was so packedbefore the Leo Burnett/Contagious ‘Wildfire’ seminar, the peoplewith the clipboards had to lock the doors and relay the footage ontoscreens outside. And we loved the childlike reaction outside theGutter Bar each midnight when we plonked down four giganticContagious cushions for festival goers to chill out on until dawn.www.directnewideas.com/index.php/2008/09/16/cushions?swElsewhere, we launched a new series of Special Reports to injectexpert insight into some of the ad industry’s hottest topics, like themetrics of Social Media and the ‘Goodvertising’ trend.http://shop.contagiousmagazine.com/index.phpIf you’re an advertiser or agency who would like to receive a bespoke,analytical service from the Contagious editorial team, check outContagius Feed, http://shop.contagiousmagazine.com/feed.php,our online intelligence resource that navigates the complex butfascinating climate that brands will have to survive in 2009 andbeyond. Contagious / London

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

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most contagious / 2008 / p.03

01 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /LANDMARKS

Barack Obama / Presidential Campaign /

The New York Times has only ever opted for theuse of 96pt font four times in its illustrious history.The moon landings. Nixon's resignation. 9/11.These gargantuan headlines are reserved forseismic shifts in the global landscape. All the morefitting, then, that the fourth incidence of this raritywas reserved for the election of Barack Obama,not only the first African-American to take upresidence in the White House, but a man doing soon the strength of a campaign predicated entirelyon the concept of epic change.

As you can see from this Most Contagious PDF,the Contagious team divides this annual round-upof blistering phenomena from the worlds oftechnology, media, design, pop culture and brandstrategy into sections, in order to make it easier tonavigate. However, much like his politicalphilosophy, Barack Obama's campaign strategyrefused to be divided. Let's tick them off, shall we?

/ A big idea / They don't come much bigger than'Yes We Can'.

/ Use of non-traditional media / From themoment the Obama team hired one of Facebook'soriginal founders to run my.barackobama.com, thedie was cast. Videos, messages and campaigninformation were posted online and Twittered tomore than 140,000 followers. His team blogged,Twittered and YouTube'd their way to the win. Theyeven placed Vote For Change ads in videogameslike Madden NFL ‘09. Less 2.0, more 2.0bama.

/ Branded utility / Obama's team launched aniPhone application one month before the election,boasting a 'call your friends' feature whichorganised contacts by key swing states, allowingyou to hassle them individually. The app alsoprovided the location of your nearest pollingstation, and last minute news from the campaign.

/ Radical transparency / You follow Obama onTwitter, he follows you. You ask your questiononline, his team responds. More recently, theinformal tone of the Obama campaign has beentaken to YouTube, where his fireside chats will bebroadcast, and http://change.gov, from where hispresidential transition period can be followed.

/ Giving power to the people / Obama'scampaign was majority funded by small donationsfrom enthused individuals, 65,000 of themnewbies to political donation, giving what theycould afford to bring about the change hepromised.

/ An eye for the experts / Obama's chief speechwriter Jon Favreau was 26 years old for most of thecampaign, yet proved himself more than capablewith the crafting of lines such as: 'It was sung byimmigrants as they struck out from distant shoresand pioneers who pushed westward against anunforgiving wilderness. Yes we can.' *shiver*

/ Some smart PR / Facing criticism for hisfriendship with divisive religious figure JeremiahWright, Obama issued no panicked denials. Hesimply waited for his next public appearance andgave a speech addressing the reality of racismwhilst acknowledging his own position within it.

Result - a collective gasp from an adoring media,around 7m views on YouTube, some utterlydeflated opponents and most importantly,renewed hope for 'a more perfect union'.

/ Celebrity tie-ins / Black-Eyed Pea Will.i.amtook Obama's iconic 'yes we can' speech and setit to music, hosting it online, enlisting some A-listchums and allowing for mobile downloads. 14mviews on YouTube and a whole new bunch ofregistered voters later…

/ Relentless consistency / Obama's warmwords for former opponent Hillary Clinton weredismissed by some pundits as pandering to thefemale demographic, and a democratic party stilldominated by Clintonian politics. He ignored themand made her Secretary of State.

And all this whilst shaking hands, holdingbabies, fighting off rabid opponents and at timesflagrant racism, and running the kind of traditionalmedia campaign that would put an FMCGbehemoth to shame.

For such a perfect understanding not only of thepublic mood but of the ways in which the public isnow connected - Barack Obama, we salute you.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / landmarks (cont.) p.04

Apple / iPhone Apps Store /

If the iPhone's sleek design and touchscreen interfaceweren't enough to convince the Apple cynics, the July2008 launch of the Apps store probably did the trick. Assoon as the iPhone's API was released to developers,the store was flooded with apps to tell you how to gethome. Which train to use. Who was winning at golf.Football. Baseball. Where to have dinner. Who to playpoker with. You could be Mario. Record your voice. Findout what song you're listening to. Check Google Earth.GOOGLE EARTH, for God's sake, is now available inyour pocket. Despite Apple being unhappy with the useof the term 'smartphone' to describe its little miracle, itnow boasts a 17% share of that particular market, andas a result, Apple hit 100 million app downloads withinthree months of launch, and 300 million by December(the last 100 million was apparently achieved in a spaceof six weeks). Even Microsoft took the plunge, adaptingits image software Seadragon for the handset.

The iPhone Apps store is the steroid-pumpedevolution of the long standing twin trends ofpersonalisation and convergence. Now - if only wecould use the iPhone to cut and paste. Steve! Featuredin Contagious 16.

Online TV /

In recent years, several services have claimed to havecracked the thorny issue of online TV. All of them werelying, scuppered by a lack of subscribers, a lack ofcontent partners, or simply having no discerniblebusiness model (not that that ever stopped anyone.Twitter, we're looking at you). Now, the combination ofthe BBC's phenomenal iPlayer service and the workdone by Hulu in the States on cajoling content providersis threatening a sea change. Even short-form video'sgone all grown up as Vimeo and now YouTube startproviding content in high definition and widescreen.Ladies and gentleman, do not adjust your sets. The eraof online TV may finally be upon us.

iPlayer /

The BBC's one-week catch up service was launchedlater than rivals from ITV and Channel 4 - but with over 20million streams a month of BBC programming across TVand radio, the iPlayer is the first service of its kind to provea runaway success. Launched with a catchy, simpletagline ('Making the unmissable, unmissable') and tie-ins with BBC stalwarts such as EastEnders and TopGear to illustrate exactly what you would be missing, theiPlayer came into its own during sporting events like the2008 Beijing Olympics and the Wimbledon tennistournament. Instead of two weeks spent grumbling aboutmissing the action, the Contagious team simply pluggedin their headphones en masse. Thanks, Auntie Beeb.

Hulu /

Lacking the luxury of a licence fee but raking in the cashnonetheless is Hulu, which made $148m (€115m) inadvertising revenues in its first full year of operationsfollowing its launch by NBC Universal and News Corp

in 2007. Content providers include Fox, Universal, SonyPictures Television, Warner Bros. Television, ComedyCentral, Bravo, FX, Sci Fi and Sundance, which meansshows like Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Daily Show,Saturday Night Live and The Office - ratings winnersevery one. Suddenly, YouTube and all its camcordercapers looks a bit wobbly. Research company Screen

Digest has predicted revenues of $180m for next year,and recent statistics indicate around 64 million streamsper month.

Users can also watch Hulu content at many otherplaces across the web (eg AOL, Comcast, MSN,MySpace, and Yahoo!), and viewers can share episodesor clips via email, or embed them on other sites, blogsand social networks. The full service is currently onlyavailable in the USA. Come on Hulu! The good people ofEurope and Asia deserve some free entertainment too. See Contagious 16. •

Links /http://change.gov

www.apple.com/iphone/appstore

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

www.hulu.com

IPLAYER /

iPHONE APPS /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / p.05

02 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /TECHNOLOGY /

Google / Chrome /

Forever innovative, the big giant of the valley declaredrainbow-coloured war on rivals Microsoft earlier thisyear with the official launch of Chrome, its firstattempt at a web browser. Ostensibly sticking one inthe eye to the cumbersome Internet Explorer andrattling the cage of an increasingly bloated Firefox,Chrome uses Google's own open source 'Gears' tool,allowing desktop applications and online applicationsto talk to each other. Put simply, this means that thebrowser could be the only operating system you'dever need. How many Windows would that smash, dowe think…?

Of course, it's not without its glitches. No version iscurrently available for Mac OSX or Linux users, thusdepriving Google of the subset of creative and techievisionaries/wannabes who would adopt it in theirdroves. Further competition will come in the new yearwith a new version of Firefox, whose popularity restson the plethora of independently created plug-insavailable for the system. At time of writing, there areno plug-ins for Chrome but the architecture, alongwith Mac and Linux versions, are promised for 2009.

So far adoption has been steady, but by no meansan overnight success. Web analytics GetClickyestimates that Chrome boasts a 1% share of themarket, with IE at 60% and Firefox at 30%. However,Google's CEO Eric Schmidt has explained Chrome'simportance to the company in no uncertain terms.'The thing that changed in the past couple of years ...is that people started building powerful applicationson top of browsers and the browsers that were outthere, in particular in Explorer, were not up to the taskof running complex applications,' he told TheFinancial Times. 'We think that the browser continues

to be an important platform; that the browser wars of10 years ago were right. The browser matters.'

Despite the fluffy comic strip Google used to marketChrome prior to its launch (see right), there's an evilundercurrent to all this. If Google controls people'semail and their browsers, not to mention a recent offerto provide free national wi-fi, they would haveunprecedented and unfettered access to a hugeportion of the western world's information. MinorityReport was right. The future is chrome-coloured. See Contagious 17.

GOOGLE / CHROME COMIC /

GOOGLE / CHROME /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / technology (cont.) p.06

Cloud Computing /

Google's maneouvrings take us nicely onto another buzzphrase of 2008 - cloud computing, or the use of a webnetwork to host information so it can be accessed fromanywhere around the world. Think GoogleDocs, orGmail. You log in, you have access, thus finally slaying theirritation of that bastard file being on the desktop at home.The notion of the cloud lends itself neatly to Google'svision of a browser-based future, and behemoths such asAmazon have allowed third party developers tocontribute to their own cloud in order to ensure a slickerservice.

Not to be outdone, rivals Microsoft have now enteredthe fray with Azure. This service has been described as'Windows for the cloud', and will be offered alongside thenext release of Windows, 7. In a huge shift of policy for acompany which has dominated the desktop sinceforever, you'll be able to store your documents/photos/files/whatever on the cloud, which will be hostedon countless giant data centres around the world.

It's all a bit Terminator - if you remember, JamesCameron's notion of a centralised system through whichall beings were connected was called Skynet, and it ledto the near extinction of mankind. Plus, the amount ofmoney you need to host the information means that onlybig, slightly sinister players with track records inmonopoly need apply. Despite the obvious and excitingpotential of the cloud, one of the earliest laws ofcomputing states that data doesn't exist unless it's in atleast two places. Microsoft and Google will havebackups - but God forbid your log-in details should everfail.

Now might be the time for anyone with doubts as to thefuture of society to start putting a down payment on thatshack in the woods. If anyone will give you a mortgage,that is.

adidas / Bonded by Thread /

Nanotechnology as marketing? Get outta here. Lastyear, Whybin\TBWA launched their Bonded by

Blood campaign, in which the New Zealand All

Blacks gave samples of their DNA to be woven into apromotional poster for sponsor adidas. This year, theyused nanotechnology to etch fans' names andmessages of support onto an 'Adithread' which wasthen woven into a rugby jersey worn by captain Richie

McCaw. The campaign mantra? 'This is not a jersey.This is a legacy'. Two thumbs up for bringing the fansand the players closer together. See Contagious 16.

Guinness Rugby / RFID /

Over in Ireland, the Guinness team in conjunction withdigital strategists Red Urban in London is doingsome staggering things with RFID (Radio FrequencyIdentification Technology). The brand's positioning -'It’s Alive Inside' - has been literally and beautifullyinterpreted by the addition of RFID tags to rugby balls,and an intricate camera monitoring system capable ofmeasuring the speed, power and accuracy of passesand player. Ultimately, this world first could giveeveryone from coaches to fans access to detailedmetrics of gameplay, creating the kind of obsessivesand media coverage currently dominating football andbaseball. In our humble opinion, this is pretty much thesport activation to end all sport activations, anddefinitely one to watch for the year ahead.

Plastic Logic /

With media attention focused on the travails of awheezing music industry, the publishing industry hasbeen quietly facing its own digital revolution. AfterAmazon's Kindle digital reader and the Sony

eBook Reader, the new kid on the block is PlasticLogic. The size of an A4 piece of paper, no thicker

GUINNESS / RFID /

ADIDAS / THIS IS NOT A JERSEY /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / technology (cont.) p.07

than a pad of it and weighing under 1lb, this flexibledigital parchment can display newspapers and booksas well as other documents from PDFs to Powerpointpresentations. You'll also be able to connect to itwirelessly. Is this the newspaper of the future? Featured in Contagious 17.

Radiohead / House of Cards /

So beautiful we put it on the front cover of ourmagazine. Complaint rock innovators Radiohead shota video for House of Cards using 360º laser scannersinstead of cameras and lights. They also premiered iton the Google code content platform. Shot by James

Frost of Zoo Films, the video plus widgets and amaking-of film can be viewed here:http://code.google.com/creative/radioheadFeatured in Contagious 16.

Google Streetview /

Google's Streetview is an additional feature ofGoogle Maps and Google Earth that provides datataken from street level. Forget top down or GPSharassment. Go forth and stalk face to face. •

links /www.google.com/chromewww.guinness.com/ie_enwww.thisisnotajersey.comhttp://plasticlogic.comhttp://code.google.com/creative/radioheadhttp://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview

PLASTIC LOGIC /

GOOGLE / STREETVIEW /

RADIOHEAD / HOUSE OF CARDS /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 /

03 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /GAMING

2008 spawned one of the biggest media launches of alltime when Grand Theft Auto IV hit the shelves, followedby a second wave of virtual worlds and Sackboy, thecutest little critter from Sony….

LittleBigPlanet /

LittleBigPlanet launched on Sony's PlayStation 3 inNovember. Developed by small British company Media

Molecule, the game puts players in control of pluckyhero Sackboy. Facilitated by Sony's online gamingservice PlayStation Network, players are encouragedto explore each others' worlds and even collaborate inthe evolutionary process, making LittleBigPlanet asmuch a hybrid social network as an ultra-playable videogame. The beta trial alone - among 24,000 people - saw5,000 levels of the game being created over just threedays. Despite a sticky launch due to some soundtrackissues and heavy-handed moderation, the game hassince received a 95% rating on Metacritic.com.Sackboy in spaceman mode also graced the cover ofContagious 17 and page 40 of this report.

Grand Theft Auto IV /

The only title to score higher than LittleBigPlanet onMetacritic.com is Rockstar Games' Grand Theft AutoIV. GTA IV has done nothing but smash records all year:in its first week, it shifted six million copies worldwide,amounting to total sales figures of over $500m. Thiseclipses the $300m taken by Halo 3 last year and evenHollywood's biggest grossing film Pirates of theCaribbean: At World's End which took $460m in the sixdays following its release. Much to the frustration ofprospective advertisers, Rockstar was vehementlyagainst the emerging trend of featuring in-game

advertising. Instead, revenue was created using moreprogressive and inventive business models. Forexample, thanks to a new technology called ZiT, playerscan use the main character's mobile phone to dial anumber when they hear a track which they like on the carradio. Much like the real-world service Shazam, the titleand artist of the track then gets sent to them via SMSmessage. If the player has already pre-registered on theRockstar Games Social Club website, they are able tocompile a playlist of all their favourite tracks from thegame and by visiting Amazon.com, purchase every oneof these tracks for under $1 each. See Contagious 15.

Spore /

The Sims designer Will Wright of Maxis Studio spentthree years creating Spore. The game allows players todevelop a character from a single-cell organism fightingagainst the fluid dynamics of a tidal pool, into a memberof an advanced civilisation and eventually a space-conquering demigod.

Prior to the game's release in September, parentcompany Electronic Arts made a stripped-downversion of Spore's creature creator available for freedownload. This lets users get to grips with the interfaceand their character by playing with an infinite number ofbody parts, colours, textures and appendages.Furthermore, an awesome video showing comedianand actor Robin Willams bungling his way through atutorial of the application was launched online. In SanFrancisco, a micro billboard measuring 14" x 6" wasplaced on a roof top; a fixed telescope helped passersby to check it.

LITTLEBIGPLANET /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

p.08

SPORE /

most contagious / 2008 / gaming (cont.)

The game has not gone without its fair share ofcontroversy however. Electronic Arts, whichowns Maxis, recently lost a reported $25mthrough illegal downloads by consumers who feltthat their ownership rights were being abusedwhen they found that the game could not beregistered on multiple PCs… More power to theconsole, eh? See Contagious 17

Rock Band / Guitar Hero /

Apart from the emergence of collaborative, onlineinitiatives such as LittleBigPlanet, the other videogame trend which characterised 2008 wasundoubtedly the rise and rise of casual gaming.Started by the industry-subverting Nintendo Wiiconsole in 2006, the casual gaming market has beensteadily growing as girlfriends, parents andgrandparents discover the joy of the joystick. The onegenre which has profited most from this trend is thatof music-simulation - most notably titles such asActivision's Guitar Hero franchise and Rock Band

from Harmonix.

Something of a cultural phenomenon, Guitar Heroinvites you to 'Unleash your inner rockstar' -something which apparently over 23 million peopleworldwide have done, resulting in $1.6bn at retail.Bands and advertisers have clearly recognised thepenetration of the franchise; most recently, The

Killersmarked the release of their third album, Day &Age, with an appearance in Guitar Hero World Tour.Day & Age was released on 25 November and theLas Vegas rock quartet is releasing two singles,Human and Losing Touch, as downloads into thegame. 2004 smash hit Mr Brightside will also formpart of ‘The Killers Track Pack’.

Rival series Rock Band, the first game of its type toadd drums and vocals to the traditional guitar-

controller setup, has also been going great gunssupported by its own celebrity collaborations. Guns

N' Roses released the first single from their long-awaited comeback album Chinese Democracy

‘ Shackler's Revenge’, via Rock Band. Also, excitingnews for 2009 - creators Harmonix are set to releasea special Beatles edition of the game featuring theentire back catalogue of the Fab Four's hits and fullyendorsed by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, YokoOno Lennon and Olivia Harrison. If this doesn't makeyour mum want to play video games, we don't knowwhat will… Featured in Contagious 16.

Ones to watch /

Football Superstars /

Created by Nottingham-based CyberSports,Football Superstars combines the appeal ofgames like EA Sports' FIFA and Konami's ProEvolutionary Soccer with the virtual world platformfound in Second Life and the massively multiplayeronline role-playing game (MMORPG) experienceoffered by Vivendi's World of Warcraft. The gameis free to download and once players havecompleted training, they can join a virtual team.However, as well as playing matches, users areencouraged to interact off the pitch where theycan indulge in a whole host of decadent extra-sporting activities. So far, over 219,000 haveregistered for Football Superstars andCyberSports have claimed that a further 3000 aresigning up every day.

CyberSports has signed up a number of brandsfor in-game placement including Puma. Therevenue model also includes micro-payments,with CyberSports estimating that each player willspend around £3.50 ($5.4) a month on itemssuch as clothes, locker space and refreshments. See Contagious 17.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

p.09

most contagious / 2008 / gaming (cont.) p.10

LEGO / Universe /

Set for a 2009 release, LEGO Universe is another newMMOG. Developed by NetDevil to be a seamlessadaptation of the LEGO philosophy, the conceptbehind the subscription-based LEGO Universe issimple – if you can imagine it, then you can build it. Thetraditional play experience will transfer online, requiringa creative and collaborative approach to accomplish in-game goals. Contagious 17 contains a case study onLEGO.

IFTF / Superstruct /

ARG-guru and gaming genius Jane McGonigal

(formerly of 42 Entertainment) has headed up thedevelopment of a new online project which could wellsave the world. Superstruct, from the Institute for the

Future (IFTT), is a future-facing affair which pits playersagainst a host of daunting new-world threats such asdisease, global warming and hackers. Championing thepower of gaming as a unifying force, McGonigal alsobelieves that companies could benefit fromunderstanding the role that gaming could play as abusiness tool. For more details and an interview withMcGonigal, check out the link below to an article inBusinessWeek… http://tinyurl.com/64womr •

links / www.littlebigplanet.comwww.rockstargames.comwww.spore.comwww.guitarhero.comwww.rockband.comwww.footballsuperstars.comhttp://universe.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspxwww.superstructgame.org/Home1

LEGO / UNIVERSE /

SUPERSTRUCT /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

ROCK BAND /

GTA IV /

most contagious / 2008 /

04 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /ENTERTAINMENT

Quantum of Solace /

Despite the long-cultivated suspicion that the Bond franchise mightbe metamorphosing into little more than a series of beautiful, bigbudget commercials, the latest effort, Quantum of Solace,

eschewed heavy placements in favour of some impressive tie-ins andproduct integration around the action. Smirnoff Black, Bond'soriginal tipple, underlined its placement in the film with an appealingintegrated campaign based around a limited edition bottle of the spiritwith a cocktail shaker, through Edinburgh-based Three Brand

Design. Coca-Cola also introduced special edition bottles of Coke

Zero, renaming the fizz Zero Zero 7. A global TV campaign throughWieden + Kennedy featured music from Jack White, who pennedAnother Way To Die, the film's disappointing theme tune.

Sony's electronic offerings featured prominently. Digital agencyDare London launched Bond in HD - an immersive microsite toshowcase High Definition products which saw users set challengesbased around various HD products. Players were required tomanipulate content, analyse narrative and test awareness andmemory to succeed, honing their spy skills along the way.

To celebrate Sony Ericsson's Cyber Shot as Bond's mobile ofchoice iris Digital, London, launched Directive C902 - an integratedcampaign based around a rich content microsite hosting aninteractive movie, complete with missions integrated into the plot.Each mission completed delivered a code that unlocked an exclusivemobile phone app and granted access to the next level of the game.

Microsoft’s Surface technology also found a home in the hi-techoffices of MI6, and just to mess with the system, Ford's dominantsponsorship of the film saw not Bond, but Bond girl Camille (OlgaKurylenko) behind the wheel of its key placement, the new Ford Ka. Featured in Contagious 17.

p.11

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / entertainment (cont.) p.12

online. The characters were given MySpace pages andanticipation reached fever pitch when fans excitedlylogged on to http://lillyandjason.com only to discover acouple's wedding invitation site, seemingly unconnectedto the film. Finally, in November, Paramount released theofficial trailer and the film's name was made public, buthints surrounding the monster still remained minimal.Cloverfield'sUS opening was the biggest ever for Januaryso the slow burn word of mouth effect came good. Oh, andit helped that the film itself was pretty decent.Featured in Contagious 14. •

links / www.sony.co.uk/article/high-definition-hdwww.sonyericsson.com/bondhttp://batman.wikibruce.com/Homewww.cloverfieldmovie.com

THE DARK KNIGHT /

The Dark Knight /

We were delirious with excitement back in 2007 withanticipation of the release of The Dark Knight. (Just seeMost Contagious 2007 for proof.) This was thanks in nosmall part to 42 Entertainment's epic alternate realitygame building up over the 18 months prior to the film'srelease. One particularly great stage in thecomprehensive ARG was Operation Slipknot, a gamefocusing on corruption in Gotham City Police Dept andthe apprehension of 30 fugitives. Commissioner JimGordon sent out an email with the assignment and allslots in the game were reportedly taken within 45minutes. The ARG is too monstrous to document in itsentirety except with the help of obsessive players / wikicontributors. If you fancy a flutter, the smart money’s ona Cannes Lion or two for the creators in 2009.http://batman.wikibruce.com/Home

The film's box office takings are edging towards thegolden billion dollar mark, where it would join theesteemed releases of Titanic, Lord of the Rings: Returnof the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man'sChest, the only three movies to date to have achievedsuch a feat. The Dark Knight will be re-released in theUS on 23 January, the day after Oscar nominations areannounced. Featured in Contagious 14, 15.

Cloverfield /

Cloverfield opened the year's box office excitement inJanuary after a six-month viral campaign building up to theopening night. The monster flick follows five young friendsin New York through their own video footage of the night amonster hits the city. The fun began in July 2007 with anunbranded trailer at the end of Transformers, the last frameof which stated 01-18-08. The first step encouragedpeople to search online where they found a website withnothing but two dazed faces. The next few months sawspoof videos and rumours as fans tried desperately tounlock clues to the film which were sporadically released

CLOVERFIELD /THE DARK KNIGHT /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 /

In a year when the global music trade body IFPI released figuresshowing that digital music sales now account for 15% of all sales -30% in the US - brands became more aware of opportunities thatcould link them to artists. Meanwhile, the ratio of unlicensed tracks tolegal tracks sold is about 20:1, so live music and merchandise arebecoming areas of focus for the music industry and artists. The UKfestival industry alone was worth about £900m in 2008 - around 700festivals. Can this be sustained throughout an unpredictable 2009?

O2 / Live Nation /

At the heart of the thirst for live music was O2, which linked up withLive Nation, replacing Carling as the brand behind Brixton and 10other Academy Music Group venues from 1 January 2009. O2

reckons the partnership will reach more than 3.5 million music fans,extending across the UK the same priority ticketing benefits that O2

customers currently enjoy with the London-based O2 venue: thechance to buy tickets 48 hours before they officially go on sale. Anddespite some ugly rumours to the contrary, the O2 Wireless Festivalwill take place in Hyde Park in 2009. Bring back Daft Punk!

Nokia / Comes With Music /

Nokia launched Comes With Music (CWM), a download servicebundled in with a Nokia phone package, most notably the 5310. Anymusic fans happy to shell out €199 for a CWM-enabled handsetcould then enjoy unlimited tracks from a catalogue bulging with twomillion tracks. Users must buy another CWM-enabled handset afterthe year has elapsed. Warner Music, SonyBMG and Universal arepartnering Nokia, which will extend the service throughout Europeand Asia in 2009. On the back of Apple’s December announcementthat it will be dropping DRM from the content of three major labels soldthrough iTunes, will this caveat-loaded approach be enough tocompete in the download wars? See Contagious 17.

05 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /MUSIC /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

p.13

most contagious / 2008 / music (cont.) p.14

TAG / TAG Records /

TAG, a male body spray owned by P&G that chases thesame young demographic as Unilever's Lynx/Axe,hooked up with Def Jam Music on TAG Records. Q, arapper from Brooklyn, was the first artist to be signed tothe hip hop label. For more on brands such as TAG,Vodafone and Bacardi identifying fresh points of entryinto the music industry, read this article fromContagious16 by Jack Horner, co-founder and creativedirector of music marketing agency Frukt, London.www.contagiousmagazine.com/resources/music.pdf

Umphrey's McGee /

Prog rock fans will be counting the days until 19 January2009 when Mantis, the new album from Chicago outfitUmphrey's McGee is released. But how rich anexperience the album is relies entirely on how involvedfans have been in the lead-up to its release. In a smartinitiative by Connecticut-based design and brandingagency Plaid, if fans visit a special website and pre-order the CD, they help unlock a treasure chest of freecontent which includes alternative studio recordingsand remixes. What's more, fans who pre-order Mantiswill be drip-fed even more content over 2009 every timethey play the CD on their PC.

Dr. Pepper / Chinese Democracy /

Dr. Pepper promised a can of Dr. Pepper to everyone inthe US if the long-anticipated Guns N' Roses album,Chinese Democracy, was completed in 2008. Yet theexecution of this marketing masterstroke was shabby:servers crashed on the brand's website, meaning userswere unable to log on and download their voucher forthe free drink. Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose thenissued legal proceedings against Dr. Pepper, accusingit of tainting Guns N' Roses by association… still, weraise a can of, and to, Dr. Pepper for its audacity.

Miller Genuine Draft / The Mill /

Miller Genuine Draft diverted its entire marketingbudget into creating a platform for unsigned bands in anattempt to reflect the brand's 'genuinely different'positioning throughout Scotland. Via Leo Burnett

London, the platform gave unsigned acts maximumcoverage and consumers free content. Venues inEdinburgh and Glasgow staged live performances froma selection of 108 bands. Each act had a unique poster,imagery from which is used on packaging. Gig-goersdownload free tickets to their mobiles via the websitewhere 540 tracks have been recorded and distributed.Further mobile content is available via dedicatedbluetooth units in the venues. Media partnershipsstruck with The Skinny magazine and Xfm Scotland, aswell as with e-newsletters and social networking sites,built on the buzz . See Contagious 17. •

links / www.o2.co.ukwww.nokia.com/comeswithmusicwww.umphreys.com/mantiswww.gunsroses.comwww.themill-live.com

MILLER GENUINE DRAFT / THE MILL /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 /

06 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /DESIGN / PRODUCTS

Speedo / LZR /

2008’s most impactful piece of product design is arguably the nowinfamous Speedo LZR swimsuit, most famously worn by record-breaking Olympic Gold Medallist and general human fish Michael

Phelps. Developed by biomechanical engineers in one of NASA'swind tunnels, the suit has had such a profound effect on the sport thatAlberto Castagnetti, coach of the Italian national team, referred to itas 'technological doping'. How profound, you ask? Since its launch inMarch, no fewer than 74 world records have been broken by swimmerswearing the LZR. It also caused chaos in the run-up to the Olympicsas several swimmers not sponsored by Speedo attempted to wriggleout of their own deals in order to hitch a ride on the bandwagon tomedal glory. It's just like Contagious has always said - nail thoseoxygenating hydrodynamics and the rest will fall into place… See Contagious 16.

Nike / Zoom Victory /

Almost as big news as Speedo's LZR has been Nike's Zoom Victory

running shoe. By dispensing with the elements previously needed tohold a sneaker together (stitching, material) in favour of a suspensionbridge design with merely a coating of fabric, the shoes weigh in atless than a chocolate bar. What's more, because the design is sopared down, the Nike team can use rapid prototyping - computeraided design - to manufacture unique versions in a fraction of the timeit would take to knock up a regular sneaker. The cheap productionprocess could enable Nike to shift some of its manufacturing out ofChina and back to its home in the United States, thus creating jobs inan otherwise exhausted marketplace. This unexpected side effect isfascinating: a product design innovation, led by technology, withimmediate, first hand repercussions for a country's economy. Topmarks to the Nike Tech Lab.See Contagious 16.

p.15

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / design (cont.)

Electric Cars /

2008 has undoubtedly been the year in whichalternative fuelling and the use of sustainablematerials in the automotive industry has turned frommere novelty into a necessity. With the globaleconomy furiously struggling to keep its head abovewater, and car manufacturers seeking more hand-outsthan Oliver Twist, motorists the world over are lookingfor ways to justify and afford their daily drive.Obviously, US companies producing traditional gas-guzzling beasties have been worst hit, but even thesmallest are now seeking to change. Step forwardparent company BMW and the MINI E.

The German car manufacturer has launched anelectric version of its iconic small British car, but limitedproduction to just 500 vehicles. Furthermore, these willonly be available for lease to drivers in Los Angeles andNew York who have a lockable garage where the carcan be re-charged from a wall-mounted unit. All the carsare silvery grey and come with the distinctive yellow pluginsignia announcing their electric credentials. BMW isaiming to mass-produce an electric car by 2010.

We like this softly, softly approach from MINI. Not onlyare they subtly vetting the initial 500 customers -reinforcing the feeling of joining a select club - but alsosecuring at least a year of free advertising from theselucky few as they scoot about in their distinctive silverand yellow cars. By the time the brand does scale up itsproduction on the electric MINI, the buzz around thevehicle will be at a peak and demand will be high…

In other news, entrepreneur Shay Agassi has beenbacked by the Israeli government to startimplementing a network of electric cars, apparentlyresulting in 'sustainable transportation, global energyindependence and freedom from oil'. Using a conceptdeveloped with French manufacturer Renault, Agassi's

vision involves drivers plugging in their vehicles whilst athome or work, with longer journeys catered for by a stintat one of 150 larger charging stations dotted around thecountry.

Financial backing has come from Morgan Stanley

(yes, really) and, rather ironically, the owner of Israel'slargest oil refinery, Idan Ofur. Clearly these investorsshare Agassi's optimism for a global roll-out, shouldIsrael prove a successful training ground. This issupported by the recent news that interest in the 'Better

Place' initiative has already spread to the US, where themayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland,California have all approved a test period for thenetwork of electric cars. See Contagious 17.

Netbooks / ASUS Eee PC /

There’s an odd rule of technology which states that thethe price of a gadget is inversely proportional to itsphysical size. Therefore it is with open arms (and openwallets) that the PC-buying public has welcomed thenew trend for affordable versions of the mini laptopsknown as netbooks. Statistics published bytechEBlog.com show that sales of netbooks areexpected to rise from one million units sold in 2007 to aprojected total of 14 million for 2008. Leading thecharge was Taiwan-based ASUS with its range of oh-so-cute Eee PC laptops. Available with a screen size assmall as 7", these start at under €231, with an almostinfinite range of tech-specs to suit every user.

If this wasn't enough to confirm the product as the PC ofthe people, ASUS has recently teamed up with the Intel

Corporation to launch wePC (see page 19), a websitetapping into the crowdsourcing trend to influence thedesign of the world's first community-designed laptop. See Contagious 15 and 17.

ASUS / Eee PC /

NIKE / ZOOM VICTORY /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

BMW / MINI E /

p.16

most contagious / 2008 / design (cont.)

Red /

If you haven't heard anything about Red yet, be awarethat its amazing hi-tech cameras are shaking up theentire movie industry whilst costing around one third ofthe price of equivalent big brand offerings. Scheduledadditions to the range - the sub $3000 Scarlet videocamera and the high end Epic model - have beendelayed, with CEO (and Oakley eyewear founder) JimJannard posting enigmatically on the company's forumthat 'we have changed everything about Scarletbecause the market has changed and we havediscovered a lot of things in the process. We have a newvision'.

The forum is buzzing and speculation is ripe; definitelya brand to keep an eye on as belts are tightenedworldwide. Director Steven Soderbergh's two recentfilms Guerrilla and The Argentine were shot entirelyusing Red cameras, as was Peter Jackson's Crossingthe Line. All our lunch money is going in the Contagiouspiggy bank for one of these (and a communal SpeedoLZR to share…ewww). See Contagious 17. •

links / www.speedo80.com/lzr-racer/www.nike.com/nikelab/site.html?en_US#/product/aerofly/detailwww.minispace.com/en_us/projects/electric-mini-ewww.betterplace.comwww.wepc.comwww.red.com

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

p.17

most contagious / 2008 /

07 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /SOCIAL MEDIA /

Facebook (again) /

It will come as no surprise that comScore declared Facebook thebiggest and fastest-growing social network: over 132 million peoplevisit the site every month, a year-on-year increase of 153%. Smartinvestment in translation tools saw the site take off in Latin America,Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and advertisers were quick todevelop apps and widgets. Pizza Hut even developed an appenabling users to order a pizza without leaving the site (although we'relukewarm on the facility that tells Facebook friends that you ordered astuffed crust Hawaiian). And best of all, GetThemIn allowedFacebook users to buy drinks via the social network which could becashed in for real booze at over 1,500 off licences in the UK.

Bebo /

Teen-friendly social networking site Bebo saw 32% growth in 2008,from 18m to 24m total unique visitors, and was snapped up in Marchby AOL for the princely sum of $850m. One of the site's stickiestfeatures proved to be original drama, with Bebo repositioning itself asa media platform and offering a combination of entertainment andsocial media, providing brands with opportunities to integratenaturally into the plot. Audience approval of placement and the factthat the Open Media platform allows users direct access tothousands of hours of premium content has proved a leading strategyso far. KateModern - which attracted advertisers including Toyota

and Cadbury - set the ball rolling in 2007, but this year, Sofia's Diary

captivated Beboers and advertisers including Unilever's Sure Girl

and Pearl Drops. The show, in five-minute daily segments, was alsosyndicated to the Channel 5-owned digital channel, Fiver. Bebofollowed up with The Secret World of Sam King, a joint venture withUniversal Records, which followed the adventures of theeponymous hero working at the record label and averaged 600,000views a week. Finally, comedy series Chelsey OMG!, the story of ayoung American in London, launched in October, backed by the likesof fashion website Glam.com and haircare brand Paul Mitchell.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

p.18

most contagious / 2008 / social media (cont.)

Crowdsourcing /

Crowdsourcing has become a welcome trend amongPC brands, with Asus and Intel joining forces onwePC.com - 'a place where users like you cometogether to share ideas, images and inspiration aboutyour ideal PC'. The best ideas will shape the design ofwhat wePC.com is touting as the world's firstcommunity-designed laptop. wePC.com came hot onthe heels of consumer electronics retailer Best Buy

working with Toshiba and HPon a similar project whichinvited consumers to contribute ideas for its Blue Labellaptop range. Yet both were influenced by Dell whichlaunched its crowdsourcing concept Idea Storm in2007. Today, Idea Storm has over 9,000 contributorswho have suggested 10,779 ideas.

Crowdsourcing wasn't limited to IT brands.Mystarbucksidea.com saw the coffee chain invitingsuggestions for improvement from its customers. Oneof the most high profile ideas to be implemented was afree coffee for everyone on US election day. AndSplitwheel launched as an online project to designand build a new performance car based on collectivedecision-making. The car is being built by Britain'sCaterham Cars; a full, dedicated website launches inJanuary. See Contagious 17.

Twitter /

Twitter's growth was well-documented - up 422% in 12months, to quote Nielsen Online figures. Brands startedto jump on the bandwagon, with one of the mostmemorable campaigns for the Sci Fi Channel's Eureka

show which saw S.A.R.A.H., the talking smart housefrom the show, have its own Twitter account in a bid tobuild buzz. More than 1,300 Eureka fans followed_S_A_R_A_H_'s Tweets. Contagious naturally is nowon Twitter too - www.twitter.com/contagiousmag.

BA / Metrotwin /

British Airways launched Metrotwin, a social mediaplatform to link Londoners and New Yorkers. The onlinecommunity provides expert suggestions on the bestplaces to visit, shop eat and drink in both cities, andmakes recommendations based on user behaviour à laAmazon. BBH worked with the London-basedagencies Made By Many on the design, Headshift andAgency.com on development and delivery.See Contagious 17.

Penguin /

We Tell Stories from UK book publisher Penguinenlisted six authors including Toby Litt and Nicci

French to use a classic Penguin book as inspiration fora new work. Created with help from ARG specialist Six

To Start, the initiative was part social networking, partARG, encouraging book lovers to enhance theirexperience online with greater connectivity andinteractivity. Users could contribute to the texts,evolving their own story, and also follow clues to unlockmore content. See Contagious 15.

Over at penguindating.co.uk, a partnership betweenPenguin Books and dating site match.com enabledusers to start romantic flirtations based on a shared loveof literature. And then buy each other a drink onFacebook, presumably... •

links / www.ning.comwww.facebook.comwww.getthemin.comwww.penguindating.co.ukwww.bebo.com

p.19

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

BA / METROTWIN /

PENGUIN / WE TELL STORIES /

BEBO / UNIVERSAL MUSIC / SAM KING /

most contagious / 2008 / p.20

UNIQLO /

Contagious doesn't write case studies on any old brandyou know, and our issue 16 was no exception. Whetherit's clearing up at Cannes, or finding ways to blend CRMwith progressive data visualisation, there are fewbrands that have matched the Japanese retailerUNIQLO in 2008. To start, there was the UNIQLOCK,created by Projector, Tokyo. This year it has scoopedthe Innova Lotus Gold Award at ADFEST, two GoldAwards and the Grand Prix at the One Show Interactive,a Grand Clio for Interactive, a D&AD Black Pencil forOnline Advertising as well as a Cyber Lions Grand Prixand the prestigious Contagious-sponsored Titanium

Lion award at Cannes 2008.

Designed to build a global community around thebrand, the UNIQLOCK can best be described assomewhere between branded entertainment and utility.The delightfully distracting microsite features a clockwhich marks passing moments with five-second clips offemale dancers performing micro-routines clad inUNIQLO clothing. It operates 24/7 for 365 days a yearand will also go to sleep at night, with sequences on thehour and an alarm clock function in case you keep yourlaptop next to your bed. And a downloadable version isavailable as a widget. By viewing WORLD.UNIQLOCK,users can link to all the embedded sites via a global mapwhich lets you see at any given time exactly how manypeople are watching the UNIQLOCK and in whatcountries. This is perhaps the most literal realisation ofthe UNIQLO global community to date - proven by thefact that so far the site has been viewed 200 milliontimes in 214 countries.

Since the UNIQLOCK, Projector has continued tostudy the behavioural patterns of internet users -concentrating on that initial moment of uptake and howcontent is absorbed. As a result, UNIQLO DRY IN

MOTION focused on the way in which neurons fire inthe human brain when we observe the actions ofanother human on screen. More recently, Projectordeveloped UNIQLO MEETS CORTEO - a campaignfeaturing cast members of the Cirque du Soleil

rehearsing whilst wearing the clothing. Each newsequence counts down to a live action event called 'TheColour Show'.

The last UNIQLO digital campaign which merits anhonourable mention is UNIQLO TRY. All the brand'sdigital trademarks are present (quirky interfaces, franticmultiplicity) but rather than displaying any product line,they aggregate customer feedback. For each product,hundreds of small testimonial video clips are arrangedin an assortment of shifting shapes - from spirals, to 3Dspheres and even gigantic words. Users can click andview any individual video, or wait for the sequence tofinish. At this stage, the advocates are sorted accordingto their opinion of the product and displayed aspercentages. There is even a search option whichallows you to narrow down your research via product,customer age and body type - so the results of eachsequence are tailored to your interests. Not only is this amind-boggling data visualisation and metrics tool, but itdisplays an extraordinary level of transparency. Byproviding users with an engaging way to hear realopinions from real people, this application places equalemphasis on the individual and the global community asa whole. See Contagious 16,17.

UNIQLOCK /

08 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /WEBSITES /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

WORLD.UNIQLOCK /

UNIQLO / TRY /

most contagious / 2008 / websites (cont.)

Doritos / Hotel 626 /

Goodby, Silverstein and Partners in San Franciscocreated a wonderfully spooky interactive experiencejust in time for Halloween, to celebrate the resurrectionof retired Doritos flavours Four Cheese and Taco. Aspart of Snack Strong Productions, the brand's digitalplatform, the ghostly online Hotel 626 was only openfrom 6pm to 6am and engaged consumers in a series ofeerie puzzles. Users navigated their way through thehotel's 13 rooms unlocking plotlines and completing aseries of interactive challenges with a camera, headsetand microphone. Brrrrrr. Online content produced byB-Reel, New York. See Contagious 17.

Absolut / Machines /

Absolut Machines combines interactive music makingwith a selection of weird and wonderful onlinecontraptions. Building on Absolut's strong tradition ofcollaborating with artists, the inventions showcased atabsolutmachines.com were developed by M.I.T.

graduates Dan Paluska and Jeff Lieberman over sixmonths, including one which shoots rubber balls at thekeys of a marimba and another which uses roboticfingers to 'play' a set of wine glasses. A separatemachine was developed by a Swedish company,Teenage Engineering, and uses a chorus of tensinging robots, aptly named the Absolut Choir. Visitorsto the sites could control and compose their ownmechanical musicals, and the end results (both audioand visual) can be downloaded, streamed and shared,with the devices themselves touring different citiesaround the world. The campaign was masterminded byGreat Works, Stockholm. TBWA\Chiat\Day, NewYork, was responsible for a series of print ads.See Contagious 14.

Orange / Balloonacy /

Orange's digital balloon race saw competitors assigntheir names to one of thousands of balloons racingaround the internet this summer, building awareness ofOrange's animal-represented tariffs. The game had itsown distribution mechanic: one internet mile wasgained every time websites which had signed up to theinitiative were visited. Bloggers and website ownerscould add their page to the race track via a snippet ofcode. Via Poke, London. Featured in Contagious 16.

Becks / Music Mixer /

As part of the 'Becks Fusion' ongoing art and musicinitiative, the Music Mixer website was preloaded withsix dance tracks including efforts from Moby, Dystopiaand We Are Rockstars. Each song is broken down intorhythm, bass, hooks and atmosphere, and an addictivemixing desk is presented to users, with the timing takencare of. Highly addictive stuff via Dare, London.

Brand Tags /

Noah Brier's side project Brand Tags is one for everyplanner to keep an eye on. The site asks users for theirimpressions of brands using free association. •

links / www.uniqlo.jp/uniqlockwww.uniqlo.com/meetswww.uniqlo.com/try/uniqlotry.swfwww.hotel626.comwww.absolutmachines.comwww.playballoonacy.comwww.becks.co.uk/mixer.aspxwww.brandtags.net

DORITOS / HOTEL 626 /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

ORANGE / BALLOONACY /

p.21

ABSOLUT / MACHINES /

most contagious / 2008 / p.22

09 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /APPLICATIONS /

Sprint / Now Widget /

Part of a wave of 'just because-branding' triggered by theUNIQLOCK, the Sprint Widget by Goodby Silverstein wasdesigned to reinforce its positioning for the telco brand's Now

Network: the notion that customers can get to whatever they want,whenever they want it on a high-speed mobile broadband service.The widget itself is a planner's wet dream, offering a mini snapshot ofwhat's going on in the world right now; from eggs being produced bythe ton, units of energy being used, babies being born, forests beingcut down, people stuck in elevators and shopping days ‘til Christmas.An 'internet buzz-o-meter' provides at-a-glance comparisonsbetween, say, hip hop and rock'n'roll, or hockey and baseball. With awebcam, you can add yourself to the impressive data-densedashboard, which also offers live news feeds, facts and stats thatchange in real time, and like any self-respecting widget, can beembedded and shared in any number of places. See Contagious 17.

FIAT / eco:Drive /

As the automotive industry splutters to the end of its annus horribilis,innovation has never been more important. With this in mind, AKQA

London took the Microsoft-produced Blue&Me in-car telemetrytechnology that comes in the fabulously relaunched FIAT 500 andGrande Punto and used it to launch 'eco:Drive'. This app links cars toPCs and evaluates driving performance with a view to reducing carbonemissions by up to 15%. eco:Drive uses a USB stick that can beplugged into Blue&Me and then transferred to a PC. The user-friendlyapp then analyses acceleration, deceleration, gear changes andspeed to score a journey out of 100 for fuel efficiency. Next, it offersadvice on how to improve - possibly more constructive than other drivers(often in the backseat) yelling 'slow down' or 'speed it up, grandpa'.

Targeting consumers on green issues in terms of self-improvementas opposed to finger-wagging is a no brainer. Without any mediaspend, some 6,000 unique visitors log onto the eco:Drive websiteevery day, and 30% of them download the application.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / applications (cont.) p.23

Featured in Contagious 17. Check out Contagious' forthcoming issue 18 formore on the new 'Chip on Wheels'.

Carling / iPint /

A cautionary tale - if you see something that looksfun and want to make your own version, make sureyou get the creator's permission first. Carling'snow infamous iPint was forwarded to friends36,000 times in a week, and swiftly became thenumber one free game on the apps store.However, Molson Coors Brewing and creativeagency Beattie McGuinness Bungay, London,now face a $12.5m (£7.1m) lawsuit for allegedlypinching the idea from a remarkably similar paid-for app entitled iBeer created by indie developerHottrix. What's more, BMB had allegedly been incontact with the makers of the iBeer, and thenopted to make their own free rival version…Ouch.

Trend to Track / Superconnected Products /

Connected products are tangible items that aregiven a more profound existence throughtechnology - the seamless link between shelf andweb. Think Nike+. It's not just a shoe, or a website.It's the way they interact that makes it what it is.Contagious columnist Martin Lindstrom recentlynoticed this trend taken to the next level in aJapanese supermarket. Writing in Contagious 17,he said: ‘The majority of products' packages borea cartoon figure. Next to the head of the cartoonfigure was the name of a person, his title, age andeven the address of where he lived. Thisinformation fell under a title which stated: "I'mresponsible for this product." The names and

addresses belong to farmers, growers, pickers, drivers- real people who own the responsibility for their goods.The rest of the world would probably stop here, but inJapan, the products also carried one of those newgeneration barcodes. All you need to do is photographit with your mobile phone to be taken to a website wherethe person I'd seen as a cartoon appeared on camera asa real person. In the video, the guy explained how hehandpicked the particular product I was observing. Thevideo went on to show me the production line thatmanufactured the item, and to reveal the transportationthat brought the product from factory to store. The video

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

FIAT / ECO:DRIVE /

CARLING / IPINT /

most contagious / 2008 / applications (cont.) p.24

even included a hot link which, when clicked, tookme to more information about the manufacturerand his family.'

That's some seriously radical transparency.Chinese milk contaminated with melamine,contaminated Irish pork and poisoned Nigerianteething syrup dominated the headlines towardsthe end of 2008. Could this kind of personalresponsibility help prevent future scandals?

See Lindstrom's full article here: www.contagiousmagazine.com/resources/lindstrom.pdf

Best of the Rest /

Hi-tech stroller company Bugaboo launched anonline resource showing the best walks aroundvarious cities for you and your buggy-bound baby.Each map boasts a bespoke design aesthetic tosuit the city. We like Toronto’s urban lollipop.See Bugaboo: Birth of a Brand in Contagious 17.

Tikitags are smart stickers that make yourcomputer perform an action when viewed by ascanner. Imagine invisibly tagging your child'sfavourite teddy, so it opens the CBeebieshomepage or Cartoon Network on your PC,making it easier for them to access the internet orapplications. Business cards could also betagged, enabling a quick touch on the scanner totransfer information to a database.

So useful we don’t know why it’s taken so long,Umbrella Today is an app which tells you whetheryouneed to take your umbrella to work. Tap in yourzip code for 'like totally the simplest weather reportever, Julie'. SMS alerts will save you should thetempest take out your interweb. •

links / http://now.sprint.com/widgetwww.fiat.com/ecoDrivewww.carling.com/ipint_details.htmlwww.bugaboodaytrips.comhttp://tikitag.comhttp://umbrellatoday.com

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

BUGABOO / CITY MAPS /

most contagious / 2008 / p.25

10 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /INTEGRATED /

Converse / 100th Anniversary /

Converse marked 2008 as its centennial year with a big rock star-endorsed bang, and its first ever global campaign overtly positioningthe brand as a catalyst for creativity. Famous musicians, athletes,designers and artists were joined together by their Chucks in a bold,black and white design that appeared across print, outdoor, in-storeand digital platforms. A musical collaboration, My Drive Thru,between singer Santogold, producer Pharrell Williams and Strokesfrontman Julian Casablancas, formed an impressive piece of freebranded content, backed by a beautiful music video. The brief toPharrell, who was producing and leading the project, was to 'makesome music and have some fun'. Nearly 100,000 people downloadedthe track for free from converse.com and My Drive Thru attracted750,000 streams on leading internet portals in just four days. At lastcount over two million people had viewed the video on YouTube, andThe Times’ music critic described it as ‘a three-headedFrankenstein’s monster of coolness’.Contagious 17 contains a case study on Converse.

HBO / Voyeur /

A big winner at this year's Cannes festival scooping Grand Prix inPromo and Outdoor, not to mention a handful of golds, silvers andbronzes across other categories (including Cyber, Media and Film),was HBO's impressively integrated campaign for Voyeur, throughBBDO, New York. Content surrounding a series of linked stories thattook place in eight apartments in the same building includedprojections onto a building in New York, media hosted on fictional webpages, including Flickr and YouTube, mobile content and footage shotby RSA including 'The Watcher' directed by Jake Scott andinteractive stories directed by Chris Nelson. Big Spaceship workedon the online elements of the campaign, which allowed users to delvein to different rooms in the building, accompanied by speciallycomposed music. Featured in Contagious 12.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

CONVERSE /

HBO / VOYEUR /

most contagious / 2008 / integrated (cont.) p.26

Nokia / Somebody Else's Phone /

The cyber-voyeurism theme continued with Nokia's global campaignto promote the 7610 Supernova, questioning if somebody else'sphone ended up in your possession, could you resist the temptationto find out all about them? A TV ad flagging up the highly personalrelationship we have with our phones introduced Jade, Lucas andAnna, the fictional stars of this campaign. Online, followers couldtrawl through their texts and comb through their contacts as 4,000pieces of content were unveiled through social networking sites suchas Facebook and Twitter, and as texts, images and movies atwww.somebodyelsesphone.com. Fans were encouraged tocommunicate with the three characters. Via Wieden + Kennedy

London, production through Academy and digital productionthrough B-Reel. Featured in Contagious 17.

Shreddies / Diamond Shreddies /

At the grand old age of 67, the iconic but bog standard wheaty latticethat is a Shreddie had seen little marketing support in recent years.However, thanks to a unique product innovation from Ogilvy inToronto, the brand enjoyed an 18% rise in sales, a heightened publicprofile and a slew of user-generated content. The productinnovation? They simply turned the square at a 45 degree angle, andrebranded it as Diamond Shreddies. No kidding.

Following a soft launch, the campaign was followed by acompetition allowing 10 customers to win a diamond using uniquecodes found on the side of the packet. TV, print, and poster adssupported an online campaign at www.diamondshreddies.com,where it is claimed that Diamond Shreddies are more flavourful andcrunchier. When a customer complained that he'd bought a packet ofDiamond Shreddies and was disappointed to find that only half thepacket contained diamonds and the rest were merely squares, Ogilvyintroduced the 'combo pack' to Canadian shelves (66% diamonds,33% squares). Proof that epic silliness as a marketing tool will nevergo out of fashion, the Diamond Shreddies campaign has kept usamused throughout 2008 whilst invigorating a stagnant brand.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / integrated (cont.) p.27

An honourable mention goes out to Here I Am, throughWieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam, the impressivelyanimated campaign of five films featuring Nike-sponsored female athletes such as Maria Sharapova

and Nicola Spirig which ran online. Integratedelements included banners, print ads and a coffee tablebook. See Contagious 17.

A campaign from Nissan's X-Trail 4x4 targetedskiers in deepest darkest winter early in 2008. ThroughStream\ London, skiers were filmed or could wear ahead-cam to capture personalised footage of their run.Films could be accessed online and branded contentincluding weather updates and resort guides wasaccessible via Bluetooth in the ski resorts. Theestimated media value for the whole project reached€1m (£795k). Featured in Contagious 15.

Bloggers transformed Sony's foam attack into a sharedexperience when director Simon Ratigan from HLA

handed out Sony cameras to 200 locals includingjournalists and bloggers to record the foam covered-city. Extra content online included a behind the scenesdocumentary and some 15,000 stills taken on theshoot. Prior to the campaign launching, footage hadattracted half a million views. Through Fallon, London.Featured in Contagious 15. •

links / www.converse.comwww.hbovoyeur.comwww.somebodyelsesphone.comwww.diamondshreddies.comwww.nikewomen.comwww.nissan.co.ukwww.sony.com

NISSAN / X-TRAIL /

SONY BRAVIA / FOAM /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

NIKE / HERE I AM /

NOKIA 7610 / SOMEBODY ELSE’S PHONE /

most contagious / 2008 / p.28

11 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /VIRAL / ONLINE BUZZ /

AC/DC / Runaway Train /

Who would have thought that an Excel document could blow our tinylittle minds? Before you ask, it wasn't the prospect of data entry orbudget reports, but rather this extraordinary rendering of the AC/DCmusic video Runaway Train. Created by Sony BMG employeesSteve Milbourne and Phil Clandillon, a video (which has alreadyracked up over one million views on YouTube) shows a giant Exceldocument being scrolled through, with moving images generatedfrom the arranged data. And the best thing? Because the Excel formatis universally accepted, the content can be shared without fear of itbeing blocked by internet fire walls. Altogether now! 'It's the highwayto Excel...' See Contagious 17.

Nokia N96 / Bruce Lee /

The definition of a good viral is compelling content which begs to beshared, and we're pleased to say that Nokia China's series of viralsticks all the above boxes with aplomb. Created to promote a limitedBruce Lee edition of the latest N96 multimedia phone, the videos areshot in a similar style to the grainy, black and white footage of Leeperforming his famous one-inch punch. However, in the first spot themartial artist is shown brandishing a pair of nunchucks which he usesto dominate a game of ping pong with first one, and then two playersat once! The next in the series shows him attaching a rough material tothe end of his nunchucks before precisely striking a match being heldin a brave volunteer's mouth.

As soon as the Nokia branding appears at the end of the ads, we'dhope the audience would work out that these are new, computer-generated images. However, as is always the case on YouTube, awhole string of sweary, non-sensical arguments have broken out inthe comments section. 'Is it actual footage of Bruce Lee?' and 'Surelythis is CGI?'. Perhaps more importantly however, it passes the goldentest of 'Would you pass this on?' We would and have - how about you?

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / viral (cont.)

Transport for London / Awareness Test /

Created by London-based production companyGorgeous, The Original Awareness Test was designedto highlight how, when distracted, we can fail to noticeeven the most obvious of things - in much the same wayas many drivers ignore or miss cyclists on London'sroads.

This video showed a street basketball game andasked the viewer to keep track of how many passes ateam clad in white make. This is difficult enough in itself,but providing you managed it, you'd think that you'd feelpretty happy with yourself, right? Wrong, because it isat this point that the video is replayed and you are told towatch out for the guy in the bear suit moonwalkingstraight across the shot - the very same one youcompletely failed to spot the first time round. In case thatwasn’t enough, the followup, Whoddunit?, shouldhammer home your own stupidity.

Diesel / Dirty Thirty /

There's always been a pleasing streak of kink in Diesel'sbranding, but in 'SFW XXX', it found a way to usepornography to promote the gigantic 'Dirty Thirty' globalbirthday party. A hilariously reworked viral montage from1970s 'classic' skin flick XXX has already been viewedover 11 million times on YouTube. Adapted to avoid anyuntoward nudity by The Viral Factory's Keith Schofield,the video replaces 'recipient' actresses with pinballmachines, and various private parts with maracas,bongo drums and even a harmonica. Fans of thewww.sfw-porn.com website will be in no doubt as towhere the inspiration came from (SFW is short for ‘SafeFor Work’. Don’t open an attachment without it.)

The Dirty Thirty party took place in 17 cities around theworld, the events featured the hottest local bands withtickets available for a nominal charge (all of which went to

charity). A range of limited edition XXX jeans was alsocreated for the anniversary, made available on a first-come-first-served basis to fans who registered online forthe giveaway price of $30, a fraction of their $600 retailvalue. See Contagious 17.

Mac vs PC /

Who started it? Does anyone care anymore? For wellover a year, Apple has run a series of TV and viral adsshowing the Mac User as the cool guy alongside thechubby nerd priggishly defending his PC. However,rising above this corporate bear-baiting, Microsoftcontinued with a campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld

and Bill Gates 'hanging out together' with a tag line thatplayed on the letters PC - 'perpetually connecting'.Following a mixed reception, the next phase featuredcelebrities (Eva Longoria, Deepak Chopra et al)alongside mere mortals who all claimed 'I'm a PC' - aparody of Apple's line of two years 'I'm a Mac'.

Next, Apple countered with ads directly referencingthe 'I'm a PC' spot via TBWA\ New York; One showedthe nerd as a bean-counter, frittering away wads of cashon advertising. Finally, Microsoft introduced a user-generated element, inviting viewers to create their own'I'm a PC' vignette and upload it onto windows.comwhere Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Microsoft's agency,may opt to weave it into future spots. Here atContagious, we’re opting out of binary and refusing tolet our choice of hardware define us. See Contagious17.

Burger King / Whopper Freakout /

Burger King's slogan in the US - ‘have it your way’- wassteeped in irony during an eight-minute documentary byCrispin Porter + Bogusky where a restaurant inMinnesota experimented with discontinuing theWhopper for a day. Hidden cameras in the restaurantand the drive-in captured genuine consumer reactions

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

DIESEL / SFW XXX /

MAC VS PC /

p.29

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON /

most contagious / 2008 / viral (cont.) p.30

to the news that they were in a Whopper-freezone. Disbelief and outrage, competing withfloods of childhood memories reminiscing aboutthe Whopper, make for compulsive viewing. Whenstaff at the restaurant present customers withburgers from Wendys, they're rejected by angrycustomers. So workers eventually compensatecustomers by bringing in the King himself to revealthe stunt and present them with a Whopper. The film attracted 3.3 million views and hasinspired a series of spoof 'freakouts'. See Contagious 14.

McDonald's / Cheer for China /

The brief for the 2008 Beijing Olympics providedto DDB China Group by McDonald's was to find aunique way for the brand to stand out in the crowdof official sponsors. The result - Cheer for China - notonly answered this brief, but in doing so, exceededexpectations and even broke a world record.

Appealing to the patriotism of the Chinesepublic, the campaign turned McDonald's globaltagline 'I'm Lovin' it' into 'I’m lovin' it when Chinawins'. The idea was that people could record thischeer and then upload it to websites or blogs viaphoto, video or audio. 'Cheering stations' wereeven arranged at restaurants and venues acrossthe country so people could turn up and getinvolved in some collaborative hooray'ing…

220,000 people uploaded cheers onto thewebsite and the top 10 were picked throughinternet voting before moving into a CheeringTraining House in Beijing. There, they werecoached in dancing and singing, with training clipsfrom the camp broadcast on the internet and inMcDonald's restaurants across the country everyweek. This online reality show culminated in the

five best cheerers being picked by a panel ofcelebrity judges. In the final stage of the campaignthese five - now the official McDonald's CheeringTeam - led 1,200 people in Beijing to dancetogether just metres from Beijing's Olympic Bird'sNest Stadium. Dressed in red outfits theyperformed a special 'I'm lovin it when China wins'dance for five minutes to create a new worldrecord for team cheering. The initiative also droveover 32m unique visitors to the campaign website.See Contagious 16.

Stride Gum / Where the Hell is Matt? /

What better way to create buzz and chatter aboutyour brand online, than to bolt it onto a proven viralphenomenon? While this may not be the mostcreatively admirable method, it is a smart one -especially if your chosen subject is as popular asMatt Harding, otherwise known as 'Dancing Matt'.

The self-confessed 'deadbeat from Connecticut'first sprang to fame back in 2005 when a video ofhim dancing on holiday in Hanoi taken by a friendbecame an overnight internet sensation. Chewinggum brand Stride and JWT New York approachedMatt and offered to sponsor him on a global tour,where he could film mini videos of himselfperforming his trademark moves in front of famouslandmarks on seven different continents. In 2006,he did just this and the resultant video receivedover 12 million views on YouTube.

In June 2008, Stride once again invited Matt totake a similar jig-powered pilgrimage - this timewith a stronger community focus, inviting localsfrom each location to appear with Matt in the video.In just six months, this second sponsored spot hasalready overtaken the first, amassing a staggering13.4 million views on YouTube. •

links / www.acdcrocks.com/excelwww.nokia-lee.com.cnwww.dothetest.co.ukwww.diesel.com/dirtythirtystoreswww.windows.comwww.whopperfreakout.comwww.mcdonalds.com.cnwww.wherethehellismatt.comwww.stridegum.com

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

STRIDE / WHERE THE HELL IS MATT?

most contagious / 2008 / p.31

12 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /MOBILE /

Google / Android /

Despite the iPhone's dominance of this year's news, last year's MostContagious gadget is now facing competition from software mastersGoogle in the form of Android. A platform to serve multiple types ofcontent across myriad handsets, Android's open source nature isexciting developers and hardware manufacturers in equal measure.The first Android compatible phone, the T-mobile G1, failed to set thetech blogs alight but further handsets are promised from Motorola,

Kogan in Australia and Chinese manufacturer Huawei. It's all aproudly blank canvas, with the Software Development Kit forAndroid updated on a regular basis for developers and AndroidMarketplace mirroring the iPhone apps store.

Despite a slow start, the potential for marketers here is enormous.Mobile marketing has always been hampered by an ability to servecontent over multiple handsets, yet Android looks set to solve thatproblem. As soon as it's crammed into a prettier handset withmainstream appeal and usability, marketing on the mobile shouldbecome a tangible reality. Treat it with respect, kids.Featured in Contagious 17.

Nike / PhotoiD /

When every trendy Tom, Dick and Harry is sporting a swish set ofswooshed sneakers, how can a player stay ahead of the game?NikeiD is good starting point, allowing you to custom pick your ownfresh colour schemes and materials. But if you're lacking inspirationAKQA London have a genius idea that could help. The NIKEPHOTOiD application picks out the two main colours from any phototaken on a cameraphone. You then send the picture via MMS to ashortcode, et voila! The colours are transferred to a pair of Dunkswhich can be further customised online. Daniel Bonner, ECD atAKQA, explains: 'We saw an opportunity that allowed consumers todraw on their environment as a source of inspiration rather than havingto start from a blank canvas, and closed the gap between promotionof the product and audience action.' Featured in Contagious 16.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / mobile (cont.) p.32

Guinness / Passport to Greatness /

Once the novelty of trying to communicatethrough yelling/hopeless flailing wears off, thelanguage barrier can become a bit of a bugger.Guinness realised this would be an issue for someof the 20,000 overseas fans attending the Rugby

Sevens event it was sponsoring in Hong Kong,and created a talking mobile application that couldspeak Cantonese on behalf of bewildered visitors.As well as useful information in the form of maps,match schedules, emergency numbers andstadium information, the app delivers lines like'Where's the nearest ATM?' and 'take me to a barfull of Guinness and good-looking girls'. Createdby OgilvyOne Worldwide's Hong Kong office,Passport to Greatness was downloaded by5.51% (1,103) of the target group. Tim Cairns,group account director at OgilvyOne Worldwide,comments: 'The plan is to expand next year andinclude hotels - the key is helping people getwhere they want to and drive them towardsGuinness outlets'. Instead of just slapping a logoon an event like oh so many brands sinfully do,Guinness has made a real effort to improve thesporting experience. (See the technology sectionfor Guinness' brilliant activation of rugby inIreland). Featured in Contagious 15.

Johnnie Walker / Digital PA /

This Nokia-compatible app is a textbook exampleof the level of incredible mobile innovationhappening in Asia capitalising on the drink's CRMdatabase. Jennie is a friendly digital personalassistant that updates Johnnie Walker drinkers onVIP events, tell them the best parties to go to andwill even order them a cab home - completely inline with the brand's responsible drinkingmessage. The mobile application launched in

Singapore, where it was reworked for the start ofthe Singapore Grand Prix, and will roll out in otherAsian territories. Mark Seeger, OgilvyOne's headof digital, says: 'Up and-coming 26 to 34 year-oldbusinessmen want to be in the know when itcomes to VIP events and nightclubs and the onlycommunications channel they have with them allthe time is their mobile phone.'Featured in Contagious 14.

Nokia / lifeviNe/

Geotagging to the max! Developed by R/GA,lifeviNe uses the GPS technology on NokiaNseries phones to plot every step you take aroundtown, the photos you snap, the music you listen toand the videos you shoot. This ends up online as alittle path/vine laid over a colourful map, thuscreating an illustrated journey for you to keep andtreasure. Little leaves sprout off the vine to denotethe media of the moment; say Sonic Youth on thebus down Oxford Street, or a quick snap of thecharity muggers on Carnaby Street. There is also awidget for embedding on your Facebook or blog.Featured in Contagious 17.

Fanta / Stealth Sound System /

Fanta demonstrates just how in touch it is with itstarget audience with the unveiling of two fun newmobile applications aimed squarely at teens. TheStealth Sound System, courtesy of Ogilvy

London, is based on the same technology as themosquito teen repellent device that uses highpitch frequencies to keep bored yoofs away frompublic hangouts. Adults cannot hear the irritatingwhine, and can look smugly down their noses atthe teens writhing on the floor in agony. But Ogilvyhas rather rebelliously flipped the tables andturned this technology against those mean old

pensioners, using it to send secret messages likewolf whistles and warnings. Subversive genius.We love. We're also excited about The

Hyperfactory's 3D Fanta augmented realitytennis game that can be played using twohandsets and Bluetooth.

Obama / iPhone App /

This handy iPhone app was just a small part of awhopping digital blitz from the Obama camp.Connecting users right to the heart of campaign, itgave them handy tools for spreading awarenessamongst friends and families, such as an editablecontact list that users could prioritise by whothey've called/state they live in, news updates,local events media and a load more handy politicalammo. •

links / http://code.google.com/androidhttp://nikeid.nike.com/nikeidwww.guinness.comwww.our-work.com/jw/digitalpawww.nseries.com/nseries/nokiavinewww.fanta.comhttp://my.barackobama.com/page/content/iphone

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

FANTA / STEALTH SOUND SYSTEM /

most contagious / 2008 / p.33

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

Beijing Olympics 2008 / Opening Ceremony /

The Beijing Olympic Games, it is fair to say, weresomething of a controversial affair. Prior to the start ofthe games on 8 August (eight being a lucky number inChinese culture), the committee in charge were taskedwith coming up with something spectacular enough todispel public criticism over China's foreign and internalpolicy. And they almost pulled it off…

Held in the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium, the showfeatured thousands of percussionists, costumeddancers and musical performers as the story of Chinaand the Olympic flame were played out in a spectaculardisplay of coordination and opulence. Performers usedoars, boxes, scrolls and giant floating spheres toconstruct intricate patterns and spell out messages.Dancers on high wires performed an epic 'spacewalk',martial arts experts moved in perfect tandem, andmillions of tiny lights formed the Olympic rings andmimicked the movement of the waves on China'scoastline. 91,000 people were in the stadium, but morethan four billion tuned in worldwide - 15% of the world’spopulation.

Despite some later controversy concerning a part ofthe show which had been pre-recorded (huge fireworkfootprints which stormed across Beijing, no less), whenthe eyes of the world finally fell to China, it did notdisappoint.

Reports that the London 2012 Olympics openingceremony will feature Boris Johnsonmorris dancing onthe top of a double decker bus have, we hope, beengreatly exaggerated. See Contagious 16.

13 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /GREAT OUTDOORS /

most contagious / 2008 / great outdoors (cont.) p.34

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

IKEA / 3D Cover /

After the Bible and Harry Potter, the IKEAcatalogue is the third most printed publication inthe world, apparently. But how to keep it visible inpeople's homes throughout the year? With thehelp of Jung von Matt, Hamburg, the front cover ofthe German edition became an ambient medium.The familiar living room catalogue cover wasrecreated down to the tiniest detail becoming a 3Dinstallation in shopping centres throughout 24cities in Germany. Shoppers could bephotographed and then pop over to IKEA to pickup their own personalised version of thecatalogue, starring themselves on the front cover.The redemption rate was a whopping 56%.See Contagious 15.

howies /

Despite being a small company with relativelyminimal marketing budgets, UK active clothingbrand howies has extended its sustainablephilosophies from its base on the west coast ofWales to its recently opened Carnaby Street storein London and Bristol-based outlet using fittingsmade from recycled and sustainably sourcedmaterials. A key focus of the store is a wall called'The Power of Ten', on which staff display personalrecommendations of their favourite non-howiesproducts, such as fairtrade organic coffee orenergy-efficient bike lights, around a regularlychanging theme. There is also a drinking water tapinstalled in the store, from which customers can fillup their own water bottles. Featured in Contagious 15 and 17.

HOWIES /

IKEA /

HOWIES / HOWIES /

UNIQLO / Heat Tech /

In November a number of silver jumpsuit-cladUNIQLO reps were let loose in New York's TimeSquare, and on London's Oxford Street, equippedwith portable thermograph scanners to celebratethe launch of UNIQLO's Heat Tech fabric.Performing on-the-spot body heat scans, anyonedeemed to be suffering from a bout of winter chillwas entitled to a free heat tech garment from agiant 'human vending machine' containing actualmime artists.

Pop Up Shops /

Pop up shops have been all the rage again in 2008with efforts appearing from brands as diverse asMonocle magazine to charity Barnardo's, viaGAP's concept store. Favourite efforts includeReebok Flash which brought 80s glam to NewYork, thanks to creative agency Formavision.Eco-friendly cleaning brand method's pop upstore in various US cities also created joy amongstshoppers and those attending the organic cocktailand eco craft parties that the store hosted in theevenings.

The Killers at MTV /

The Killers' performance of Human at the MTV

Europe Music Awards in Liverpool was the moststunning piece of set design we've seen, well,ever, taking staging and lighting to new levels.Produced in-house at MTV.

Ones to Watch /

Prada's latest collaboration with architect Rem

Koolhaas and AMO / Office for Metropolitan

Architecture is Transformer. The tetrahedronstructure will be unveiled in 2009 in South Koreaand will provide a space to host Prada's cultural,artistic and fashion events.

Westfield, London's mammoth 43 acre shoppingcentre, has been defying the economic downturn:half a million visitors marched through the doorswithin four days of the November opening.

And, as if you needed another reason to stroll thestreets of Tokyo, Dutch architects UNStudio haveunveiled designs for a Louis Vuitton flagship storewhich will be ready for 2010. •

links / www.ikea.comwww.howies.co.ukwww.uniqlo.co.ukwww.formavision.infohttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=U58HAK0KUGgwww.prada.comhttp://uk.westfield.com/londonwww.unstudio.com/projects/name/L/1/343

most contagious / 2008 / great outdoors (cont.) p.35

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN REEBOK FLASH /

THE KILLERS / MTV /

UNIQLO /

most contagious / 2008 / p.36

14 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /BRANDED DESTINATIONS / ARCHITECTURE

Chanel / Mobile Art /

The trend for luxury brands designing pop-up, transportable spaces,such as Hermes H-Box, manifests itself beautifully in Chanel'sMobile Art container, designed by the omnipresent Zaha Hadid. Themobile event space features exhibitions by 20 contemporary artistsinterpreting Chanel's quilted bag, curated by Fabrice Bousteau,editor-in-chief of Beaux Arts magazine. Visitors are guided throughthe futuristic pavilion by digital handsets playing soundtrackscomposed in collaboration with the artists. Although the nomadicstructure looks like it could have dropped from the stratosphere, it isbeing transported to cities around the world - taking in Hong Kongand Tokyo before its current location, New York. Look out for it in 2009in London, Moscow and Paris. Featured in Contagious 15 and 16.

California Academy of Sciences /

The newly reopened California Academy of Sciences is the only placeon the planet where you can visit an aquarium, planetarium and naturalhistory museum all under one substantial, sustainable, living roof. Thebuilding, designed by architect Renzo Piano, is at the forefront ofenvironmental design. The Academy includes a canopy embeddedwith 60,000 solar cells to generate 5-10% of the building's power. Itwas constructed from vast amounts of recycled material includingsteel and concrete, with denim providing wall installation.

adidas / Beijing Brand Centre /

adidas opened the Beijing Brand Centre - officially its largest retailpremises in the world - in time for the advertising extravaganza thatwas the 2008 Olympic Games. Covering 3170m² over four floors,this behemoth is the first of its kind to unite all of the brand's diffusionlines under one roof - Y-3, adidas Originals et al. A whole host ofinteractive experiences are on offer, allowing visitors to involvethemselves in the science of the products. Amongst these is anintroduction to the new miCoach initiative - a Nike+ rival which acts

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

most contagious / 2008 / architecture (cont.) p.37

as a personal trainer via online and downloadablemobile applications. There is also a juice bar, aspecial Urban exhibition area, a kids' interactivezone and - wait for it - a roof-top basketball court,appealing to fans of one of China’s most popularyouth pastimes. If this still isn't enough, you canfurther personalise your retail experience byhaving a tour from one of the many guides, printingyour own custom T-shirt or even consulting yourown personal sports stylist. Phew!See Contagious 16.

Sony / White Wood /

London-based communications agency Freestate

was charged with the design and production ofSony Europe's 50,000 sq-ft installation at Berlin'sfantastically named Internationale Funkausstellung- the world's largest consumer electronics fair. TheMesse Centre was transformed into a fantasticforest with towering white trees and giganticmirrored walls which created mind-boggling'visual echoes'. Projected silhouettes interactedwith visitors and a high definition sun rose and set.Splashed across 44 metre-long screens, VJ setsby D-Fuse and Hexstatic were woven into visualstories conceived by Fallon, London, for some ofthe 1,000 Sony products on show. White Woodappeared in Contagious 17.

Green Supermarkets /

Amidst pleas from Gordon Brown to cut down onfood waste and consumers taking a closer look atwhat's in their trolleys thanks to the economicdownturn, the competition for the UK's greenestsupermarket is very much on. Sainsbury's took anearly lead at its Dartmouth store which is built fromwood, uses rainwater to flush the toilets andboasts checkouts powered by wind turbines.

Asda hit back with 'low carbon' stores that aim totransform the way people shop, particularly byplacing doors on every single fridge and freezerwhich will help halve emissions and energy use.Tesco's £100m (€127) environment fund will bespent on introducing sustainable technology to itsstores. In the US, Wal-Mart will use wind power tosupply 15% of the electricity for 360 of its Texasstores next year. See Contagious 17.

UNStudio / Star Place /

Premier Dutch architects UNStudio have justcompleted Star Place, a luxury department store inKaohsiung, Taiwan. The façade of the building iscovered with vertical glass fins and lamellas thatact as both a sunscreen and weather barrier, whiledecorating the building with swirling patterns.Inside, escalators spiral up the 10 stories througha giant central atrium, creating a dynamic landmarkfor the city.

O2 / The O2 Dome /

Finally, no look at branded destinations would becomplete without a nod to the reigning champion,the O2 Dome in London. Featured in 2007's MostContagious, in 2008 the venue has hosted the mostdesirable concerts of the year, from Led Zeppelin toColdplay and, at the end of 2007, overtook MadisonSquare Garden as the most popular entertainmentvenue in the world. O2 has just taken over namingrights to the UK's Carling Academies, expanding itspriority ticketing and perks for O2 customers acrossthe UK. O2 customers also benefit from the venue'sexclusive Blueroom, following the VIP trend,offering drinks and a space to relax.An O2 case study featured in Contagious 13. •

links / www.zaha-hadid.comwww.chanel-mobileart.comwww.adidas.comwww.calacademy.orgwww.sony-europe.comhttp://tiny.cc/QlXukhttp://tinyurl.com/5kwnfewww.unstudio.com/news/recent/200812/479www.theo2.co.uk

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

CHANEL / MOBILE ART /

ADIDAS / BEIJING /

most contagious / 2008 / p.38

15 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /BRANDED CONTENT

Seth MacFarlane /

In September, Family Guy creator SethMacFarlane launched his Cavalcade of Cartoon

Comedy, a 50-episode animated web series, withsome high profile partnerships. Google

distributed the series via AdSense, targetingthose websites where 20-30-something FamilyGuy fans were hanging out. For MacFarlane, thedeal offered a high-quality platform for his work aswell as the benefit of a share in any advertisingrevenue that also gets split between Google, thesite that generates the click and Media Rights, thecompany negotiating the deal. Google integratedadvertising in either banner format or brandedadditions, and Burger King was first to jump onboard with a two-minute Super Mario-styleanimation of The King tearing through a cinemascreen being chased by angry tribesman. The fastfood brand extended its 'have it your way' brandpromise , inviting viewers to add their owndialogue and sound to Seth MacFarlane'sanimations and upload them online. This slickly integrated model wouldn’t have provenhalf as effective if the content wasn’t actually reallygood. Can the man MacFarlane do no wrong? Featured in Contagious 17.

Suave / Sprint / In the Motherhood /

Online branded content started to make thetransition onto TV in 2008, most notably In The

Motherhood in the US. The show, which targets'mommy bloggers' (don’t be fooled. There arethousands of them), first launched on MSN in

2006 and has built up such a strong fan-base thatit is now scheduled to appear on ABC in 2009.Unilever shampoo Suave and mobile phoneSprint helped to co-create the show, withMindShare Entertainment. It's clocked up over21 million views since launch. ABC bought up a13-episode run of the show which stars LeahRemini, Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy.The programme also invites the audience tosubmit contributions for its storylines via theshow's community site at inthemotherhood.com.Plots so far have included supermarket tantrumsand holidays from hell... See Contagious 17.

Eurostar / Somers Town /

Eurostar funded the Shane Meadows' filmSomers Town which received a mixed responsefrom critics, despite being adorned at film festivals.The film was produced by Mother and Tomboy

Films on behalf of Eurostar and was mainly setaround St Pancras, the location of the Londonterminus. It picked up the top award at theEdinburgh International Film Festival earlier thisyear. Mother also had success at Edinburgh'sFringe arts festival with Pot Noodle: The Musical

produced by Mother Vision, the production armof the agency. Described as Les Miserables of thefreeze-dried, snack-food world, the musicalstarred Steve and Digger from the current PotNoodle commercials. Featured in Contagious 15and 16.

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

CAVALCADE OF CARTOON COMEDY /

EUROSTAR / SOMERS TOWN /

SUAVE / SPRINT / IN THE MOTHERHOOD /

most contagious / 2008 / branded content (cont.) p.39

Sony Ericsson / Johnny X /

Spurred on by the success of properties like KateModernand Sofia's Diary, online series became morecommonplace as brands experimented with episodiccontent that kept audiences panting for the nextinstalment. Sony Ericsson partnered Dare London onJohnny X, a nine-episode web series distributed globallyto promote the Xperia X1handset. Three episodes of thisreality web thriller were released over three weeks, witheach one demonstrating different elements of the newhandset. Amnesiac Johnny X was desperately trying topiece together his identity, so each time he unravelledanother truth, he updated his handset, enabling him todiscover different aspects of his personality. Dareestimates that Johnny X was viewed over six million timesand has inspired over 3,000 blog posts. Featured in Contagious 17.

Ones to Watch /

In November, Toyota-owned brand Scion funded a webseries, The Fist of Oblivion, featuring martial art puppetsthat look like leaner, meaner, fitter Muppets. Running fornine weeks from December 2008 to January 2009 onScion broadband - Scion's online marketing platform - thestory focuses on the plight of a cop wrongfully imprisonedfor a crime he didn't commit. Now freed, he is trackingdown the guilty parties responsible for his framing with thehelp of his newly-formed Kung Fu gang - the RedDragons. Roman Coppola directed the Kung Fu fest. If itcan play any part at all in helping the brand reverse its 6.4%drop in sales year-on-year, expect other car brands toengage some big-name directors for their brandedcontent ventures in 2009… Much cheaper than buyingthose expensive TV slots. In keeping with the Muppety,kung-fu theme, we would like to do our best Miss Piggy. HI-YAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Other initiatives included New York agency Droga5

and production company Smuggler’s e-mall shoppingchannel, Honeyshed, in December 2007. Placedsomewhere between MTV and QVC, the channel wasbacked by Publicis Groupe and was described byCEO Maurice Lévy as 'our most important creative bettoday'. Despite a high-profile launch, actual userstatistics remain hard to come by.

MSN launched Kirill, an online interactive sci-fi showstarring David Schofield as a desperate outcast tryingto make contact with a journalist to save the world. Towatch the show, produced by Endemol and Pure

Grass Films, viewers needed to download Microsoft'sSilverlight video technology. Kirill is being used todemonstrate this rival to Adobe's Flash, along withother interactive tools like Live Search and socialnetworking site Space. Initial episodes and trailersattracted over 200,000 viewers. The show allows theaudience to engage via 10 three-minute episodes,blogs and secret websites. See Contagious 17. •

links / www.sethcomedy.comwww.inthemotherhood.comwww.somers-town.comwww.potnoodlethemusical.comwww.whoisjohnny-x.comwww.scion.com/broadbandhttp://kirill.uk.msn.com

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

TOYOTA SCION / FIST OF OBLIVION /

SONY ERICSSON / JOHNNY X /

MSN / KIRILL /

most contagious / 2008 / p.40

16 / MOST CONTAGIOUS /GREEN / VIRTUE /

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

Orange / RockCorps /

There were some encouraging examples of brands doing good deedsin 2008 and they can feel fully justified in giving their shiny halos a bigpolish. 'If you give, you get given' was the message behind Orange'scollaboration with independent pro social music production companyRockCorps. Orange RockCorps staged a free gig starring headlinerBusta Rhymes at the Albert Hall for young folks who had donated atleast four hours of their time to volunteering in community projects.Some 60 volunteer projects across the UK saw Orange RockCorpspartner charities such as Crisis, The Prince's Trust and Timebank.The concept was for Orange volunteers to maintain a long-termrelationship with the organisation. Stories of the young volunteers canbe read on the website, and media partners for the event includedChannel 4 - which televised the gig on 26 September - along withradio stations XFM and Choice. The Contagious staffers who tookpart reported some extraordinarily well coordinated CRM, includingpersonal phonecalls and emails.

Patagonia / Footprint Chronicles /

Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia became one of the first majorclothing manufacturers to track and expose the environmental impactof specific garments via a specially created website. The Footprint

Chronicles allows users to track the impact of various Patagoniaproducts, from design to delivery. Patagonia showed first hand thatsustainability is not just about mitigating the impact of business on theplanet; it's about how businesses themselves can continue in the faceof changing environmental and economic circumstances. We hope tosee more transparency in 2009…Featured in Contagious 16.

most contagious / 2008 / virtue (cont.) p.41

CHAPTERS /

02 /TECHNOLOGY

01 /LANDMARKS

03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

10 /INTEGRATED

11 /VIRAL

12 /MOBILE

13 /OUTDOORS

14 /PLACES

15 /CONTENT

16 /GREEN

Google / 10100 /

To celebrate its 10th birthday, Google launchedProject 10100, which promises to commit $10m tothe cause deemed by Google to help the mostpeople. Visitors to a dedicated campaign sitesuggested their own causes and voting begins on27 January, so cast your vote for what you think isthe most deserving cause. Google being Google,the site even includes a facility to remind you tovote, so there's no excuse…See Contagious 17.

American Express / Members Project /

The Members Project, from American Express,invites Amex cardholders to vote for their favouritecharitable initiatives, from feeding malnourishedchildren to helping promote the early diagnosis ofAlzheimers. Some $2.5m is up for grabs, with thetop project being granted $1.5m. See Contagious 17.

Nike / Considered /

A limited run of Nike Considered sneakers wereunveiled by designer Jeff Staple in January. Incollaboration with Nike, Staple sought to producea limited run of shoes which conformed to a strictset of sustainable, eco-friendly rules. Some500,000 pairs of Jordan XX3's went on sale at$230 in January. Nike is now designing all shoes inline with the Considered approach.Featured in Contagious 14.

Pull and Bear /

An honourable mention to Spanish fashion brandPull and Bear, who created an online eco-experience containing tips on how to reducecarbon emissions, each of which was illustrated

with its own mini game. On completing these,visitors could embed different blog kits withmedals accrediting their environmentalachievements. See Contagious 17.

Ones to watch /

Coca-Cola responded to a Facebook-based callfor humanitarian action by dedicating a small partof its distribution operation in Africa to ensure thatcritical medical supplies reach their destination.Nearly 7,500 Facebook users have becomemembers of the campaign which was instigated bysocial affairs innovator, Simon Berry. We reckonnext year might spawn a few more flashes ofinspiration when it comes to big business helpingout communities in a way that's completelyobvious to an outsider but which often fails to enterthe heads of those working inside an organisation. •

links / http://orangerockcorps.co.ukwww.patagonia.comwww.project10tothe100.comwww.membersproject.comwww.stapledesign.comwww.pullandbear.comwww.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18947780476

PULL AND BEAR /

NIKE / CONSIDERED /

most contagious / 2008 / p.42

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CHAPTERS /

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03 /GAMING

04 /ENTERTAIN

05 /MUSIC

06 /DESIGN

07 /SOCIAL MEDIA

08 /WEBSITES

09 /APPLICATIONS

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