You may have heard of Google Goggles and it's a cool idea, but what they have in mind for actual "goggles" is far cooler. Project Glass brings the Google ecosystem from your desktop or mobile device to your glasses. They'll give you real time virtual information on the physical world around you. It's only one step removed from hard wiring digital information directly into your brain.

Cool for sure, but how practical will it be? Do I really need or want that amount of information persistently in view? Probably not. Is it like the re-birth of the Bluetooth ear piece? Perhaps.  

While I'm a fan of the technology and excited to try it out, I'm concerned about the user experience and our abilitiy to focus on images and information millimeters away from our retinas. I can see this being more practical as a windshield display, dangerous though that may be.  

Skepticism aside we should be excited that this technology is being developed, for the spirit of what they are trying to do could be game changing. At it's core the technology is designed to be intuitive and reactive, maybe even predictive. I guess it foreshadows real-time information sharing with context at it's core. 

For more visit Project Glass.

I love cool technology, especially when it solves a problem I have but haven't thought enough about to consider a solution (not that I would have come up with this solution of course). I guess the crux of this is that it provides virtual control of one's environment, even if that environment is in some far away place. Plus it makes the iOS devices even more practical and versatile.

More can be found at Cool Hunting or pledge your support at KickStarter. 

While I'm not a creative per se and may not always see the subtle nuances in creative artwork, sometimes I do. For instance the recent bird man video. It seemed real but my instincts told me it was probably a fake which it turned out to be. This hoax is discussed by the good folks at Industrial Light and Magic; details of their investigation can be found here.

Anyhow, I was reviewing the Lexus iPad App this morning and while it's OK and more of an app for an apps sake, one image stood out as being ridiculous if not comical.

First, it looks obviously photoshopped.

Second, why in the hell would someone park their SUV on a fairway when the course is clearly in play?

Third, would a golfer really be all smiles as he tries to shoot around a $45K Lexus left on the golf course.

Perhaps it's not a big deal and the Art Director wanted to show the RX 450 in a branded lifestyle context. Or maybe not, maybe they're trying to say that Lexus owners can do whatever the hell they want. "Golf carts? Who needs them, my SUV has 4 wheel drive and is designed for all terrain driving."

Or maybe the Art Director was just careless. In any case the illusion of Lexus has been shattered and I won't be buying one. Thank you very much.

Not likely, but it was interesting if not amusing to look back to gaming innovations as they were. I can just imagine the strategy, brain storming and execution planning that went into this concept. I guess it speaks to the demand that surely existed then. There's a few things about this ad that juxtaposes our present day digital / real-time reality. Consider these points closely.

First, gamers had to send a letter for the "no obligation, set-up and rules". Imagine waiting 6-8 weeks to get the information to decide if this game was for you. Today, we are held to an 8 second threshold for website visitors to decide whether they want to stay or go.

Second, "Turn fees are $5, $7 or $9/turn depending on the size of country you choose to play." Expense aside, this surely required sending cash, cheque or money order. That in itself is a major barrier.

Third, "Join tens of thousands nationally who are enjoying the vivid interactive games only made possible in the last few years by recent advances in computer technology." WTF???

Are you amazed that this even worked? How much time and capacity for waiting did people have back then? Maybe the world did get itsef into a big damn rush.

It's great to see a modern day ad pioneer speak about the golden age of advertising and the hit show "Mad Men". That's about it. Take a view and enjoy.

Read more at AdAge.

HOUSE ARREST

SEDUCTION

Fiat in my mind has joined the ranks of Audi, BMW and Hyundai for delivering great advertising. An Odd list of OEMs perhaps but each has done an amazing job of making their brand relevant, changing brand impressions, or maintaining their brand's position. Fiat has really come in like a Lion. Besides the occasional spotting of a vintage Fiat sports car, the Fiat brand was virtually unknown to North Americans. But, recently with the Abarth, Fiat has found it's way into the automotive lexicon and maybe even the consideration set for in-market consumers. 

This Charlie Sheen spot builds on the earlier sexy, chic Seduction ad featuring super model Catrinel Menghia that forced us to see Fiat in a new light. Using Charlie Sheen takes it a step further and re-enforces the positioning as a seriously sexy beast with edge. In many ways it does the heavy lifting for early converts that may want something new and different but don't want to defend their decision, rather simply boast about it. 

This is a great double header series for Infiniti's World's Fastest Hybrid. The feature video lives up to Infiniti's positioning of challenging the status quo. Convention in this case is the assumption that Porsche makes the fastest cars in its class. Infiniti proves this wrong by showing that their performance line-up and M hybrid in particular are class leading and able to take on the biggest names in the industry and beat them.

The behind the scenes video provides a glimpse at the setup and production. 

Did people watch it? 

• 70,000 YouTube views in the first 2 days    
• 100,000 YouTube views in the first 4 days
• Less than a month after it's release, over 150,000 views

The YouTube comments were also very telling. Try to guess who supports Inifniti and who suports Porsche. 

For more visit YouTube. 

<p>Starry Night (interactive animation) from Petros Vrellis on Vimeo.</p>

This visual animation takes the original Van Gogh masterpiece and makes it even more brilliant. The creator of this experience, Petros Vrellis, used the openFrameworks toolkit to animate this painting using the touch of his fingers. 

For More Visit: Devour

Recently I read that brands are the new media companies. At first I had to consider what that meant, but as I pondered the statement it began making a lot of sense. At the heart of this new trend and perhaps the catalyst is social media. The old adage that with great power comes great responsibility also came to mind for if a brand generates a significant social following they must then bear the responsibility of producing content worth consuming. In most cases that means lots of content. Hence we have brands as media companies. 

Case and point for this argument is Pepsi's, or rather Pepsi Co. Films recent adver-epic (I just coined that). At 10 mins the film has time to develop a story line and feature no less than 3 of its brands, namely Pepsi Cola, Lays Potato Chips and Tropicana Orange Juice. It seems that Chinese holidays are too filled with greasy and sugary snacks and really, isn't that why we gather together for holidays. 

With over 100 Million views I suppose Pepsi has a winner with this one. Wait a second, 100 Million views in just a few weeks? Oh my. 

PS3 and the Twisted Metal franchise have launched an exciting if not disturbing game teaser. Gun happy gamers can logon to shoot an M-60 at an ice cream truck. What could be better to link virtual and reality and get the trigger finger happy? 

Here's more: Shoot My Truck