360 DEGREES Weblog

We’re living in the era of retail-tainment, where we’ve come to expect live music at the Apple Store, mountaineering discussions at REI and product demos at Bed Bath & Beyond. Not surprisingly, well-known talent is stepping into this area because it’s a welcoming and unique environment in which to plug one’s latest project. Marketers, who benefit greatly from the star power, are only too willing to make this all happen. (Sarah McLachlan recently played a live show in a JetBlue terminal; no word on how many fans watched the concert instead of catching their flights.) Now, soul singer Joss Stone is hitting the Nine West flagship store in midtown Manhattan on Sept. 10 for a live performance. She’ll also be at the Macy’s on 34th Street in Herald Square that day to chat with fans and sign copies of her new CD. It’s part of Fashion’s Night Out, an annual charity event in New York, and Stone’s promotion of a co-branded line she designed for Nine West. (She even wrote a song about it!) Stone’s Vintage America collection includes shoes, clothing, jewelry and other accessories. Everyone involved hopes that grooving while you shop will boost the bottom line. You have to admit, it’s catchy.

Thanks to Brandfreak

The latest in the beautiful Louis Vuitton ad campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz features U2 frontman Bono (aka Paul Hewson) and his wife, Ali Hewson. WWD says that this is the first time that Bono has appeared in an ad without his U2 bandmates. It’s also the first time that a label other than Vuitton is getting a fashion credit, the pair are wearing their own clothing line, Edun, a line of ethical fashion. Vuitton parent company LVMH owns a 49 percent stake in the company. In the ad, Ali Hewson carries a new handbag that was a join project between Edun and Vuitton and has a special charm that is the French firm’s first made-in-Africa product. Proceeds from the bag will go to TechnoServe, a nongovernmental organization that fosters enterprise in the developing world; Conservation Cotton Initiative, which supports sustainable farming in Africa.

The ad shows the pair leaving a plane with a South African landscape as a backdrop and carries the tagline “Every journey began in Africa.” They donated their fees to TechnoServe, Conservation Cotton Initiative and Chernobyl Children’s Project International.
Previous ads have featured Mikhail Gorbachev, Keith Richards, John Glenn, Sally Ride, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Pele and Catherine Denueve among others.

You’ve got to love a public relations stunt when it comes with a photo like this. Head & Shoulders has taken out a $1 million insurance policy on Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu’s hair. Polamalu is a second year spokesperson for the brand. With Watkins Syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading insurance agency, Head & Shoulders created the first ever insurance policy to protect the player’s hair for the entire NFL season.

“Head & Shoulders has gone above and beyond this year by insuring my Samoan locks for a cool $1 million. This reinforces that my full and thick hair is unstoppable,” said Troy Polamalu in a press release. He has not cut his hair in over seven years. The hair even has its own website, Troyshair.com where fans of both the player and the hair can win prizes including a Super Bowl XLV VIP package.

Given the amount of time Paris Hilton spends in the spot light, it is no wonder that she is appointed as brand ambassador of a variety of products. However, the beauty doesn’t seem to be taking her role as brand ambassador or promoter seriously, at least when it comes to promoting a certain hair extensions company. This frivolous attitude of hers towards the said company has landed her in one messy (or should we say hairy?) soup. The hotel heiress is reportedly being sued for a whopping $35 million by a hair extensions company, Hairtech International Inc. that is claiming she wore the locks of a competitor in 2008 allegedly violating the contract. The staggering amount demanded by the company in damages is ten times more than what Paris was paid for promoting the brand.

Well who said fashion is all about clothes? Think Bulgari and you will get a Serpenti watch collection, made up Barbie, and stylish bags and briefcases. So Julianne Moore decide to do away with all her clothes while endorsing the brands the new Autumn/Winter 2010 collection with strategically placed handbags of course. And at 49 she decided that going nude is not the most adventurous thing anymore, so she took the help of a few cute lion cubs.

See that beautiful model there, frolicking with a few of her friends? No? Well, your smartphone can. This billboard—and two others like it—is one giant QR code that in this case gives particular significance to augmented reality.

Calvin Klein has occupied that particular billboard space, over a prominent corner on Houston Street, for quite some time. But whereas before it might have looked like this:

Through the end of the day it’s just a bunch of big red and white blocks. Unless, of course, you have a smartphone that can read QR codes (there are plenty of apps for that). Then you’re treated to a steamy 40-second ad.

QR codes have been hugely popular in Japan, but haven’t caught on in the US yet other than as a means to link apps in the Android Market. But Calvin Klein and augmented reality enthusiasts are both hoping the same maxim holds true: sex sells.

The made-to-order muesli mixers of mymuesli recently created the first TV commercial filmed and edited entirely on the iPhone 4.

In the three years since mymuesli started, they’ve expanded to the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and have been joined by similar concepts in other countries, including [Me]&Goji in the US. They’ve also forged smart alliances with established health, fitness and beauty brands, and developed a convenience product: mymuesli2go.

Which brings us back to the iPhone. mymuesli’s founders were so impressed by the phone’s video quality, that they decided to use it to shoot and edit an ad for their new product. Highlighting the convenience aspect of mymuesli2go, the ad features a skydiver eating cereal before jumping out of a plane. (The video below shows both the ad and ‘the making of’.) The commercial aired on German and Austrian television over the weekend.

Whether or not you’re an Apple fanboy, there’s no denying the buzz surrounding their product launches. And latching on to that early fervor can be an inexpensive way for young brands to draw some attention their way.

mymuesli2go, a tv commercial - filmed and edited on an iPhone 4 from Max Wittrock on Vimeo.

One of iOS4’s tentpole features—right up there with multitasking and folders—launches today. It’s called iAd, and it’s coming to hog your screen and your bandwidth. Here’s what one of the first looks like.

This walkthrough of a Nissan Leaf iAd is itself a bit of a plug for Leaf and for iAds, which is fitting! iAds themselves are lurking in your apps, blurring the line between content and advertising. And to be honest, the features are fun and useful—if you’re interested in a car. If not, well, it’ll just sit dormant on your screen like any other banner ad.

Overall, it doesn’t look like the iAd experience is going to be as onerous as you’d think. Product strikes your fancy? You can find out more in an interactive way. And if it doesn’t, well, just keep on ignoring it like you always have.

 This is the world’s largest vuvuzela. While it may look like a fun prop, it’s actually—terrifyingly—fully functional. And if you thought a stadium full of these was annoying, just listen to what gigantor here can do:

The 114-foot-long was erected by Hyundai in Cape Town, and is blown at the start of every World Cup game.

Earlier Shisheido’s Digital Cosmetic Mirror was installed at a Tokyo department store to let women test makeup without actually applying anything to their skin. Following in Shisheido’s augmented reality footsteps is L’Oréal, which will be trying out digital mirrors in the UK this summer.

How it works? Customers snap a digital self-portrait using the mirror’s camera. They can then scan a product’s barcode to see it ‘applied’ to their self-portait, using the system’s touchscreen interface to select different colours or get recommendations for shades or products that match their skin tone or eye colour. Customers will also be a

Besides offering customers a convenient and hygienic way to try new shades and products, the mirror could help prevent buyer’s remorse and therefore reduce (costly) product returns. The system used by L’Oréal was developed by EZface, which has also partnered with Boots and Walmart. As reported by Brand Republic, “L’Oréal will be trialling the kiosks later this month offering products from brands such as Maybelline, ahead of a possible commercial deal.”

Letting customers try before they buy  can be a remarkably potent way of advertising products. And a virtual approach, using augmented reality, seems like a natural fit for the fashion and beauty industries.

Thanks Springwise