Roger Federer Viral

Got to love this. Gilette pays Federer the big bucks and he delivers with a crazy William Tell style viral video. This reminds me that I need to shave. I use a Schick btw and maybe that's been my problem.

Starbucks cranking it up a notch

We've seen the original expensive cup of coffee take on Folger's and Maxwell house in the instant market. Now we are seeing Starbucks return to what it did best to begin with- seeking out those of us that like to pay a little bit more. This time it's packing premium coffees from exotic locals

The coffees will be released in limited runs to 12 cities starting in September. Those of us in Washington, D.C. will be lucky enough to be included. We've seen one off runs with sneakers that do incredibly well, I'm willing to bet this does well too. 

However, you won't see me drinking one even if the prices weren't higher. What is an exotic local in these days of globalization? I'm hearing the first batch comes from the Galapagos. When I was in fifth grade we saw a video about the Galapagos and how precious the place is. Of all the places for my friendly corner multinational to brag about sourcing from, the Galapagos isn't scratching that itch. 

via Washington Business Journal 

How did I sleep on this???

Yeah we all know that Geico puts out some really funny creative. So much so that it's kind of not even worth bringing up. This ad, however, had me laughing out loud. It's not even that new. I guess I need to focus my television watching game.

Asics is grabbing my attention

I'm not sure if I'm the only one that is paying attention to new Asics colorways for women these days. Granted I'm a little more into sneakers than the next guy but I don't think that is what it's really about. The Japanese sneaker manufacturer has enlisted the designs of a designer named Ronnie Fieg. Ronnie Fieg has the arduous task of developing new colorways for the Asics Gel Lyte III. It's a tough job but he seems up to the task. You can scope his website at RonnieFieg.

So why is it that I'm even talking about all this? This is why

This photo is just the beginning of the shoot. Asics keeps doing awesome photo shoots for new colorways with really pretty girls acting all casual. Trust me, there is something about girls chilling in some workout gear and nice kicks that does it for a large segment of the young male population. Bear in mind the shoots don't cross any lines of decency.

As soon Asics does this, several things happen in rapid succession.
-Sneaker blogs like KicksonFire post the pics up.
-The young males that check these blogs are sure to pay attention to this post.
-Most readers are thinking, "Damn, maybe my girl would look good in a fresh pair Asics."
-Credit card numbers are entered and shipping options selected.
- Just as a special treat, Asics drops a video documenting the photo shoot itself a few days later and we all watch that too.

This isn't rocket science folks. This is just nice sneakers doing what nice sneakers do.

Thanks to KicksonFire for bringing these to my inbox on the regular.

Nice Packaging Never Hurt

This is not really what we think of when we think packaging or point of sale but it is clever packaging. South African airline Kulula has gone all out with inspired designs on one its planes. Flying 101 was created internally by the company in order to demystify airplane travel. After all airplanes are made with science and not with magic as magnets are made.

Peroni's "Timeless" Look

While other lager brands were busy trying to find ways to create impressions at the World Cup or develop a new gimmick flavor for football season, Peroni was taking the high road. The company enlisted Gabriele Muccino to make this 5 minute video about love and product placement. The short is set in Rome and really succeeds in creating a timeless feel and not beating you over the head with the Peroni brand.

Bitchin' in the Kitchen

Hell Pizza out of New Zealand dropped an absolutely next level interactive viral video featuring a hero pizza delivery guy performing his duties in a wasteland full of zombies. I'm not a huge fan of zombie movies but we all know many people who are. It's really fun to watch and, like Tom Hank's role in the Castaway, demonstrates a commitment to customer service despite extreme circumstances. It takes a minute to watch but it's also a lot of fun.

You can get started with this embed.