Technology+Culture+People // テクノロジーとか、人とか、文化とか。

a nice blend of reverse tilt effect and computer graphics.

»English Article (via: Online Media Daily)

In its success, however, lie the seeds of value destruction for its TV network creators… The report derives the figure of $920 per viewer lost to Hulu by estimating that Hulu runs four ads each hour at a $50 CPM compared to 32 ads during each hour of programming on TV at a $35 CPM. ($1,120-$200 = $920). Hulu has not disclosed actual ad sales or ad rates.

The convergence of TV and web is a dilemma in itself. While the Internet can provide contents at lower cost and higher convenience, the only reason why services such as Hulu can attract users is because of the programs that they provide. If the current business model sustains and therefore revenues from TV commercials continues to decline, with all else held constant, the quality of any given show will diminish due to simply budget cuts. As long as the industry continues to be on board with the current business model, only those who can provide popular shows will survive and the rest will be history. “Survival of the fittest,” I guess.

How do we break this negative spiral? How can we create a win-win situation for both TV and Internet? I think the first step is to carefully analyze the differences of those two media. TV is a public medium, where as the Internet is very private. TV is capable of sending mass messages whereas the Internet is better at sending targeted messages. TV has a time constraint in which one can view a show, whereas the Internet is capable of on-demand streaming. TV shows and commercials generate higher cost and revenue than that of Internet videos.

Perhaps a good strategy is to use the Internet as a place of experimentation, which is commonly seen by amateur creators on YouTube and other video sharing websites. Professional productions should move to the Internet as a forum of experimenting new entertainment. The low-cost-low-risk environment coupled with a great potential of buzz creation makes Internet an ideal “playground” for creators to innovate. After such experimentation, those that seem to work can be broadcasted on air to cause wider awareness to a more general audience. This will not only push the creative limits of existing TV entertainment, but also will contribute in providing a continuous flow of fresh and unseen forms of entertainment, giving viewers a reason not to abandon their TV sets and cable contracts.

A very good example of this is BeeTV, a Japanese mobile-based movie streaming service. By paying a monthly fee of roughly $4, users gain access to a variety of original programs (that are not re-runs or existing programs distributed by external vendors, conglomerates and cable TV stations) on their mobile phone. There are many experimental programs being distributed through this service, and because more Japanese consumers access the Internet through their mobile phones than computers, the number of registered users are in a rapid increase.

Another extremely interesting and unique case of CGM is Nico Nico Douga, a popular Japanese video sharing website. The uniquess of this website comes from the high degree of user involvement. The most distinguishing feature of this website is that any user can anonymously comment on the uploaded videos, and every user can view comments of one another. An example can be seen here. This is one of the popular MAD videos that remixes an anime opening with Ronald McDonald. The letters the flowing from the right to the left are archived user comments (or annotations). The entertainment is not created when the video is uploaded. In fact, that is merely the first step in Nico Nico Douga. User comments constitute a large part of entertainment of each video, and therefore this annotation feature creates a high degree of consumer involvement in creating a constantly-evolving entertainment media.

Although neither of the above have succeeded in providing their successful contents to TV media, they themselves have been successful in creating buzz and revenue from their own experimental contents production.

It’s now time for creators to stop panicking, take a step back, and analyze what can be best done in each of the tools that they have access to in order to create the best value for both the industry and their consumers.

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凄いデータだね。テレビ番組のネット配信がどれだけの脅威かを物語っている気がする。

ただ、Huluのような、第三者団体が行うテレビ番組のネット配信にはジレンマがある。それは、彼らのようなサービスが出現することによってテレビ局の広告収入が減り、そのせいで個々の番組の質が下がり、最終的には放送できる番組の絶対数をも脅かしてしまう事。つまり、結果的には配信できる番組の質とバラエティーが減っちゃうんだよね。これでは共倒れ。意味が無い。

では、どうすればいいのだろう。この点に関しては、日本はアメリカよりも相当進んでいる気がする。日本では既にテレビとネットの相関性というか「位置づけ」が、ビジネスの側面からはっきり捉えられている傾向があると思う。例えばBeeTVとかはその良い例で、携帯動画配信というプラットフォームを使って、比較的少ない予算で実験的な番組を多く配信している。ネット配信だとミランカとかが良い例かも。これらで実験的に制作された作品の中からうまくいったモノを地上波に持っていけば、あたるか外れるか分からない博打のような番組制作をしなくても良くなるし、実験的なベースから新しいテレビ番組が作られていくので、常に視聴者に新しいエンターテイメントを提供できる気がする。

あと、日本のコンテンツ市場の更に秀逸な部分は、ニッチではあるけども、ニコニコ動画のようなかなり濃いユーザーベースを持ったコミュニティーが存在するという所。最近のニコニコは刺激に欠けるし、まだビジネスモデルを模索している状態ではあるけれども、数多くのMADや初音ミクなど、今までに比類の無い形のエンターテイメントを数々のユーザーが一つのムーブメントとして作り上げている。これほどまでにユーザーが自分の欲求を満たす為だけにモノ作りに励むコミュニティーは、絶対に珍しいし、大切にしなければ行けないと思う。

»English Article (via: CREATIVITY)

Two years after Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Factory” was passed over for an Emmy Award, Wieden + Kennedy and Psyop took home the honor for Outstanding Commercial for Coca-Cola’s “Heist” at the 2009 Creative Arts Emmys, announced on Saturday, September 12 in Los Angeles. The winning spot, directed by Psyop’s Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick, features a crew of clever bugs who make off with a sleeping guy’s bottle of Coca-Cola, and debuted at this year’s Super Bowl.

Very elegant yet entertaining, and full of small but creative “surprises.”

This is a new campaign for Vaio Type W. I’m assuming it is a laptop with strength in browsing the internet. I think this is a very well executed campaign in several different ways. First, and foremost, it is built on a very sturdy creative concept work. The overall theme is the “workshop” for social media addicts. I think the above TV Spot plays off that theme very well. Second, they were playful but smart to prepare individual interviews of the characters seen in the TV Spot. This adds much more depth to the TV Spot, and also gives a good reason to use YouTube –its not just a place where they upload the TV Spot for free, but also a place to enrich the TV Spot and user experience. Last but not least, the website for this campaign, http://www.stopwritingonmywall.com/ does a wonderful job in very creatively extending and encompassing the creative concept. Very well executed integrated campaign –I love it!

It’s only so funny and entertaining until reading this article…

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Vaio Type W の新しいキャンペーン。今まで見た中で一番秀逸なインテグレテーテッドキャンペーンだと思う。なんかというか、とても美しく昇華されてるとおもう。まずTVCMだけど、全体のクリエイティブのモチーフである「ワークショップ」が、商品の特性とともにユーモラスに描かれている。次に、YouTubeの使い方も上手で、ただCMをアップロードするだけじゃなくて、CMに出てくるキャラクター一人一人のインタービュークリップをわざわざ撮影して載っけてる。僕はこれを見たとき、CMの世界観がもっと膨らんだような気がして、とても楽しかった。こういうプラスαのもてなし、いいよね。最後に、キャンペーンサイトがとても秀逸。わざと素人っぽい、本当にそういう支援団体みたいなサイトデザイン全体のモチーフを上手に踏襲してて、ほんとうにブレのない、美しいインプレメンテーションだと思った。ビバ！

»English Article (via: AdFreak)

TV Spot created by Young & Rubicam Argentina for a Quilmes. I like this approach of placing characters “in between” the commercial and its viewers. It didn’t take long for me to become drawn into the TV Spot.

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Young & Rubicamが手がけた、QuilmesというアルゼンチンのビールのCM。視聴者とCMの間にキャラクターを置く、面白い手法。すーっと世界観に移入できた気がする。尺は長めだけど、気にならなかったし。

Honda Let It Shine

A new ad for the Honda Insight, Honda’s new hybrid car.

I’ve always thought there is something magical about “lighting,” like in the cinema, theatre, or even when we go star-gazing. The dark takes away the noise, the light makes us focus. When the two come together, we are drawn into what is simply there. I think this collaborative effort between Honda and Vimeo worked very well to create a spectacle that could never be achieved by TVCM alone. Could this be one of the ways in which TV and the internet could go hand-to-hand?

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ホンダインサイトの新しいCM。前からライティングは凄く魔法みたいな効果を持ってると思ってたんだけど、この動画ってなんかそれを上手く表現している気がする。映画館でも、舞台でも、星を見る時も、暗い所に光を放つものがあると、人の心はそこに引き込まれる気がする。このホンダとVimeoの試みも、テレビだけでは表現しえなかったスペクタクルを作り上げてる。テレビとネットが共存する形の一つかもね。

http://adage.com/article?article_id=137010

“The only chapter we’re focused on, is Chapter 1.”

Wow, this years gold medal for the “Most Cheesy Copywork” goes to them.

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生まれ変わったGMのTVCMなんだけど、締めのコピーワークが最高ｗ

「私たちの唯一のフォーカスは、チャプター１です。」

これ、連邦破産法11条の通称「チャプター１１」とかけてるんだけど、ちょっと、ねｗ

http://wiredvision.jp/news/200905/2009051220.html
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/laptophunter/

English Article || 日本語版記事

The graph on the articles depicts a very clear reversal in the perceived value of Apple and Microsoft products after the “Laptop Hunters” TVad was launched. If you don’t know the commercial, take a look on the above videos.

I think the man on the second video says a lot about what Windows users think of Mac users: that they are paying for the “Brand” rather than the functionality. And this campaign very concisely and accurately put together a statement saying “hey, I have a PC and it works just as fine. In fact it is so much cheaper. What now?” I believe that what made this campaign successful, is not just the message, but also the approach. It portrayed the opinions of the “ordinary” people (rather than artists, musicians, designers, or wannabe’s of any of them) and went shopping with them, which made it engaging for the viewers especially for those who were seeking to buy a new laptop.

What I also like about this campaign is that it is not necessarily a “negative” campaign. At least not the kind that you see during election seasons, or the ones that Apple produced (this is the Japanese version, btw). It makes a simple statement without saying anything negative about Macs besides its price. I have high respects for these kinds of mature approach.

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マイクロソフトが最近ロンチした Laptop Hunters のテレビコマーシャルが面白いせいかを挙げている。CMが出る前はマックのブランドの方が一般的に価値が「高い」と評価されていたのに、CMが出た瞬間からウィンドウズとマックのブランド価値が逆転している。

２個目のビデオの男の人の意見が、いろいろと集約してる気がするんだけど、あの人曰く「マックに払うお金はパソコンとしての機能よりもそのブランドにある」らしい。これは多くのウィンドウズユーザーの声を代弁しているような気がする。だからこそ、その意見が出た瞬間に、「ウィンドウズでも良いじゃん！」という反響が、それぞれのブランド価値に顕著に現れたんだと思う。

あとこのCMでもう一つ好きな所は、完全なる「ネガティブキャンペーン」では無い所。アメリカの選挙とか、少し前のマックのCMとは一線を画したメッセージだと思う。マックに関してはその価格以外には触れておらず、どちらかというと「ウィンドウズで何が悪いの？スペックも良いし易いし、お得でしょ？」と堂々としたメッセージを発信してる。この堂々とした感じは、凄く良いと思う。

Ok, lets put aside the discussion of whether this is all staged or not, because that is not important. So, the real question: are these “on-the-spot guerrilla campaigns” actually effective or not? Under the assumption that they are implemented correctly, let’s think of the pros and cons:

Pros: it “involves” the people on the spot, and therefore leaves a very strong impact and perhaps the correct and effective brand message.
Cons: only the people who are on the spot can experience it, and therefore the majority of the people in the world will be absolutely oblivious to the event.

I personally think that just doing the event is not enough. If lucky enough people will post photos and videos on places like YouTube, and people like me with enough time on their hands will write a blog article about it. However, one cannot simply expect that to happen. There has to be a well structured communication that involves several different media that ensures the spread of the message. For example:

Each media has different functions, and therefore needs a different method in delivering the necessary message. One must first be aware of the mission of the campaign (like “spreading a buzz,” causing awareness, improving sales, gain more market share, etc), who to target, and what message to send, and the type of media to send such message. Verison did seem to follow up the guerrilla campaign by the following TVCM, which is funny, but alas not as funny or fascinating as the event itself.

Something about guerrilla campaign and guerrilla theatre really fascinates me. It must be the involvement and the “raw” reactions of the audiences. When things happen on the spot it’s not about “you” and “them.” You become a part of them. That’s what makes it so POWERFUL. I love it.