Author: Delphine Hirasuna

Humor

Co-Branding from Middle Earth

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Co-branded marketing has long been a part of the film business. Tacit endorsements – a star holding a brand label-legible soft drink can or a box of cereal sitting prominently on the kitchen table as the TV family eats breakfast – register subliminally in the viewer’s mind. Better yet, aligning your brand identity with a sexy, daring superhero raises desire. Lately, video shorts and YouTube have brought another type of co-branded marketing to the forefront. The one above is timed to the release of Peter Jackson’s new “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” filmed in New Zealand. It’s a concept that works beautifully, from its tie-in with the title “Unexpected Journey,” to the on-board safety instruction for Hobbit passengers heading to Middle Earth, to its plug for Air New Zealand. The airline is also offering a global sweepstakes. Count the Elvish codes in the original safety video, visit the website to unlock the code, and you’re entered to win a round-trip ticket for two to attend the world premiere in New Zealand, along with other Middle Earth prizes. It all works – and travelers may even pay attention to the safety video rather than take a snooze.

Information Graphics

Election Map Point of View

By Delphine Hirasuna |

If you’re like many of us, the more the cable TV news commentators explain how the electoral map of the United States works, the more confused we become. If viewed purely from the perspective of landmass, the red states (Republican) overpower blue states (Democratic), and the all-powerful “swing” states that supposedly will determine the outcome of the national election aren’t that important or trendsetting (sorry, the truth hurts) except during Presidential election years. So, it is enlightening to view this National Public Radio video produced by Adam Cole, although I’m not sure how listeners can see it on the radio. Never mind. If you haven’t voted yet, do. There are just a few hours left to cast your ballot if you are on the West Coast or Hawaii.

Announcements

@Issue Editor’s Show Opens in Tokyo

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Some of you know that seven years ago I wrote a book called “The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946,” published by Ten Speed Press/Random House. As usual, it was designed by Kit Hinrichs (Kit’s origami flag assemblage below) and photographed by Terry Heffernan. After more than 30 years as a corporate writer, I suddenly found myself propelled in another direction and immersed in a subject that I largely avoided my entire life. Although I had no thought that it would make a good art exhibition, I began receiving requests from museums across the U.S. and the array of objects made from scrap and found materials by people imprisoned in the camps were exhibited in some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. and the International Folk Art Museum of Santa Fe. Today it opens at the University Art Museum (Geidai) in Tokyo to kick off a one-year tour of Japanese cities. If you are in Japan, I hope you’ll take the time to see it. I’ll be back in my San Francisco office next week with more new posts. — Delphine

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Viral Marketing

Experiential Marketing Unlocks 007 in Commuters

By Delphine Hirasuna |

For Coke Zero’s joint promotion of the new James Bond film “Skyfall,” Belgian ad agency Duval Guillaume Modern set up an elaborate stunt in the Antwerp central train station. It began when unsuspecting commuters walked up to a Coke vending machine, which displayed a promotional offer that came with a hitch. They could win two free tickets to a special screening of “Skyfall,” if they could get to the vending machine on Platform Six within 70 seconds.

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