vinyarb- you just have to read it

Update: I just had a pleasant chat with Jeff Cheong, Chief Digital Officer at Tribal DDB, who confirmed that the site was designed and conceived by them as a fun, side project. It was not done for any client, and its sole purpose is to appreciate Singapore for what we like about it. For as much as we like to complain and whine, i'm sure there are aspects that we like about our country too.
So, please, LIKE away!

There's a new site in town at http://welike.sg. At first glance, it looks like the project of some patriotic guys, what with the red background and the name of the domain, in addition to the purpose of the site, which is to encourage Singaporeans to post what they like about Singapore.

But, is it really that simple? With National Day looming, some are inclined to think its a gahmen initiative to stir up some of that lovin spirit for the nation. A quick check on the "Questions" link pulls up the following:

So, they say they aren't advertising anything, yet the site was created by an advertising agency! So I wonder if there's a little wordplay going on here. They're not advertising anything, but perhaps they're promoting a cause?

In any case, let's take their word for it that they aren't advertising anything. What then?

Is this their foray into the social media experimentation of the uses of the facebook like feature? Like how DavidonDemand and DatingBryan were also agency experiments on the social media scene?

Well, if its not a gahmen initiative, they should allow and post the following "likes" for fun right?

• We like taking pictures of orchard road flood
• We like NOT RETIRING
• We like ordering french cuisine in mandarin cos the foreign talent cannot understand english

What else do we like?

Dr Pepper, as a cola brand under the Coca Cola company, has always tried to be seen as being edgy and hip, but their latest social media campaign has run aground after crossing a rather thick line of embarrassment. Ironically, their latest tagline was "what's the worst that could happen?", and it wasn't long before they found out.

Lean Mean Fighting Machine, the agency that won the Dr Pepper account in April, launched a facebook campaign that hijacked users' status updates in exchange for a chance to win $1,000. The idea was to post fun but embarrassing updates so everyone can have a laugh. But the only sounds they're hearing now are nervous laughter, and the very distinct sound of the cash register yanked off their chains.

Some of the lines appearing on facebook statuses read:

"Lost my special blankie. How will I go sleepies?"

"what's wrong with peeing in the shower?"

But the kicker really, was when the line below appeared in a 14 year old girl's status:

"I watched 2 girls one cup and felt hungry afterwards."

I know! Its funny, but her mother thought her daughter was into coprophagia, and promptly barred her toilet trips. But seriously, she wrote in to complain, and here we have Dr Pepper getting some unwanted attention.

Coca Cola has since apologised and launched an investigation into digital campaign procedures. Executives claimed to have approved the lot of randomly generated statuses without realising its true meaning. And the agency is now under review. 5 bucks says Lean Mean Fighting Machine will soon be leaner without their key account.

Creative Agencies are diving into the social media scene, and making a buzz in there.

Their approach is 2-pronged, even including a fail-safe in the event that the campaign, or “exercise” doesn’t work out like they  hoped.


Leo Burnett – David on Demand
An experiential campaign that allows thousands of people to experience the Cannes Lions Festival without actually being there.

Premise:
David Perez, LB recruiter, has always wanted to go to Cannes. He has been granted a ticket, but will have to do an experiment to justify his presence. He will wear a glasscam, which will transmit video real time to a website where viewers can see through the eyes of David, and experience Cannes for themselves.

He will also be on twitter, where he has to follow the directions of his twitter followers. Whether he gets a drink, picks up a hot chick, or simply farts in the lift. His every move will be dictated by his twitter followers.

He now has 4,319 followers. Not bad for an experiment lasting no more than a week.



BBH – Dating Brian
An experimental campaign in crowdsourcing and engagement via twitter.

Premise:
Meet Brian. He's from Wisconsin, has almost no experience dating and just moved to New York City. With more than half of New Yorkers single, the dating scene is just ridiculous.

So Brian is taking the plunge and going on 30 dates in 30 days. But part of the challenge is that he's putting it in the hands of the Internet masses: who he dates, where they go, if he should go for that kiss. Essentially, he needs your help, and he needs it bad.

He first tweeted Jul 1, and as of now, has 399 followers.

Agency Research: If these experiments work, they can easily use this as a case study or for showboating to their clients about their understanding of the media, and how they are best placed for such engagement campaigns the client may have in future. If it doesn’t they can also use it as a learning case to build upon in future.

Agency Awareness: These little exercises will also no doubt place them in the forefront of the minds of creative talents who may be looking for employment, positioning themselves are ready and effective for the digital arena.

Creativity All round: While both faces are not actually creatives, and therefore may not represent the agencies’ creative work, it will be interesting to outsiders, as they may have a perception  that the entire agency abounds with creativity, and that rank and file employees also hold the experimental drive in them.

Should these experimental exercises don't work out well, they were just experiments anyway. And we all know failure is a very crucial part of the journey to success, ain't it?

So, what's your agency doing about the social wave?

This worldcup is strange in that its the first with a string of colourful promises.

First, Maradona promised to streak if Argentina took the WorldCup. Then, Paraguayan model Larissa Riquelme made a similar statement, saying she'll run naked on the streets if Paraguay makes the semis. Even though they didn't, she later said she'll do it anyway cos she just loves the attention.

And in the latest twist (before the final), Dutch pornstar Bobbi Eden said she'll give a blowjob to all her twitter followers if Holland takes the worldcup.

At the time of that tweet (6 Jul), she had 5114 followers.

Today, she has 109,742 followers.

She amassed 104,628 followers.

In 6 days.

She really knows her social media.

I'm thinking she's kinda glad Spain took it!

Always wanted your own pet/slave human? Tired of Farmville already? Why not hop on to David on Demand (twitter handle @DavidonDemand) and demand that he picks his nose right there on the spot!

Yes, from June 21 - 26, http://davidondemand.com will go live with a webcam, and David Perez will do exactly as you command him to, via twitter.

David's a 29 year old recruiter who works for Leo Burnett, and this is probably their experimental foray into human psyche, social media engagement, crowd mind control, or perhaps they just don't really like the guy.

In any case, it'll be fun to see what happens!

Oh, and in exchange for doing this experiment, he gets a ticket to Cannes!

Go to his site, follow him and twitter and let's see if this will turn out fun!