This seriously satisfies the inner geek as it is a view from Google of their Container Data Centre which is just amazing. You get the feeling that the server farm is going to have to be pretty big but the intricacies that have had to go into designing the way the centre works, is cooled, is powered, etc is simply mind blowing.
So next you put a search into Google and it takes longer than 0.2secs you’ll have an appreciation of why the ‘internet’ might be a bit slow today…
Spotted this the other week and just thought it was a great piece of work. It’s not absolutely clear on why it was done within the film but it was created by Conscious Minds on behalf of Levis as they try to come back as brand we all consider ‘cool’ using various social and digital efforts.
All that aside, it’s just a seriously clever piece and credit to the editor(s) for having the patience to stitch it all together…
As usual Aleksandr Orlov is extremely endearing as a character and complains about everyone getting Meerkats confused with Markets (note: I must say I blame him for that as before his advertising campaign started I have never confused the two…)
Regardless, it’s the usual slick execution and has become more polished as the time has gone by. I think this is nice as the client is clearly seeing the results and therefore investing more but the traditional style of the Meerkat videos was to me much more compelling and ‘believable’ (if I can use that word about a stuffed puppet) than the beautifully recreated sets we see in the ad’s now.
Check out the latest video:
…and now check out an original video:
But my opinion to one side how has the interest in the whole Compare the Meerkat / Market campaign been performing from a social perspective?
Is it still in our favour? Are we still talking/blogging/tweeting/etc about it? Or has is become just part of the ‘funky’ (sometimes irritating) insurance sector advertising campaigns?
I checked it out on Social Radar and here’s what I found:
So from the above trend chart we can see a huge embrace of the Aleksandr Orlov character and his stories starting back in July 2009 and since then a slow decline in the number of mentions that either he or Compare the Meerkat and indeed Compare the Market are getting across the social sphere. The query used was pretty basic I admit so I’ve probably missed a few posts and Tweets here and there but the trend still remains representative I would suggest.
However, from a shakey beginning (where pretty everybody misunderstood WTF the ad was about and for that simple reason hated) the sentiment towards the campaign has grown over time and maintains a positive feeling towards it. However with declining volumes of conversations I wonder if the latest ad will hit the mark.
Well I suppose in one way it matters not really as it’s the final installment of Aleksandr, Sergei and all the Muskats…for now at least…
Just what I have been looking for ever since I saw Socianomics last year – a UK view versus a global view.
Clients look out, I now have the video I have been searching for so it’ll be coming to our next meeting!
Ok, quite a taboo topic but there’s a good point to be made here.
With Facebook as we know you can view Profiles, Pages, etc quite easily by clicking and going to them. Straight forward.
However, to get the new content streamed live into your news feed which you can access on your PDA, etc you have to become a Friend or Fan.
So here’s my point…
The Government are jumping up and down because 12,000 people have signed up to this, let’s call it, ‘tribute page’ for Raoul Mout saying that they are disgusted with the support he is getting.
Let’s look at this from traditional point of view. When Fred West tortured all those girls and boys and hid them in horrific places did the Government step in and say that everyone who bought the Sun, News of the World, etc on the following weeks were disgusting people and should know better as West was simply a murderer, no.
Now, sure there are a few people who are posting comments that are not quite cricket but in the main there are more Fans/Friends of the Page (not Raoul Moat) than there are contributors.
My guess would be that a number of people are signing up to this page to get the latest (albeit a little tasteless) news from the page to watch what is happening. Sad but true however Red Tops have been selling tasteless trash for years and nobody ever really questions it.
I could be wrong and all 12,000 could be sick individuals we should hunt down and lock-up however I do get the feeling the Government once again is not quite understanding the channel properly and how it is consumed.
Take Nestle as an example, when people were signing up left, right and centre the other month they were not signing up because they ‘loved’ Nestle and wanted to be Friends and Fans in the truest sense of the words, they were signing up to watch the action unfold as and Nestle argued online. Thus demonstrating my point.
Just because you have a received a ‘Friend’ or ‘Fan’ as Facebook call them don’t be fooled into thinking they are 100% tha because the aforementioned categories are merely naming conventions not indications of intent!
And David Cameron, you’re right it is sick that a few people post pointless crap online but don’t tar everyone with the same brush just because the rest of us are morbidly interested in these idiots…
Hey your campaign team did it all this year and look where that got you!
