NPD: Puma Phone, Solar MacBook

Puma and Droga5 promise a more playful breed of mobile phone
Puma claims it has created the “first mobile phone dedicated to encouraging an active life outside of the phone.” According to the apparel company, its phone will use the latest 3G cellular technology, but also have a “playful” side, featuring applications like “icon messaging, sarcastic calculator, scratching turntable [and] easy peasy video calls.” Droga5, the agency behind the Puma-phone campaign, says more than 500,000 units have been pre-ordered.

Will Future MacBooks Be Backlit by the Sun?

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is such a tease. First it hints that Apple is working on intelligent power monitoring systems and solar-powered iPhones (and don’t forget the solar iPad rumors), and now a patent explores the possibility of sun-lit MacBook displays. AppleInsider points us to a patent entitled “External Light Illumination of Display Screens”, filed in 2008 but revealed this week. According to the patent, Apple is developing displays that can be backlit by the sun in order to save battery life.

OMG! PSFK NY!

Try and contain your excitement, dear reader, but PSFK New York is back! (On April 9th, 2010).  Its a (quite liderally) unmissable opportunity to listen to over 20 speakers as they share ideas and opinions from the forefront of culture.

Topics range from the arts to entertainment to business to the web. Previous speakers at PSFK events include Shepard Fairey, Seth Godin, Jeff Staple; and key innovators from Apple, BBC, Esty.com, foursquare, the Guardian, MTV, NASA, Nokia, Starbucks and Virgin America.

This year (it says here) the mainstage will host talks by up 20 speakers behind some of the most inspirational projects that have featured recently on PSFK. This years crew include:

Rob Walker [if you haven't read Buying In, you should]

Grant McCracken [everyone's favourite Chief Culture Officer]

Nick Felton [early prophet of personal data and creator of the FELTRON report]

Shantell Martin: [vj and installation artist]

And many more!

Hosted of course by the purple polymath Piers Fawkes.

Tickets available after the jump.

Piers do I get my £5?

Other coverage:

Psfk-nyc (farisyakob.typepad.com)

Icons: Pat Fallon, Ty Montague, Jesus

Happy ‘Pat Fallon Day’ !

In recognition of Pat Fallon’s years of hard work helping to build and cultivate the advertising industry in Minnesota, and in honor of his induction into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Fame, Mayor R.T. Rybak has proclaimed March 25, 2010 to be ‘Pat Fallon Day’ in the city of Minneapolis.

Rosemarie Ryan and Ty Montague Depart JWT to Start Their Own Shop

JWT’s top two North American executives are departing the WPP-owned network to start their own agency. Rosemarie Ryan, JWT’s co-president since 2004, and Ty Montague, its chief creative officer and co-president since 2005, have had both successes and setbacks in their tenure at the shop. They are credited with leading a resurgence of sorts in JWT’s large New York headquarters, which has seen its creative reputation improve and was bolstered by a major influx of Microsoft business beginning in 2008. But the pair also oversaw the virtual shuttering of JWT’s storied Chicago office and the folding of its standalone Detroit operation into WPP’s hybrid “Team Detroit.” In the past year it has also parted ways with key Kellogg’s business and saw its Jet Blue account go into review.

KIT KAT Jesus

That Kit Kat Jesus fake e-mail in full…

JWT Management Changes (online.wsj.com)
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak Proclaims Today ‘Pat Fallon Day’ (eon.businesswire.com)
Crowdsourcery (farisyakob.typepad.com)

Zac Posen and 16W21

16W21: model apartment

The promotion for zac posen’s first residential project 16W21, has manifested itself in a saucy campaign using voyeuristic photographs of cosmopolitan dolls living out the ultimate bachelor lifestyle. ‘the model apartment’ ad series was developed by creative agency imagination, aimed at a narrow audience of creative types. the primary visual of this campaign consists barbie and ken-like model dolls engaging in suggestive activities. while the themes are racy, the use of dolls adds an element of humour and fun seeking to capture the attention of the young creative crowd. zac posen was the interior design advisor of the 16W21 apartment residence which is found in the beaux art ladies mile district of new york.

Posen’s 16W21: A New Kind of Design

Zac Posen’s newest project, the new condo building 16W21, has been gaining quite a bit of buzz. The famous 29-year-old fashion designer and Anna Wintour protégé has been keeping annoyingly mum about the whole thing but snippets of information from others in the know have given us something to report. Posen’s real estate venture was scheduled for its grand opening March 18, but we all know how real estate works (read: always behind schedule). The building is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues on 16 West 21st St. in New York. It is 14 stories divided into nine units, stocked with one garden townhouse, five full-floors, two duplexes, and a triplex penthouse. While the prices on the penthouse are still TBD, the rest of the apartments are set in the $2 to $3 million price range.

Live In Zac Posen’s World

In case one wasn’t enough, Zac Posen’s managed all four. The latter, a building in Chelsea at 16 West 21st Street, is being billed as “The Model Apartment,” including a poster and video campaign in which dolls replace actual models, but appear to live a model-like life (as in perfect).

Dolls, Apocalyptic Rock Used to Sell Zac Posen Condos

One of the most anticipated new building launches this spring is the sliver of glass—yep, the design blends perfectly with its Ladies Mile Historic District neighbors, except that the facade is entirely glass—at 16 West 21st Street. In many ways the building is a throwback to happier times for the real estate industry. It has a name architect and decorator (fashion designer Zac Posen is handling the interiors, though some doubt his commitment), a boutique quality and an expensive marketing campaign that’s not shy about being exclusive.

Zac Posen v Interior Design
The cheeky “Model Apartment” ad campaign for 16 West 21st Street, a residential project and Zac Posen’s first foray into real estate design, has us smirking. The voyeuristic photographs depict dolls living the ultimate bachelor lifestyle–but these aren’t your childhood Barbies.

Absolut Branded Entertainment: Spike Jonze and Jay-Z

Spike Jonze & Absolut’s free web film features robot love, long wait times but no Absolut

Absolut vodka and agency TBWA/Chiat/Day tapped director Spike Jonze to create a branded short — minus the branding — to premiere at Sundance. The film, “I’m Here,” follows an android who falls in love; the brand associations are attached through other marketing efforts around the film. “This is an emotional expression of the brand,” Absolut’s Anna Malmhake says. “None of us could see what a shot of the vodka would have added.” Anna’s right … but isn’t that the point of “branded” entertainment? The trick is to make sure that there is some link … and its not just an unrelated effort.

The Jay-Z Empire State Explored in Full Absolut Vodka Film
TBWA\New York (OMC) enlisted the directing services of noted music photographer Danny Clinch, who delves into the rapper/mogul’s Empire State of mind and gives us a glimpse at his preparation for a September 11 benefit concert, which took place at Madison Square Garden last year and helped kick off the Absolut Concert Series. Nice to see my old friend Colby in the credits!

POS: Mobile, Cameras

The new POS: Mobile
It’s the ad served while you are reading the news in the morning on an e-reader that knows you’re at home and three blocks from a Starbucks. It’s a loyalty program on your phone that, through a hotel-room sensor, sets the lights and thermostat and turns the TV to CNN when you walk in the door. It’s finding a restaurant in a strange city on a Tuesday night, discovering that a store nearby stocks the TV you’re looking for, or that a certain grocery on the way home has the cut of meat you need.  Forget Foursquare or Gowalla: Soon every website and service will be able to tell where you are, opening up the floodgates for location-based marketing and blurring the budget lines for advertisers. “What used to be called point-of-purchase is now called mobile advertising,” said Kip Cassino, VP-research at Borrell Associates. “Mobile can be an extension of a retailer’s storefront.”

In Bid to Sway Sales, Cameras Track Shoppers

There is a growing number stores deploying video cameras, motion detectors and other sensors – some hidden, some overt – but all doing more than merely monitoring aisles for shoppers. Increasingly, whether customers realize it or not, and often they don’t, this technology is being used to study consumers for behavior, shopping and product preferences and other insights that will lead to more marketing opportunities and increase sales, according to the New York Times.

Texans Battle Christian Fundamentalism in Education

Texas Freedom Network
A brave band of Texans battling the religious right’s incursion in to the world of education.

1,000,000 Against the Texas School Board’s Version of History

Join this group to express your concern at the right wing, Christian fundamentalist, conservative bias of the new social studies curriculum approved by the Texas School Board.

Here’s Jon Stewart’s take …

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Don’t Mess With Textbooks
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Revisionist History: Coming Up on Fox News (littlegreenfootballs.com)
Revisionist History: Coming Up on Fox News (trueslant.com)
Texas BOE Throws Thomas Jefferson Down the Memory Hole (littlegreenfootballs.com)
Texas BOE Throws Thomas Jefferson Down the Memory Hole (trueslant.com)

Design: Amy Winehouse and Fred Perry, Vulva Original

Amy Winehouse designs collection for Fred Perry

Fred Perry, the sports label favoured by mods, rude boys and Northern Soul fans, has collaborated on a new collection with soul singer Amy Winehouse. The womenswear collection will be based on Winehouse’s own 1950s-inspired style and will comprise 17 pieces, including polo shirts and skirts. The brand has signed up Winehouse, who designed a capsule collection for fashion label PPQ last year, for four seasons.

Scent Of A Vagina
German company Vivaeros has developed a cologne for men (and probably some women) that smells like vagina! Head of the company Guido Lenssen says they developed the Vulva Original by taking a combination of urine, sweat, and female arousal from women of all ages.

Amy Winehouse to unveil fashion collection (guardian.co.uk)
Amy Winehouse Launches Fred Perry Clothing Line (pastemagazine.com)
Amy Winehouse Partners With Fred Perry for Fashion Collection (shoppingblog.com)
Amy Winehouse Fashion Line in the Works (justjared.buzznet.com)
Amy Winehouse to turn fashion designer with own collection (telegraph.co.uk)

People: Dr. Dan Ivankovich

An inspiring story forwarded to me by my good friend Steve Ivankovich (admittedly about his “little” brother) … Dan Ivankovich was profiled by CBS for their “American Spirit” segment.

“His work takes him to Chicago‘s meanest streets. But at seven feet tall, cruising in his 500-horsepower Dodge and wearing black leather — he knows no fear. He may spend some nights playing the blues with his band, but by day, Dan Ivankovich is all business: a bone doctor with a heart as big as his frame. [Dr Dan Ivankovich] has a policy: treat first, charge later. Doing as many as 800 surgeries per year, half of his patients are uninsured.”

Truly inspiring. Watch the video here.

Social Media: Iceland Friends, BART AR, Absolut Drinkspiration, JetBlue Twitter

Iceland wants to be your friend
Iceland Wants to Be Your Friend is an initiative of the Icelandic Tourist Board, “which means that it’s a very, very, very serious thing indeed. It is loved and cared for by many good people for at Takk Takk, using brains and fancy machines.”

San Francisco’s BART Adds Augmented Reality

San Franciso’s subway system, the BART, is the latest entity to use augmented reality to grab customers’ – or in this case, riders’ – attention with a message. Developed by metaio, the application – called junaio – shows transit data such as station locations and estimated arrival times. Riders point the phone’s camera and find directions to the nearest BART station and a list of estimated arrivals for the next several trains via text or graphics that are overlaid on real objects.

Absolut Drinkspiration

Absolut is launching Drinkspiration, a drink application combining the latest mobile technology with GPS, Twitter, and Facebook. Drinkspiration is an interactive encyclopedia of recipes that helps you find and share personalized drink recommendations based on taste, weather, time of day, bar vibe, sound volume and real-time drink trends. Drinkspiration by Absolut for Android is available for free in the Android Market.

Jetblue Twitter promotion attracts huge crowds
Huge crowds gathered across New York this week after budget airline JetBlue announced via Twitter that it would give away airline tickets at undisclosed locations across the city. Hundreds of tickets were given away within minutes of each location’s being announced, with long lines forming and one taxi driver abandoning his vehicle (and his fare) to claim a free ticket.