cowsinjackets.com/blog

The Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka recently designed the window display for the Maison Hermés in Tokyo. Its design: reduced. Its look: fascinating. What is it? A video installation which the artist explains like this: “… I intended to express a hidden presence of a person in the movements born naturally in daily life. I created a design where one can perceive someone behind the scarves as if life were being breathed into them. The window is designed with an image of a woman projected onto a monitor. The scarf softly sways in the air in response to the woman’s blow.«

The critics argue that advertising only shows us the pretty bodies and cute faces but whoever understands that working in this industry means giving up most of our spare time to a stressful lifestyle and tight deadlines will not mind us developing ideas that mix business with pleasure. A tremendous Thank You to clients like NIKE. 

My friend Romàn from Buenos Aires just told me about this fascinating multimedia campaign by agency MOTHER. It was created to push awareness for the appetizer drink FERNET 1882. Fernet 1882’s strategy is to appeal to young drinkers through humour and creativity. The marketing department has created art exhibitions to capture people’s attention, as well as a set of commercials involving pop animation, modern music and quirky offbeat humour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ck_Lj-xF8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77ye5j4tUjs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J79ZTyIdIs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3HZvAZr4s 

The ad campaigns aim to appeal to the absurdity of young Córdoba humor; the marketing team filled Córdoba’s main street La Cañada with 1,882 blue metallic dolphin balloons last year, which drew massive attention from the media, tourists and Córdoba inhabitants. 

See the video footage of the ambient media campaign installation and the reactions of the passer-bys here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAdU2ppYSBI&eurl=&feature=player_embedded

Unlike their ancestors, modern drinkers mix fernet with coke (in Spanish ‘coca’). Fernet 1882 paid tribute to famous Argentine actress Isabel ‘Coca’ Sarli on her 74th birthday by creating a great art installation. The agency installed 1882 cut outs of “La Coca” in a park in central Buenos Aires. The slogan: “1882 Fernet with Coca… Sarli”.

Watch the set up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG0Jzp3OrbM

Local observers of the campaign support this marketing strategy. “We Argentines are extremely emotional and passionate people. It has to do with our Italian heritage. So, emotions and humour are the goals of the advertisements. This creates fidelity to the brand.”

Swatch recently launched a further ‘artist’ watch collection in Venice, Italy. The press conference and soirée which took place in Teatro La Fenice turned into a live painting event. “Billy the artist” drew his street-art ornaments - a mix of Keith Haring and ethnographic patterns - all over Piazza San Marco. Further artists who were invited to design the new collection “CreArt by Swatch” were Ted Scapa, Matthew Langille and “Grems”.  For 25 years, Swatch has connected to the art world by cooperating with well-known painters, designers and fashion gurus, such as Keith Haring, Kiki Picasso, Akira Kurosawa oder Vivienne Westwood and has been an influencial player in moving fine arts and culture from niche to mass audiences. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g50xEie0DlE

I just came across this artist installation of two Brazilian plastic artists named Gabriel and Tiago Primo. They have been living in an apartment mounted high on the wall on the outside of the gallery building, located in a run-down quarter of downtown Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Why? To protests against the local living condition. They use mountain climbing equipment to move between bunkbeds, an antique grammaphone and small TV-set on the chest of drawers, a sofabed, a hammock and a table with chair. Everything is securely screwed in place. The 2 brothers want to provoke a reaction from passers-by in a city where people not only live on small space but also on the streets. The hardest part of the demonstration, according to the brothers, is living with the different weather conditions, the sun, the humidity and the rain plus the perpetual noise during the night. The brothers moved into their outdoor apartment on May 23 and will have to hang in there until Aug 22. Find more examples of the Art Gallery A Gentil Carioca, who invites artists to unconventionally use this wall:  http://www.agentilcarioca.com.br/Eventos/parede.html

This art piece reminds me of the wall I saw last year in Turin practically every day when I took the bus from Mappano to downtown Turin. Researching the background of the project, I found out that the Associazione Artissima included the competition Pareti ad Arte [Art Walls] in the contemporary art fair in 2000. Artists from all over the world were invited to realise a work in the open on the external walls of two buildings in Turin, one in the centre and the other in the suburbs. The prize was won by the German artist Marcus Kreiss and by the American artist Nancy Dwyer. On the side wall of a block of flats situated on the corner of Via Desana and Corso Vercelli, Marcus Kreiss’ (http://www.souvenirsfromearth.tv/artists/maske.php?id=36)  painting makes the wall look transparent by showing the interior design and lifestyle of the various flats.  

Months later I discovered this colourful house wall in Turin. It’s a different style but all of the work displayed somehow sums up to the urge of displaying the extraverted mood of our society.

No criticism from my side, as long as artists remain aesthetically correct.

I recently interviewed Martin Richman, a light installation artist who lives and works in London in preparation for my workshop in Cannes. We talked about future scenarios of urban art and lighting design in cities. One of Martin’s outlook stimulated the following brainscript and visualization. It is based on the idea that red lit streets might meet blue ones one day which then create violet light at the junction. Such lighting design could refresh our visual palette and encouraging us to re-see our city in new ways.

During our workshop ‘The Art & Use of Projectionism’ Marco Bevolo and I launched the brandnew manifesto on city culture and urban trends to creatively leverage the public space. We decided to share the document in order to cross-fertilize our vision within the industry. The workshop was attended by more than 100 international creative talents.

manifesto-cowsinjackets.pdf

We created a video to introduce the workshop topic to our participants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkWNya_jERg

For more information, please contact dk@cowsinjackets.com and marco.bevolo@gmail.com

Here are explanations for THE EXTREME GAME:

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.  

LED Micro lights or ‘Throwies’ (see Graffiti Research Lab) are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together.   

Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time. At present, most AR research is concerned with the use of live video imagery which is digitally processed and “augmented” by the addition of computer-generated graphics. Reference: http://www.metaio.de/  

Holographic Projections are based on unique high definition video projection systems allowing spectacular freeform three-dimensional moving images to appear within a live stage setting. Live or virtual stage presenters appear alongside and interact with virtual images, humans or animated.http://www.musion.co.uk/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWQIyV2Grqc   

Mobile tagging (tagging= identify) means reading out a 1D- or 2D-barcode by using a camera in a mobile device. In mobile tagging url are ciphered. After decoding these codes, the user can be directly linked to the corresponding website. Mobile tagging includes the use of multi-dimensional barcodes, especially in the fields of mobile marketing and advertising. Showcases in this context are additional information on products (e. g. the nutrient content on hamburgers), direct downloads (e. g. free ringtones, clips or mobile games) and the direct link to a specific site of a company. Particularly in the field of commercial tagging codes should be branded (= it is possible to integrate a logo in the code).   

An Empathy Space can be defined as a brand space providing a product benefit and at the same time solving a consumer need. The concept is based on an intimate and sympathetic understanding of the audience and presents a good way for marketers to build deeper relationships and consumer loyalty.  The smart clothing and wearable technology concepts are based on a permanent integration of clothing and technology. Clothes can be made ‘smart’ by adding intelligent features such as information technology and by using special fibres which react in unconventional ways. Wearable technology is close to the body and enables technology to be used in situations where it’s normally not possible. For example, the user interface can be a mobile phone which is integrated into a jacket in such a way that no dialing is required and, thereby, handsfree communication is possible during an action activity such as snowboarding. 

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.  

A landmark literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area. In modern usage, a landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the main term used to designate places that might be of interest to tourists due to notable physical features or historical significance. Landmarks in the British English sense are often used for casual navigation, such as giving directions.  

6th sense Marketing goes beyond the 2-D surface of mass media and digital media, to get straight into the real life of people. Its main rationale is a stimulation and / or an amplification of the senses, with the specific focus to enable highly memorable, truly distinctive experiences. Product examples thereof include the creation and use of scented towels by airlines companies, of fragrance kits to personalize interiors by automotive makers or the association of fragrance and visuals in movie theaters, to render the richness of pictures unforgettable.

This aesthetically pretty campaign has recently been developed by TBWA Vienna for the Austrian Tourism Board.

In order to attract the attention of Austrian and German citizens to Austrian holiday spots, a huge postcard rack of 7 meters and oversized postcards were created. The campaign’s slogan ‘Rediscover Austria’ was symbolized on each postcard which represented the different Austrian counties. The postcard racks are touring through Austria and Germany until Mid August 2009.

The postcards in Museumsquartier (Vienna, August 2009).