Olympus QR Fail

On the back of this month's Wired UK:

So....I scan the QR code and what I get is a pre-written text message I still have to send to get updates? Seriously? Yes.

Why wouldn't I just text?! OH MY GOODNESS, OLYMPUS!

Sonic Notify

This Sonic Notify thing is pretty interesting. No doubt in the slightest it'll get very messy before it gets good, but it certainly holds a lot of potential.

Basically, "SonicNotify is a platform that enables media to be delivered to a smartphone or tablet based on presence. [Media can be delievered to] a consumer standing in front of a shelf, television, or at a concert. The patent pending technology enables the communication of data in the ultra high-frequency inaudible range between any speaker and microphone." This all means that if you're watching, say, Dexter, and have your phone by you with the app on, you'll get pushed content from Dexter at certain points. This could be a sneak preview of the next episode, or facts, or anything really. 

Or, "With Sonic, we can unlock anything that your iPhone or Android can do, as long as the SonicNotify SDK is built into an app that’s running in the background on your phone,” explained Israel. “For example, some of the stuff we’re doing with Gaga is when she is performing, mid-set, everyone in the arena gets a notification which lets them choose which song she plays for her encore."

It's the product messaging, that I find a bit worrying. Man, that's going to be a mess. And who exactly will choose to accept these messages? I suppose there will be offers, freebies and the like, but after that? Time will tell.

Chocolates with Attitude

Brandhouse, a Danish branding company, has created a box of chocolates, Chocolates with Attitude, in order to communicate brand archetypes.

If it sounds a bit odd, that's because it is, but it's also quite a lot of fun (and nice to look at). Through the Chocolates with Attitude site you can have a look at everything, from process to product. Apparently it's their second, the first being praised for design and packaging, but this one differs in that it contains chocolates made from scratch - differing tastes for each archetype - and a pin-up girl calendar (they probably also could have done a male calendar, but there you go). Everything was done from scratch. The chocolates created, the pin-up girls styled, photographed and styled some more, the packaging designed, and of course, the brand archetype test which I presume you have to take in order to get your yummy chocolates and pin-up girls (I tried taking it to see if I could even see my result, but I had to fill out stuff so I didn't). 

There are 12 different archetypes (from Girl Next Door to Rebel), each with their own pin-up, their own design, and own taste. Very nicely done.

It's certainly one way to get people to take your test and get some press. Mind you, I'm a huge fan of the 50s and pin-up designs, so I was an easy target. Here's a making-of video.

Via Silas