Sony Unveils the Worlds Largest Zeotrope

What is a zeotrope?  It is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures….a lot like a flipbook!! lol

The earliest elementary zeotrope was created in China back in 180AD by the inventor Ting Huan.  All though it never become popular until the 1860’s when it was patented by William F. Lincoln.

In 2008 Sony built a 10 meter wide, 10 tonne zeotrope called the BRAVIA-drome to promote the Motionflow 200Hz. (VIDEO)  To create this illusion; first they chose pictures featuring a Brazilian footballer (soccer), they added 3 new frames per second  for a total of 64 images.  The purpose of this is to demonstrate that with increased frame rate, there is an increased smoothness in motion.   Sony’s zeotrope can reach speeds up to 50km/hr.

I think this was a great campaign because it relinquishes History, they broke a  Guinness World Record and the music is pretty kick ass too! lol

History of Advertising Through Playboy

Playboy has unveiled a new site called Playboy Archive.  The site currently consists of 53 back- issues of Playboy dating from January 1954-May 2006.  What intrigues me believe it or not is the advertising!  No Im not lying……of course the gorgeous naked women are a bonus!  Get this….in a issue from ‘56 the only references to cigarettes & booze were cartoon style.  By 1966 in one issue they’re was 27 ads pertaining to cigarettes & booze not counting cartoon or casual photos. 

In a December 1977 issue I counted a staggering 67 cigarette & booze ads over 376 pages…..basically that’s one ad every 6 pages.  When I counted I was adding up blatant ads, not casual pictures with people smoking or drinking.  When I check out an issue from 1982 they’re was 42 ads, in April 1993, 19 ads and by April 2005 only 13 ads pertained to cigarettes & booze.

Other ads that stood out over time were made for Porsche.  In ’78 an ad ran for the Porsche 924 selling for under 11k….Fast forward to ‘01 and we get a sneak peak to the 600 horse power Porsche Carrera GT  with an estimated selling price of 400k!  On page 156-157 of a June ‘83 issue you see the “146 M.P.H Sound System” contest for Kool cigarettes which looks to be a collaboration between Porsche, Blaukpunkt and Sony….I don’t know about you but I haven’t seen a collaboration like that lately??

Other ads of how technology has truly evolved are Radar Detectors, Walkman and Camcorders.

Take a look at the site, you wont be disappointed!

Sony’s Guerilla Marketing at GCS

I enjoyed the unique way Sony unveiled their Mini VIAO at Grand Central Station in Manhattan on January 30th/09. (VIDEO)  We have all seen live manikins…..I’ll never forget the first time I saw one, I must have been around 8 years old and it scared the *&%# out of me!!  

I feel Sony picked a great location since everybody is moving, having the manikins looking very uniform in appearance and the choreography of having the models moving in sink was a nice touch…..anyway check out the video and tell me what you think?

Virtual Incentive World: Conference & Trade Show ‘09 June 4th-Sept. 5th

                                                                                                                                                                            WOW! This is the coolest conference & trade show I’ve ever heard of….

This entire event is online….yes, you read it right; ONLINE!  Enjoy the benefits of a traditional conference & trade show, but in the comfort of your home or office.

Virtual Incentive World is the company hosting this 24/7, 90 day event. (June 4th-Sept. 5th) And allows busy top-level incentive buyers, sales & marketing as well as travel professionals to view the latest & GREATEST; products, services, destinations or even properties; virtually.  Participants are able to ask a variety of companies questions 24hrs/day and expect to receive answers which…… obviously will lead to a more effective buying decision.

The event will kick off at 11:00 (EST) on June 4th, with an introduction by Keynote Speakers; Mike Spellecy & Chris Gaia who both work at Maritz Travel.  The second part of this presentation is sponsored by Best Buy and it’s titled: Why Gift Cards Work Better as Incentives than Cash. 

At around 3pm the focus of the event will focus on Merchandising.  Two of the speakers for this topic are Leo Jakobson, Senior Editor of Incentive Magazine & Frank Harvey, Sales Manager for Sony. The final segment will feature a panel of industry experts who will discuss what can be done to change the public’s perception of incentives and how to properly present these facts to upper management.

This event is sponsored by; Best Buy, Bulova, Sony & USMOTIVATION

PS: Sorry I couldn’t get the images together, believe me I tried!

Sony Bravia Commercials; Balls, Paint, Bunnies & Pyramids.

Yes, Sony sales are falling like domino’s…..but at least they make beautiful commercials!  I love their choice of music and the flow…..  Check out these videos for Sony Bravia.  Balls is one of the BEST commercials I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch, I’ve watched it at least 15 times & have seen it highlighted while watching Ad Persuasion on IFC.  Other ads are Paint, Bunnies & Pyramids.