New Zealand born conceptual artist Paul Snowden has remixed one of his most iconic t-shirts, MINIMAL MY ASS, as a special edition for TBWA Berlin. The limited edition shirt comments on the ongoing discussion within the communication industry about how to integrate digital in the behavior of a brand. It does so by expressing a simple fact: there is no analog or digital world. There is only one world in which brands interact with their audience, so brands should behave coherently in everything they do. They must simply respect the way consumers digest media today. DIGITAL MY ASS.

For any comments or suggestions, send an email to Ulrich Proeschel.

Here are two great eye opening talks about the impact that the blur of online games and real life could have.

Carnegie Mellon’s Jesse Schell gave a fantastic presentation about the future of pervasive games: how Facebook and interactive change the rules and psychology of games and how these lessons will change our reality. the talk moves into a half-creepy and half-inspiring vision for the embodied internet, the network of things and the culture of games (btw. Our Future will be a Real Life RPG).

To see the deck, click here.

Jane McGonigal talks about how Gaming can make a better world and asks: Why doesn’t the real world work more like an online game? Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how – by the the the 4 superpowers of online-gamers: urgent optimism, social fabric, blissful productivity and epic meaning

“Instead of providing gamers with better and more immersive alternatives to reality, I want all of us to be become responsible for providing the world with a better and more immersive reality.” (Jane McGonigal)

If you have any comments or suggestions please email  Michael Zorn (Head of Digital Arts at TBWA\Berlin).

TBWA\Chiat\Day LA’s client Nissan, will be among the first companies and sole automaker to use Apple’s iAd mobile advertising network. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iAd, which is supported on Apple’s newly introduced iOS 4 software platform at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Nissan’s mobile ad campaign will feature the Nissan LEAF and incorporate a sweepstakes through which consumers can register to win a Nissan LEAF. The LEAF is the first affordable, mass market, 100% electric, zero-emission vehicle to hit the market.

You can view the demo below:

For question and further information simply email Carisa Bianchi.

Today Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of facebook, shared his thoughts on the future of the communication industry with the delegates at the Cannes Lions Festival 2010. Commenting on the changes going on in the advertising industry he made clear that “advertising has changed. It is not about broadcasting but about engaging”.

Regarding his own company he shared some value that help him managing the facebook brand, that help him take the right decisions and that ensure that great people want to work for him: Openness, connectivity, new products are only measured against quality, not a timeline and putting the audience at the center of everything facebook does.

Join the conversation and listen to Mark on canneslions.com.

Earlier this year Nicolas Bordas shared on his personal blog a viral film supporting the French non-profit HIV/AIDS advocacy group, AIDES, this film has already become a hit on the web before its official release – until today over 2 million views.  Check it out yourself.

In 2010 Pepsi decided not to run an ad during the Super Bowl. For over 23 years they had taken the conventional approach of putting their can into a superstar’s hand and hoping that others would follow.

But as a brand that believes every generation can refresh the world, they wanted to change something. The decision was radical. No Super Bowl ad, but 20 million US dollars to fund projects that would make the world a fresher place. People where invited to submit their projects, and the whole world could vote. The budget for a one day event now funds a full year of causes. 1000 submissions are accepted every month, but when the Pepsi Refresh Project was launched this figure was achieved after 2 minutes. Since then, over one billion media contacts have been generated during the first twelve weeks of the project – and as the web buzz continues, even more staggering numbers are round the corner. But the numbers are only one side of the coin. More importantly, this campaign is producing value every day. Value for the community, value for the planet and, last but not least, value for Pepsi in the hearts and minds of its audience.

For question and further information simply email Carisa Bianchi.

John Hunt has been interviewed for Lürzer’s Archive latest publication. MAD blog shares parts of the interview with you. The full conversation on “the art of the ideas”, the world’s most awarded campaign ever “The Zimbabewean”, this years amazing examples of Media Arts “Gatorade – Replay” and the Pepsi Refresh Project can be found in the current print edition of Lürzers’s Archive.

L.A.: What, to you, are the most important changes advertising has gone through since you first got into the business?

John Hunt: Philosophically, probably the most important change is that we are losing our arrogance in just telling people what to do. We’re finally realizing we can no longer merely interrupt them and hope repetition will do the rest. We now have to be what they choose to engage in.

L.A.: There is a huge interest in all things digital now – also in advertising, of course. Has this interest, this turn towards digital, come at the expense of other media? Creatively as well as financially? What about print advertising? How do you see the future of print?

John Hunt: I guess it’s only natural that all things digital have moved to the centre of the target. When I see how my children consume media, it’s clearly different to when I was their age. This is a fundamental change as opposed to just “adding another media.” We have to rewire the way we think about communications.

It’s still being baked at the moment, but advertising will never be the same again. I still think, though, you have to have a great idea at the centre of everything you do. And that idea has to be your organizing principle. Media is now really any space or place between the brand and its audience. I don’t think this marks the death of print. It will, however, reset its position in the queue.

(…)

L.A.: What is some recent advertising that has impressed you?

John Hunt: I’m a big fan of the “Replay” work we did for Gatorade, out of L.A. It’s a really smart way of engaging an audience by giving people a second chance. I think the most memorable work, in the end, is usually based on a simple human truth.

Acknowledgments: The work “Replay” for Gatorade has been awarded 2 first Grand Prix awards by the jury of this years Cannes Lions Festival, topping the categories PR and Promo (June 22, 2010).

See what AdAge and Adweek say about this groundbreaking idea.

Rob Schwartz, Chief Creative Officer of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY Los Angeles. shares his thoughts on METAL POTENTIAL on his personal blog. This is what he said about Gatorade Replay:

This isn’t an ad. This is an idea. A big one. It was conceived to be the ultimate product demo. Here’s how it goes. What if you took two rival high school football teams and had them replay a significant game…15 years later. The teams would need to train and get back in shape. And oh yeah, they’d need plenty of Gatorade. Two teams on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border did this. Here’s the trailer, but got to MissionG.com to see more of the story. Also FOX has turned it into a series. You’ll find more info on that here.