Welcome to OVER THE HEDGE – your bi-weekly dose of smart and savvy marketing content. Whether sports-related or out of this world, we'll direct your attention to any information, news, videos, and more, from which inspiration can be drawn.
Today's Menu? As we prepare for the all-mighty Super Bowl, Jamaica comes alive, Lego eats up your battery, fat thumbs can browse the net again, Valentine's day compromise is history, and your family feeds on Skittles.
Grab a coffee, sit back, and enjoy the read!
Be aware, all opinions are our own, articles are edited and filtered through our eyes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Jet Blue and the Jamaica Tourist Board teamed up to surprise train commuters in New York.
Two hosts posted themselves at Jamaica station in Queens, and invited passersby to unwind in their themed-booth, giving away 15 plane tickets to Jamaica. One catch: to get them, commuters had to agree to give up their train tickets, and hop in the plane that same day!
Relevant collaboration, relevant location, and relevant messaging: a good example of a well set activation and a nice surprise for some lucky commuters!
To note: this is not the first-time Jet Blue goes down the creativity path. Check out those two previous campaigns in which in-flight crying babies were once turned into reward givers and free flights were offered if passengers could truly "reach across the aisle".
While most social networks are unavailable to children under 13 years of age, Lego takes an unconventional route: building a social platform dedicated to them.
The Lego Life platform is halfway between a game and a social network; the more you post through the app, the more you unlock items to personalize your avatar. Kids can follow some of their favorite Lego characters on a feed, and interact with fellow Lego enthusiasts. They can also answer quizzes and respond to challenges, all in an effort to gain more swag for their “minifigures”.
It claims to be, first and foremost, educational; taking children’s online privacy very seriously. The game advises against sharing any personal information, always recommending to keep one’s identity as secret as possible.
Where’s the catch? Through Lego Life, the brand aims to push its building blocks, encouraging children to play with real toys rather than with digitalized characters.
Interesting to see Lego's take on Digital First.
Fat Thumb Syndrome, you ask? Ever inadvertently click an ad banner on your phone, leading you to indulge in unsolicited consumerism? You’re not alone, and IKEA knows that.
Still building off their Where Life Happens campaign, the furniture giant launches perceptive banners.
Perceptive banners eliminate all frustration that comes with (accidentally) clicking ads on your device. These interactive placeholders will greet you with messages such as “Oh, did you tap that by mistake?”, or “Weren’t you supposed to be reading […]? “. Naturally, they still give you the option to browse their products afterwards.
IKEA ditches the kitchen counter to make yet another part of your life better; this time, even outside of your home. After all, life happens all day long; not just inside.
What would a Nike-fied perceptive banner look like? We already have the perfect tag line...
Are We Running Today?
Valentines’ day is just around the corner. On this day, people of the world will bust out the big guns, hopefully to solidify their stronghold in their significant other’s heart. For some, it’s an opportunity. For others, it just feels like compromise.
To introduce its new Chizza (a.k.a. Chicken Pizza), KFC partners up with Ogilvy to introduce a world without compromise.
Check out their funny new ad short below.
Translation: Because it’s so good not to choose between two things that we love, KFC introduces, the “Chizza”.
On that note... We're off to go hunting for some...
Skittles, the favourite non-chocolate candy among U.S consumers, became an official sponsor of the NFL in 2014. With the Super Bowl 51 happening on Sunday in Houston - Texas, the brand got itself ready.
On the one hand, they just released their Super Bowl ad, part of their "Taste the Rainbow” campaign, in which Katy's boyfriend throws Skittles at her window but isn't getting the success he was hoping for.
On the other hand, Skittles sent Marshawn Lynch on a quick visit to Houston - Scotland. The Super Bowl winner and newly-retired NFL player grew up eating Skittles at all his games from Junior to Pro, became notorious for that, and eventually endorsed the brand.
Thanks to his genuine and hilarious way of behaving, fans are already asking for him to have his own travel show. The two highest rated comments posted on Youtube are these two:
Seems Skittles might just have found the perfect match.
SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS.