‘Mac Versus PC’ Takes Over NY Times

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NY Times got its own version of Apple’s Mac versus PC ads with a takeover multimedia display covering much of its home page. The ads feature comedians John Hodgeman and Justin Long playing out their regular rivalry. In the site takeover, the actors appear in a video banner below a second banner made to look like CCTV monitors. The hard to decipher CCTV feeds are exposed through dialogue as showing customers who are switching from PC to Mac. They show foot traffic going into Apple stores. It comes across as a slight play off of Microsoft’s ads showing customers at retailers such as Best Buy deciding to forego Macs for Windows PCs.

 

Watch it at Creativity-Online.

Nine Digital Trends For 2010

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Writing for iMedia Connection, Nuri Djavit sees coming trends that could have a major impact on how people use digital technology and the web. Djavit sees fundamental changes coming in the next year, and not just from Web 2.0 and what he calls the integration of online identity and social activity. He does see ongoing effects from these trends, for instance the migration from email to Facebook and Twitter, and the mainstreaming of a do-it yourself online attitude. Beyond that, he says 2010 is a pivotal year where advancing tech and an evolving mindsets help bring promises such as mobile commerce and serious open-source development to fruition. He outlines nine trends for marketers to watch.

 

Read more at iMedia Connection.

Favor Shifting To PS3 On Multiplatform Titles, Says Researcher

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Researcher OTX has released data from its GamePlan Insights report showing purchase intent shifting from 360 to PS3 among multiplatform owners, reports Gamastura. The firm surveyed people who intend to buy upcoming multiplatform titles Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed II. It says the two games are the most wanted titles on its purchase intent list. Their data shows 15 percent of those who plan on buying Assassin’s Creed II for PS3 previously owned the 360 version of the game. Only 7 percent admitted to buying the sequel for 360 while owning the original on PS3. OTX called results for Modern Warfare 2 the same. Read more at Gamasutra.

Juvenile Offender Posts Bail With His Wii

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A judge in the UK has ordered a juvenile offender to post bail by turning in his Nintendo Wii, reports Metro UK. The twelve year-old is charged with vandalism after using a rock-filled sock to break windows at his school and attack a student. Prosecutors argued that the boy breached court orders to stay away from the school, prompting the judge to set the unusual bail conditions. Read more at Metro UK.

Study Shows Effectiveness Of Video Ads In Online Games

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Researcher Frank N. Magid Associates says brand awareness increases by five-fold when people are exposed to video ads during online gaming. The firm studied the behavior of 3,000 game players in the US exposed to video ads served by NEOEDGE. It also found a three-fold increase in product awareness through video ads.

NEOEDGE has published the full findings in the white paper, Exploring the Optimal Online Video Advertising Model: Maximizing Online Video Advertising Effectiveness in the Context of PC Casual Games.  Read more in the press release.

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Brand Hopping In The Music Game Genre

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Researcher DFC Intelligence has conducted a study of consumer behavior among players of MTV’s Rock Band and Activision’s Guitar Hero titles. The firm says there are high crossover rates in the most recent releases in the franchises. It found that 45 percent of those who played Guitar Hero 5 also played The Beatles: Rock Band. Reverse crossover from the Rock Band title to Guitar Hero was slightly lower at 34 percent. Findings also showed brand loyalty within the franchises, with about a quarter of people who played the immediately preceding title in each series migrating to the sequels.

DFC found that The Beatles: Rock Band succeeded in attracting more new users to the music genre. Worldwide, 64 percent of those who played the Beatles title had not tried earlier games in either music franchise. For Guitar Hero 5, 46 percent claimed they had not played earlier music games.

DFC’s findings are based on usage data collected from more than 10,000 users on online game community site GamerDNA. Read more in the press release.

Mickey Makeover Messaging Goes Mainstream

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Earlier this week, Variety penned an article about Mickey’s revival as a hero in the upcoming Wii game Epic Mickey. The message has gone mainstream, thanks to an article penned by Brooks Barnes for NY Times. It’s proof that Disney is dead serious about reviving its flagship icon, reconsidering how it relegated a key entertainment property to corporate image status.

NY Times brings more insight into the origins of Epic Mickey, including some of the potential challenges facing Warren Spector and his Wii game. Read more in NY Times.

Not On The Island Of Misfit Toys

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Online advertiser Permuto Discoveries has compiled a visual year-by-year collection of the top-selling Christmas toys dating back to 1960. No word on how the data was gathered, and Permuto admits an initial error pinning Sony PS3 as the most popular toy in 2007 when it was in-fact Nintendo DS. Nonetheless it s a fun walk down memory lane. Pong marks the debut of videogames on Santa’s list, topping wish lists in 1975.

Open Door Policy For Racing Aficionados

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There is a lot at work in the TV spot for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 racer, Forza Motorsport 3. The ad is designed to entice racing simulation aficionados by showing the game’s variety of vehicles, photorealistic visuals, and the in-cockpit experience. To call the spot’s execution subtle is an understatement. It uses haunting music as the only audio, and drawn out frames that amount to ten camera cuts in its 30-second duration. Yet the message is loud and clear. For those who dream of experiencing what it s like to drive the world’s greatest automobiles, and live that dream vicariously through racing simulation video games, this is as good as it gets.

 

Watch it at Creativity-Online.

Another American Pastime

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GameStop is advertising a pre-sales promotion for EA’s “Left 4 Dead 2” where it’s giving away a baseball bat with every pre-order. The campaign is timely, with Major League Baseball wrapping up its season with what’s been an exciting World Series. The TV spot makes clever use of the connection by taking a very fitting sequence from the game and adding classic baseball commentary. This could be more proof that wasting zombies is fast becoming America’s other pastime.

Watch it at YouTube.