You don't get to 500 million downloads, without killing a few pigs

It hit me the other day like a bird hitting a wooden structure... "An app has soft plush toy's".


I could not believe that which had started as a relatively simple smart phone app had produced merchandise ranging from t-shirts to cups to plans for TV show's and a movie !
The app that became a movie... I never thought I would see the day.

Now don't get me wrong, Angry Birds deserves it's massive sprawling success but surely this IS the first app to get achieve such lofty heights? correct me if I'm wrong.


Following on from last weeks piece that mentioned "Angry Birds" I decided to investigate a little further into the absolute phenomenon that the game has become.  


Unfortunately/fortunately this meant helping sow the seeds of what is now a full blown addiction to the game. I know im not the first. Truth be told  I avoided playing the game properly for years. Now every spare second I have is spent launching those tiny winged kamikaze soldiers toward an uncertain fate. The game can no doubt be incredibly frustrating but has that game play x-factor know as " just one more go-ism". I cannot count the amount of times I have said that to myself as the "replay level" icon gets mashed by an impatient finger.


Developed by Finnish developer Rovio mobile and conceptualised from a single undeveloped screenshot of the legless birds, the game that has been purchased over 12 million times in Apples app store alone has branched out from smartphones to other devices such as appearing in Google chrome's app store and Sony's PSP.  


 (Amazing fact: Angry birds is the third most ported game behind Tetris and Pacman! Not bad for a game only 3 years old) 

With expansion packs and sequels such as "seasons" and "Rio" ( a blockbuster movie tie-in no less) Rovio gave fans more hours of catapult based destruction. One such fan being our current Prime minister. Although as with all of Mr Cameron's entertainment choices I am a little suspect that they are his own there is no doubting the mainstream appeal of the game. 


So launch high and true my feathered friends, further success awaits you!
... and chill out a bit..... you made it.

THE BEST & THE WORST

In the spirit of the thousands of "year in review 2011"  lists and various "what's hot and what's not" features that can be found at the moment I decided just to start what will hopefully become a regular post. One in which I highlight some of the best advertising work out there and pour some scorn on some of the campaigns I feel to be lacking something.  
The subjects in comparison may not have been produced in the same year or even found in  the same media genre. This is simply an exercise in highlighting when something excites me and makes the hairs on my arms stand up or something enrages me with its lack of thought process. 
Just to point out, these opinions are merely my own formed through my limited experiences. I'm hardly an expert but I do have a platform to speak from.  Like wise if there are spelling or grammar errors I put that down to the speed and excitement with which I type.


           So without further ado this editions considerations are...

THE BEST!  T-MOBILE'S REAL LIFE ANGRY BIRDS (Saatchi & Saatchi Italy)

                                  

THE BEST BECAUSE? 

Because it looks like it would be so much fun to play!. Imagine the suprise those first few people who tried it got. It took the easily  to comprehend game-play mechanics and applied it to the real world and some real world . As anyone who's played the game ( which is nearly 99% of the world apparently) will tell you, half the fun comes from the sheer destruction that one of our well aimed furious avian friend's can cause. Blow that up to a larger than life scale and you get the above result. Did it promote the game more than the phone? probably
 But is it memorable? you better believe it. The clip made several lists of viral video's greatest hits and is a prime example of guerilla marketing. I guess my only criticism would be aimed at the time it must have taken to set it up and that might have somewhat dampened the element of surprise. The sense of fun and celebration is heightened by the 12-piece brass brand playing a remix of the theme to Angry birds. The Barcelona setting is perfect not just for the camera happy tourist that would have captured the event but also for the fact that the people there seem to be committed to joining in on the fun. Put this campaign in drizzly London and I'm not so sure quite the same effect would have been achieved.  Check out the making of the commercial below. 


                                

 THE WORST! MULLER YOGHURT'S "WUNDERFUL STUFF" (TBWA LONDON)

THE WORST BECAUSE? 

Because In my humble opinion  its lazy...It's lazy to gobble up many childhood memories and throw them onto the screen in the hope that something sticks Rest assured this is what people remember about the advert. They remember seeing muttley and Yogi bear and that's fine but that's what's making the advert memorable? laziness. Reusing older cartoon and stop-motion characters is nothing new ( Specsavers used Postman pat, Drench used Brain's from Thunderbirds) but I fear it's merely exploiting feelings of Nostalgia in consumers and little else. Upon discussing this ad with some of my contemporaries  other's we all agreed that  the advert lacked a point or focus.  It's a mess and it's the worst.