To hype up this season's June 13th premier of the HBO series True Blood, a blood orange carbonated drink inspired by character Bill's favorite synthetic blood nourishment beverage, has been launched via promotional tv spots, print ads, downloadable posters, and online ads.
Tart and slightly sweet, Tru Blood pours like a regular soda but appears stormy and mysterious when poured into a glass.
The Tru Blood beverage features: •Stunning bottle design is exact replica of bottles featured on show: stained in rich red with raised English lettering and matching Japanese Kanji! •14 ounce per bottle • sold in 4 packs and 24 packs.
A matching bottle opener and Party set (which includes opener and glasses) are also available:
Drink Menu: The Fangbanger - Tru Blood, Vodka Death on the Beach - Tru Blood, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple Juice, Vodka Plasmapolitan - Tru Blood, Citron, Cointreau, Fresh Lime Juice
above: Diesel's limited edition Iron Man fragrance
With Iron Man 2 opening May 7th, the glut of marketing tie-ins and giveaways (purported to cost 100$ including media buys) has already begun to hit the market. In addition to the expected special edition video games, comic books, and action figures, there are fragrances, cookies, motor oil, a special edition Audi r8 and even a limited edition 18ct gold LG mobile phone. Not to mention the numerous microsites created by the retailers. And I've got a look at those and more for you.
Diesel's Limited edition Only The Brave Iron Man fragrance.
The fragrance is touted as a fusion of plant and animal kingdoms. It blends leather, styrax and labdanum. Lemon and violet express urban modernity, underscored by the strength and singularity of cedar and amber. This limited edition comes in a single 75ml format. A vigorous tribute to IRONMAN’s visual universe. See more at Diesel's Fragrance factory
•LG has an 18ct gold limited edition (only 20) phone. Consumers have the chance to win one of the LG Iron Man 2 phones, worth about $2,000 by visiting their microsite here.
•Burger King is offering the following Iron Man Toys along with more you can see here.
•7-11 is offering Iron Man Big Gulp Cups, Iron Man Straws, a special Iron Man Invincible Orange Slurpee and even Iron Man Cookies:
•Land O'Frostlunch meats is also offering promotional items plus an online game and downloadable coloring book sheets:
•Sony Music is offering a special AC/DC Collector's edition CD/DVD that comes with extra footage, a hardcover book, a poster and stickers: AC/DC "shoot To Thrill with Iron Man footage:
In Iron Man 2, Oracle is a proud sponsor of Stark Expo, a world-class tradeshow that depends on a cloud computing architecture to ensure that all systems are free from overload. And that’s where you come in: by becoming a Master Cloud Operative, you’ll help keep Stark Expo up and running. Complete your training, test your troubleshooting skills, and get certified in the Oracle Pavilion.
Levi's is betting on the fact that you care what other people think. More specifically, what they 'like'. One of the first brands to utilize the social networking concept of the thumbs up "like" button found on Facebook, they've integrated Facebook's new social plug-ins into their online shopping site.
the press release: The Levi’s® brand today announced at Facebook’s f8 conference the introduction of an innovative new way to shop for jeans online. With the launch, the Levi’s® brand is among the first companies to integrate with Facebook’s new Social Plugins. The Levi’s® brand will provide shoppers with an interactive, customized shopping experience on levi.com (based on consumers’ “Likes”), information about “Top-Liked” products across consumers’ networks, and an easy way to find and share relevant Levi’s® products.
“We’re creating a new social shopping experience that will change the way people shop online and, frankly, make buying jeans more fun. We’re excited to pioneer this new technology and help our loyal fans connect with our brand and share their favorite Levi’s® products with friends.”
Jodi Bricker, Vice President of Digital for Levi’s® Americas said, “We’re creating a new social shopping experience that will change the way people shop online and, frankly, make buying jeans more fun. We’re excited to pioneer this new technology and help our loyal fans connect with our brand and share their favorite Levi’s® products with friends.”
As part of today’s announcement, Facebook introduced a new set of Social Plugins that can be easily integrated into a website to make the user experience more personalized and social. Powered by the Open Graph, these new plugins include a “Like” functionality, Activity Feed, and Recommendation widget that bring friends, social activity and relevant interactions to any site off of Facebook.com.
The Levi’s® brand is integrating the “Like” functionality on its e-commerce site – levi.com. In addition, the Levi’s® brand is building a Friend Store in which consumers who are logged into Facebook can see a list of their friends’ favorite Levi’s® products and seamlessly shop with their friends.
The Levi’s® brand is innovating with social and digital media on its Facebook page, in advertising and on its e-commerce website. Last month the brand leveraged its Levi’s® Facebook Page to amplify their ninth annual Levi’s®/FADER Fort event – a music festival in Austin, Texas. This initiative grew the fan base by 60 percent and garnered more than 780,000 live streams of the event.
Yes, it's for real. My first reaction was "eeeeuuuuwww", then "hmmmmm", followed by "naaaah." But others may claw their way to this new social networking site that capitalizes on the growing trend of older women dating (seducing?) younger men.
The brains behind the concept, Shelli Netko, the founder and president of Cougars & Co. says:
"My main goal in starting Cougars & Co. was to create an environment where women could learn to love the life they live and live the life the love. After all, age is just a number. Recent surveys show 34% of women in their 40s date men who are younger and 17% of women in their 50s do the same. This isn't just a trend, it's a new social norm that both women and men are obviously embracing. Women are gravitating to younger men because they seem to have more of an energetic spirit that matches theirs. Women are taking better care of themselves, as a result, 40 is the new 30; 50 is the new 40. So the age difference becomes a non-issue. You don't have to be a Hollywood star to go out with someone 10 or 15 years your junior, but God Bless Demi Moore for bringing it into the spot light!"
above: the world's most well-known Cougar and Cub; stunning actress Demi Moore and her hottie husband, Ashton Kutcher.
The press release: The dating jungle just became that much wilder with the recently launched social networking company Cougars & Co. The brainchild of Arizona entrepreneur Shelli Netko, Cougars & Co. is a members-only online community where older women and younger men have the opportunity to meet, mix and mingle, shop and travel all in the name of fun. Cougars & Co. getaways are for the cougar or cub in you who needs a little “me” time – think R&R with a little bit of “BAM!”
“The cougar and cub culture is a growing trend that is less concerned with age and focused on reinventing yourself at any age,” Netko said. “While we plan to go nationwide with our charity bachelor auctions, we thought Scottsdale was the perfect place to introduce the Cougars & Co. concept and begin our social network.”
The site, which is now live, is offering an introductory $1 membership to those that join during the first month. After April 30, the monthly membership fee is $9.95.
Members can join the hunt by creating a profile, joining groups, creating their own groups and initiating online connections. For members looking to get out, monthly happy hour events will be held and year-round getaway vacations for cougars and cubs will be organized.
The Charity Bachelor Auction
As part of the company kick-off, Cougars & Co. is holding a charity bachelor auction on Thursday, April 1st in Scottsdale, AZ. Valley cougars will be pleased to see there's much more on the men-u than chips and dip when as many as 10 cubs (including a past contender for The Bachelorette) strut their stuff all in the name of charity. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Women's Wellness Center at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Care.
above: Greg Bilbro, (previously on "The Bachelorette") will be a bachelor in the Cougars & Co. charity auction in Scottsdale
Cougars & Co. also offers clothing you can purchase from their site, such as the two examples below. And they will be adding more merchandise soon!
Interested? Curious? Perversely Fascinated? Buy some merchandise, learn more or Sign up here. note: This is an updated version of the original post. all images and information courtesy of Cougars & Co.
Pringle of Scotland has been around a long time. Since 1815, as a matter of fact. 195 years. A tradition in luxurious cashmere knitwear, they are credited with originating the Argyle pattern as well as the twinset.
above left: creative director Clare Waight Keller. above right: Ryan McGinley, Tilda Swinton and Clare Waight Keller
In 2005, the brand hired their first creative director, Clare Waight Keller, who has since, along with CEO Mary-Adair Macaire, collaborated with some of today's most popular contemporary designers and artists, refreshing the brand and bringing it to the attention of fashionistas everywhere.
This year Pringle of Scotland celebrates 195 years and as part of that celebration, Pringle has paired up with the Serpentine Gallery of London to bring us collaborations with numerous Scottish artists in various mediums, all inspired by iconic Pringle products, patterns and styles.
A new advertising print campaign featuring Tilda Swinton, whose alien looks are a far cry from the preppy models of the past, was shot by iconic art photographer Ryan McGinley. McGinley also shot a 7 minute film for the brand- again starring Tilda Swinton. An animated short by David Shrigley (who also designed T-shirts and a twin set) and special 'modern' takes on twin sets by Julien David and other artists.
Ryan McGinley X Pringle The SS 2010 ad campaign starring Tilda Swinton:
Ryan McGinley's 7 minute film starring Tilda Twinton for Pringle of Scotland.
You can view the film below in its entirety (courtesy of Wallpaper magazine). But be forewarned, It's beautiful footage but it is basically 7 long minutes of Tilda Swinton walking the moors, crawing into and out of a cave and walking into water. Half the time donning one lovely black Pringle dress and the other half, an ivory one.
David Shrigley X Pringle Pringle of Scotland has commissioned artist David Shrigley to create a humorous short animated film about life behind-the-scenes at Pringle to celebrate the brands return to Milan Fashion Week.
The animation (shown below), was shown during Pringle of Scotland's menswear show in Milan on 18th January. The film humorously depicts the making of jumpers and cardigans over the past 195 year history of the Scottish brand.
In 2009, Shrigley also created this tongue-in-cheek 'twin set' Tee for Pringle:
and Pringle's on Bond Street with the Shrigley T-shirt window displays: And he has designed this twinset for the brand:
speaking of twin sets...
Julien David X Pringle X Colette On the occasion of 195 years of Pringle of Scotland, Colette participates in the "twin sets project" and invites Julien David to combine the famous Argyle and his computer keyboard print of Spring / Summer 2010. The letters P (for Pringle), C (for colette) and J (for Julien) will adorn the cashmere of this limited series. Find it with the collection designed by Clare Waight Keller at Colette here.
Other twin sets, such as the one designed by David Shrigley shown earlier in this post and the one shown below by Ryan McGinley, have been and are still being designed by many Scot-related talents.
Ryan McGinley X Pringle above image of Ryan McGinley's Seagull Cardigan courtesy of Style.com via Pringle
Scotsman Waris Ahluwalia, Scot-rockers Franz Ferdinand and Turner Prize winners Richard Wright and Douglas Gordon are still working on their twinsets. According to Tim Blanks, at a Feb 22nd press conference at the Serpentine, Gordon promised a flesh-toned piece which would duplicate in intarsia-ed cashmere the tattoos that litter his torso.
Expect twinsets from Colette’s Sarah Lerfel and Corso Como’s Carla Sozzani as well.
Each twinset will have a limited quantity of 195 pieces, pricing out between $1300 and $3300. The project plans to donate all proceeds from the collaboration to the gallery’s public and educational programs.
