Creative

A billboard in New York City is using augmented reality in a Calvin Klein ad. Instead of beautiful model frolicking with her friends, people passing by - at least those without a smartphone - see only a giant QR code.

Interactive production company, Tool of North America (note: for more on Tool, see the interview with its digital executive producer, Dustin Callif, that was published on itvt.com, June 9th, 2009), has teamed with "technology-infused" creative agency, Domani Studios, to develop an application, dubbed "Touching Stories," that contains four interactive live-action short films shot by five Tool of North America directors and designed specifically for the Apple iPad.

San Francisco-based interactive video and video analytics company, Clikthrough, has been tapped by fashion company, Armani Exchange (A/X), to create an interactive multimedia presentation, dubbed "Interactive Stylepad," that showcases A/X's products and its new "Bodies of Summer" advertising campaign.

When it launched with much fanfare last December, Vevo was billed as the Hulu for music videos -- the major music labels' answer to the premium video hub by NBC Universal, Fox Entertainment and ABC Inc. Seven months later, Vevo has surpassed Hulu's audience.

Diesel is running interactive ads in Interview Magazine's new iPad application to promote its multichannel "Be Stupid" campaign.

SunChips challenged consumers to use Current TV's VCAM (Viewer Created Ad Messages) platform to create videos that encourage positive change in the world while featuring the brand's new 100%-compostable bag

Talk about getting caught with your pants down. After running back-to-back ads in the Super Bowl utilizing the same creative theme -- people walking about without any trousers -- CBS has agreed to give one of the marketers involved additional ad time to make up for the gaffe, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Shoe designer Adidas is the latest company to use augmented reality to promote its brand. Unlike other marketing endeavors however, Adidas is not embedding its AR imagery in an ad or website. Rather, in what may be a first for the marketing industry, Adidas says it will embed the code directly into the tongue of the shoe.

In our discussions about what will happen in the digital marketing industry during the next 12 months, one overarching trend emerged: The basic rules of brand building are just as important for innovations in the digital space as they are for traditional forms of communication. Using new technology won't in itself bring success; your digital communications still need to be creative, engaging and relevant if they are to cut it during the second decade of this century. Here are the first five of our top 10 trends for 2010.

It's bad creative that makes online advertising ineffective, so stop obsessing over targeting and placements, according to a study from online-ad-research group Dynamic Logic.