Project Runway Overtakes PerezHilton.com for Season Premier

In preparation for Lifetime's season premier of Project Runway, PerezHilton.com ran its standard background ad unit alongside integrated, rich IAB units. The unique part of this campaign, however, was how Perez removed the blog's standard right column so as to better promote Lifetime and the TV schedule. Normally, the right column houses a collection of navigational units and advertising banners. In addition to simplifying the page's visuals - it ensures that the only advertiser on the page is Project Runway... which Perez then sells at premium:

perez-hilton-right-column

Facebook Pages Updates Now Push to Twitter

Though it seems like a relatively minor change - this is a significant change / win for marketers who actively use Twitter and Facebook Pages. Users have been able to send their Twitter posts into their Facebook streams (and a staggering percentage of my social graph's updates come from Twitter)... but it has always been a one-way street. As of today, Facebook Page owners are able to syndicate their updates from Facebook to Twitter... with a variety of controls (updates, images, notes, etc).

These controls currently only exist for Facebook Pages, but it is logical to assume that this is the first step before Facebook Status updates also both directions (collecting data, understanding usage and determining whether or not pushing all status updates into Twitter is wise and scalable). Marketers are an ideal audience to test the integration: they are motivated to share in both directions and the population is active, well-incented and much smaller.

Great landing page: big, clean logos and a simple message: "Now share anything with fans and followers, all from one place."

facebook-and-twitter-link-for-pages

You will be asked to authenticate your Twitter account and give Facebook access to speak to Twitter (and visa versa)

facebook-twitter-integration

Select what content you want to share. The default is all content, but you can share status updates, photos, links, notes and events

facebook-and-twitter-linking

YouTube Immediately Boosts Sales of Chris Brown's Forever

Much has been made of YouTube's ability to monetize... but the most viewed video of the week (the JK Wedding Entrance Dance) clearly drove sales - boosting Chris Brown's 'Forever' into the seventh most purchased song on iTunes. Considering the recent public outcry against Chris Brown (who essentially went into PR hiding), the sudden popularity is even more impressive:

chris-brown-forever

The video captures a wedding party's entrance dance set to Chris Brown's 'Forever'. The video is less than a week old and already has 5.6m views on YouTube - at least 5m of which occurred yesterday:

iPhone 3GS Video & Camera Demo: Using MLB.tv

Oh how technology and digital media have advanced. Below is a video demonstration:

- capturing an HD broadcast of a live Red Sox game (streamed from MLB.tv, through my computer, and onto the television) - the video was shot on the iPhone 3GS's new video capture - and uploaded to Youtube wirelessly via the iPhone... in less than 30 seconds

On the iPhone and the computer, the video quality is far better than what is displayed on Youtube... but it is still far from HD and, despite TechCrunch's argument otherwise, products like the Flip Mino HD still have a role within the market (for now).

Also worth noting, the iPhone 3GS's camera is markedly better than the previous model's - both in focus, function and output. This photo also does a better job conveying the quality of MLB.tv's broadcast... a product I am so thoroughly impressed with that I chose to cancel my Comcast MLB Package subscription after five years:

red-sox-vs-braves mlb.tv

Toyota Prius Harmony Commercial is a Winner

I consider myself evironmentally aware (my fiance Anette works at SunRun and I commute in a 100mpg Honda Ruckus)... but I am certainly not an 'environmentalist' (I also drive an eight-seater SUV). Yet it's the environmental angle that Toyota's newest Prius commercial, "Harmony", that is so captivating.

The third generation of the Prius looks slightly different - but obviously far from the road's most attractive car. The appeal of the car has always been its performance and environmental soundness - which the commercial captures perfectly. The surroundings are colorful, represent each of the seasons and elements, and are played by hundreds of smiling people. The music and voice-over deliver that same message: "The Prius. It's harmony between man, nature and machine."

I typically find car commercials obnoxious and ineffective - particularly when I see the same F150 commercial during every timeout of a sporting event. But I'd be glad to have these commercials replace Howie Long's.

From Toyota:

"Toyota presents the 3rd generation Prius http://www.toyota.com/prius . Welcome to Harmony, where Man's wants and Nature's needs agree. Using the wind, sun and advanced hybrid technology, Prius balances our demand for mobility with the natural order of things. It's a hybrid like no other, the first to benefit from three cycles of design evolution. The 2010 Toyota Prius. Moving Forward."

The Ultimate Business Card

"It doesn't fit in a Rolodex... Because it doesn't belong in a Rolodex."

The below video is hilarious and reminds me of the American Psycho scene where Christian Bale and his banker friends dissect one another's business cards:

Also a good business card, but not quite as "crowd grabbing" is Steve Martin's:

Best Business Card Ever

Pandora & Loopt Join Sprint's Latest Commercial

Twitter received great placement in Sprint's latest ad campaign: The Now Network (and Twitter gets even better placement on Oprah today!). The second commercial features both Pandora and Loopt. The commercials are hip, interesting and covey the size of Sprint's network (not exactly evident to most consumers). And the best part? They are better than the old Dan Hesse campaign:

Microsoft's Latest Laptop Hunter, Giampaolo

First Microsoft had Lauren. Now they have Giampaolo, a "technically savvy" twenty-something looking for a computer that fits his $1,500 budget (higher than Lauren's $1,000 budget).

Because Giampaolo's budget is higher, he is actually able to choose between Macs and Windows-based laptops. And like Lauren, he is attracted to the Mac: "It is so sexy. But Macs to me are about aesthetics more than the computing power." This is a more roundabout way to say what Lauren said in the previous commercial: Macs are too expensive.

I love the commercials because they do a great job positioning value in a poor economy... while admitting (and jabbing) that Apple may be the "cooler", "sexier" brand.

Both points clearly aggravate Apple owners because these two Microsoft spots have garnered massive attention and caused quite among bloggers... which is exactly what Microsoft wants.

More at Technologizer, 9to5Mac and VentureBeat.