By David Ponce

So, this is marketing done right. To celebrate their reaching 2 million Likes on Facebook, Porsche decided to make a special Cayman S with an intricate mosaic made up of the profile pictures of each one of those fans. That alone is pretty cool, but it’s what they’re doing with this car that’s smart. Aside from putting it on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart until January 27th 2012, they’ve made a special section on their website just for it. There, you can view the car from several angles, zoom in, and pan around until you spot yourself. It’s a game of Where’s Waldo with a sea of 2 million faces. You can bet a bunch of people are going to spend a truckload of hours poring over every inch of that car. Granted, these people are already fans of the brand, but it’s a safe bet that many of them will go and say to their friends “Hey, check this out, this is me on a Cayman S!”

[ Porsche's 2M Fans ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By David Ponce

You know as well as me that we all wanted this video to be the real deal. I mean, come on: tiny supercooled toy ships racing around in a track made from superconducting magnets? Heck, it’s a fact that most of us would be trying to find a buyer for our kidneys to get our hands on this. It even seemed more plausible after watching that quantum levitation video that made the rounds last October. But the truth is, folks, this video is probably as fake as the late Steve Jobs’ kind heart (too soon?). For one, Sony is coming out with a new Wipeout game for the PlayStation Vita next month. See that big WipeOut logo in the middle of the track? Yeah… And that “Japan Institute of Science and Technology”? No such thing! It’s called “Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology!” Also, the copyright? “All rights reserved belong to Sony Entertainment and SCE Studio Liverpool.” Finally, look at that smoke closely: it’s CG.

I got to admit it’s a cool video, but it’s nothing more than viral marketing in the making. I’m not saying this stuff won’t exist one day, but we’re just not there yet.

VIA [ CNet News ]

By David Ponce

Kraft has launched a new marketing initiative that has it distributing free samples of its mousse-like Temptations dessert by Jell-O through a special machine. See, this machine hates kids and yells at them. We, for one, are on its side: kids and pudding are never to be mixed. However it looks like Kraft’s intentions are more demographically based: they’re promoting the product to a specific age range, adults. So what happens is that if you walk up to this machine, a camera will analyze your face and determine your age. If you’re a kid, it tells you to step aside. Adult? Free food!

It presumably uses age-related factors such as the distance between facial features, proportions, or whatever other metric the algorithms deem relevant.

“It has a big gee-whiz factor,” says Ed Kaczmarek, Kraft’s director of innovation and consumer experiences. “This is intelligent marketing. We’re making certain we get the right sample to the right consumer.”

Aside from this, it’s also a big gimmick, but one we don’t mind so much, being tech geeks. If you’re in the Chicago area, look for the machine at your local supermarket.

VIA [ Gizmodo ]