The 2011 Levi’s® Roadwear campaign is an interactive journey—in essence a road trip across America—of the band Mermonkey as the three band members make their way to a much anticipated gig. Candidly-shot videos, snapshots and stories are presented in a map/scrapbook format that overlaps their “road map” with high-resolution Levi’s product shots.

Developed by by BBH Asia Pacific, the website utilizes the band’s adventurous spirit as a tool to explore Levi’s products. Utilizing Google Maps technology, photos are scattered throughout the interface and toggling between “Terrain” view and “Denim” view allows you to see the dual-layered map: You can zoom in on Levi’s apparels “mapped” as the campaign journey and uncover stories explaining the product design.

Douglas Hamilton, copywriter from BBH, said:

“By navigating the rips and stains on the denim, you could unlock the stories that lie behind each and every mark. Traverse each of the ‘continents’ and you’ll piece together the story of an aspiring band and their ups and downs on the road to fame and fortune.”¹

To top it off, there’s also an evolving love story between two of the band members; the full story will unfold over the coming months as different levels are gradually unlocked. But of course you have to come back to see what happens.

The overall execution, with its short films capturing spontaneous moments throughout the road trip, manage to convey the Levi’s brand, its grit and its spirit of youthful abandon. Through this campaign, denim indeed holds stories in every rip, stain and crease.

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¹Contagious Magazine: Levi’s / Roadwear

Breaking the layout “gray area” in online news streams world.

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In graphic design classes, you are taught to be friends with the white space, ensure your design has clear entry points, and—my personal favorite—break the gray area. Yes, this is from print design classes I took circa 1995 since interactive design (aka “multimedia”) had yet become a field of study.

Your challenge is a white spread of paper, figuratively and literally, and you have to put all that content in there. Usually that means flowing copy in odd-numbered columns (or now you kids call it “grids”) to create a visually appealing layout. All that crammed up copy becomes “gray areas” and your eyes don’t want to stay on them. It creates what’s called “reading fatigue”—you don’t want to read a long article on The New York Times unless you’re really into it—and that’s why god created focal points, white space and pagination to fight gray areas.

The gray area challenge stays true today with most social media interfaces like Facebook and Twitter. What also is true is the fact that web users don’t read, or more accurately, don’t read most of the copy in front of them. They skim the content, waiting for some words or visuals to grab them.

That’s why content visualization is key in my book. The good kind, of course, and here are some products out there that makes my eyes happy and my visual browsing experience better:

PostPost

PostPost offers an alternate content visualization method for your Facebook. It takes your Facebook news feeds, i.e. links your friends and Pages shared, and lays them out as stories in a newspaper-like display. The design feels familiar—yup, it’s very much like the current trend of displaying feeds in boxes with large image or video and some copy blurb (e.g. The Huffington Post or Times Skimmer from The New York Times, below).

Each “news” bucket is more user-friendly and social-friendly: You can delete news you don’t want via the standard “X” button, videos play in-line and, as quickly, share / like / comment on it. The interface is simple and the user experience is conducive to the ever-impatient social media consumption.

PostPost creator, Peter Yared, sees it as the natural evolution of content consumption. “Instead of displaying what an algorithm on Google, strangers on Digg, or an editor on The Huffington Post surface, we show what your friends think is interesting.”¹ And hopefully triggers social conversations between friends.

And back to the point of this post, it is definitely a better layout, nice visuals acting as clear entry points broken by enough “white space” to actively engage your eyes.

For a look into PostPost, its features, technology and future, read Inside Facebook‘s review.

Paper.li

Paper.li is a news aggregation service for your Twitter. It visualizes the feeds from either the people you follow on Twitter, a Twitter search, or a Twitter list and puts them together like a newspaper. The interface is straight-forward and clean.

Unlike PostPost which requires you to log into your Facebook account to pull your feed, you don’t have to create an account to use Paper.li if you want to read other-created papers. You can search available papers by name, categories, interests and more. Checkout Netflix’s Paper.li using hashtag: http://paper.li/tag/netflix

I like the novelty of it and I appreciate any content visualization method created to improve content absorption. Yes, they can improve the refresh rate, which is limited to daily update instead of PostPost’s real-time update. Yes, there are things to improve upon (read Jason Keath’s hate letter) and yes, there are a lot of nice things that can potentially make Twitter news stream visualization better (read Boost All’s love letter)

For a thorough review of Paper.li, read PC Magazine‘s write-up.

It definitely beats reading rows and rows of 140-character tweets without any discerning way to distinguish content. Looking at the Twitter avatar doesn’t help me in figuring out what the tweet is about.

Times Skimmer

Before the iPadization of web design, The New York Times came out with Times Skimmer in February. This browser-based application offers online readers a new way to read paper. The interface now looks very familiar, with the fluidity of spreading out the content according to your browser window size just like spreading a newspaper as well as paging through it.

Clean, simple and to-the-point, it’s a better way to “skim” the news. Apparently, it is a precursor to the Times’ Chrome app, which became available two weeks ago.

If all these skimming techniques work well, who knew? We may not even want to read the real paper anymore.

We’ll have to look up Google images to find a screenshot of the Times’ paper and say, “Remember this?” to the future generation.

For more on the Times Skimmer:

• NY Times’ own walk-through
• Media Nation‘s review

Conclusion:

In the age of curated consumption, does what your friends know make it valuable? That’s for you to decide. This Facebook vs. Twitter 2010 stats from ZDnet may help you.

I have to admit, these are some starting points to better content visualization for your news feed. Some may call them curated content although I consider them simply as news aggregators. What I like most about PostPost is its real-time updates, which is the main complaint people have on other visual news aggregators such as Paper.li and iPad’s Flipboard.

Well, you have to start somewhere, right? And I like the way this is going for the sake of better design and better user experience.

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¹Inside Facebook: PostPost Turns Facebook Links into a Socially Curated Custom Newspaper

Photo credit for old newspapers: ShironekoEuro

I haven’t gone on vacation in what seems like forever (Wait! It’s been more than 2 years, so it has been forever!) so when I saw Wanderfly via CoolHunting, I went ooh.

A simple interface greets you when you land, that makes it feels less of travel-planning, more of “show me what’s out there” based on your interests. The pretty vacation spot photo in the background also helps push the right “I want to be there right now” spot in my brain.

You choose your departing city, time frame and budget, and pick your heart’s desire. Mine: Five days in November, on a beach with food, spa and culture. From 1,200+ destinations in their database, Wanderfly told me that there are 22 spots I’d like best, including Fes, Morocco and  Half Moon Bay, California. To narrow down the results, you can click on the ones you’re interested in and then compare them in a simple next-n-previous-arrows browsing mode.

Wanderfly also offers rich, personalized content for each location, utilizing its partnership with the likes of Lonely Planet, Expedia, FourSquare, Not For Tourists, etc. to provide brief city guides with suggestion for accommodations and flights. Connect to Facebook and it scans Facebook to show you which of your friends are in each city you’re exploring. There are News via Twitter, Weather and coming soon, Destination Reviews, Travel Tips and Currency Conversion. And, for each of the activities you selected, there are recommendations from Yelp, Eventful and, just recently, Find. Eat. Drink.

Seems like this newbie—officially launched yesterday—is doing things right. Everything seems so simple and intuitive. Wanderfly motto is to help you discover new experiences. It wants to Spark Your Journey and I believe it did.

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

—Miriam Beard

So go ahead. Be adventurous. I’m so ready!

p.s. I found that quote at Wanderfly, while it was searching for my fabulous journey. How appropriate.

Via CoolHunting

Timberland is pulling all the stops for its eco-friendly Earthkeepers collection with “Nature Needs Heroes” campaign from TV and print, to social media and a microsite with 3D technology. I first thought it was just a marketing ploy, using the “3D” term to entice visits. I’m glad to find that I was wrong.

Sure you need a pair of 3D glasses, which you can grab at its retail locations. I’m pretty sure it would look dope—no, I don’t have 3D glasses laying around in the office so I’m seeing it 2D—but I can totally “see” the 3D experience.

The landing page puts you in the right spot, with a guy floating in the air attempting to grab a plastic bottle (eco-friendliness is the theme throughout the campaign). You can rotate him and at different points in the rotation, different elements are highlighted, from the apparel to the video. The product detail view offers another excellent use of 3D modeling with 360°-view (the boots one is very cool with dual-angle view), which works great even while zooming.

Yeah, it loads a little slow, but trust me, you want to see this. It is quite impressive.

After seeing this, I decided to checkout the rest of Timberland.com and I was quite surprised with the transformation. (Note: Last time I visited the site was in early spring).

Timberland—Women’s

Timberland Women’s microsite welcomes you with a full-screen video of models enjoying the outdoors and the message “Go out and be you”. The overall branding is right on: The look is fresh and natural yet sophisticated, just a tad rugged to reflect the passion for the outdoors, using natural elements like kraft paper as a nod to the eco-friendly philosophy of the brand and the handwritten notes add a touch of youth and a warmer feel.

What I like most is the Get The Look section where you can browse through the campaign photos and click on the different marked items on the photos. The Gallery showcases different looks by women who don’t look like models, a “real people” aspect to them which I found pleasing. There’s also a behind-the-scene, get-to-know-me approach with On Location (B-roll of the campaign shoot) and Meet the Designers (video interviews with the designers behind the apparels).

Timberland—Heritage

Timberland Heritage offers a look through the brand history in nice sepia tone spiked with social element: You’re invited to “Become Part of Our Story” and you’ll be part of the photo montage on the microsite. On top of that, there are other pretty interesting things to check out, from the videos to “The New Classics,” which contains Build Your Own, the Abbington Collection and the Timberland Boot Company.

Timberland—Build Your Own

Timberland Shop is pretty standard e-commerce site with a pretty cool “Build Your Own” with “SHOE” or “BOOT” options. (Still a bit buggy—I encountered a few broken links when trying some of the women’s boots.)

Timberland Boot Company

Meanwhile, the Timberland Boot Company is a neat little microsite that showcases special collections that are inspired by a time of transition in New England and Northern England. The sections of the microsite are displayed as framed art on a white-washed, weathered wall in tune with the pioneering spirit feel. This type of draggable Flash site has been done many times before so the microsite is just a nice little thing to look at but, my goodness, those boots are fetching!

That wraps up the Timberland re-vamped online brand. Don’t forget to visit Earthkeepers to join in the movement and meet “like-minded people from all over the world intent on doing the little things and the bigger ones.”

I’ll leave you with these fun facts from Timberland Eco-Love Survey in April 2010:

The survey found most men have high expectations for the women they date or associate with:*

• Must Love the Earth. Fifty-four percent of men would question whether to start a relationship with someone who litters. Others would ponder if a woman was worth dating if she doesn’t recycle (25%), leaves the lights on when not at home (23%) or drives a gas-guzzler (21%).
• Guys Dig Green. One-quarter of men think “green” women make better life partners (24%) or friends (27%) than those who aren’t so environmentally responsible.
• Plan an Eco-date. Grab your hiking boots and a shovel—more than 40 percent (41%) of men would be more interested in an “adventure” date like hiking or rock climbing or a charity or service-focused date like tree planting, rather than the traditional “dinner and a movie” date.
• Walking the Green Carpet. When it comes to today’s hottest “eco-lebrities,” men say Cameron Diaz (27%) and Kate Hudson (26%) would inspire them to go green.

*Source: The Timberland Company (via Market Wire)

Before the 4th of July weekend, Squeaky was asked by Tequila Avión, a premium tequila brand, to help with its digital presence. There was a sense of urgency to “elevate” the brand: Tequila Avión was being written into HBO’s Entourage by the creator, Doug Ellin, for episode “80: Buzzed” to be aired on July 11th (yes, in one week!). They asked for our help because their existing site didn’t do much for the brand.

We opted for a Facebook tab to “Experience Tequila Avión” which allowed the three different tequilas to be featured with custom recipes that are simple and sleek to reflect the premium product, yet lending the small, independent brand a grassroot feel by utilizing their Facebook fans. The strategy and execution were well received by the fans and the brand team, and we did it in a super crunch time!

During the discovery and strategy phase, we scan the web to see what other alcohol brands are doing online. (Trust me, there are a lot of them out there.)

Here are a few that stand out:

Absolut Vodka—Absolut-ly on top

Absolut has consistently done very well with their brand messaging. They are “smart, stylish, creative and witty” and they seem to always get it right, from web to social media to mobile.

Facebook Fans: 534,407 fans

Facebook Campaigns:

• BROOKLYN: What’s your Stoop Story? Celebrating Summer, Bloggers sharing their love for Brooklyn, Spike Lee, etc.
• Lemon Drop: To promote Lemon Drop the movie starring Ali Larter
• NY-Z: Documentary with Jay-Z – video released on Facebook first
• Berry Acai: With Zooey Deschanel

Remember their ABSOLUT Anthem video from summer 2009?

Mobile: Absolut’s iPhone app has the nicest interface with a card-flicking motion that has a nice stickiness to it.

In addition, Absolut is the first brand who embraces the LGBT market. The latest commercials I saw was during Ru Paul’s Drag Race (yes, the show is my guilty pleasure. I just love Ru!)  where LGBT personalities (from Santino Rice, finalist on Project Runway to journalist / editor / author / TV personality Merle Ginsberg) of shared their coming out / standing up story in a bar and Absolut creating different drinks named for them. Absolut was a sponsor and the segment with Berri Açaí is hillarious.

Summary:

I’ve always been a fan of Absolut, every since I saw those iconic Absolut print ads (Absolut Brooklyn is still my favorite and that was out in the 90′s). The fact that Absolut has managed to move on every new medium successfully and speaking about the brand consistently is an achievement not many brands can claim they did well.

So Absolut, from one vodka drinker to another: Very well done!

Grey Goose Vodka—Less than premium

When Urban Daddy’s The Dashboard came out in August and I saw the Grey Goose bottles on the bottom right corner, I was pretty excited to see what they have to offer. Unfortunately, the nightlife assistance tool is created for Urban Daddy and only sponsored by Grey Goose. So it wasn’t a creative push from the vodka brand.

The tool, albeit the really sleek 3D-ish design, is only half as cool and smooth as the Sprint “Plug into Now” dashboard, which came out almost 2 years ago and is still being kept up-to-date nicely.

Facebook Fans: 148,035 fans

Facebook Campaigns:

• L’Orange: Downloadable Cocktail cards (go to Photos, with simple “Drag to desktop and print” instruction), Video of their TV commercial, Mobile Recipes App (Grey Goose Mobile Alert).
• Boxes: Pocket Cocktail iApp, Send a Toast to friend (which links to their website)

Note: Unfortunately, all the campaigns above are no longer available.

Mobile:  Dubbed “A Guide To The Extraordinary, Delicious and Exquisite,” I felt that it was nice but lacking the pizazz that Absolut’s  iPhone app brings to the table.

Hornitos Tequila—Ballsy!

Facebook Fans: 48,1545 fans

Facebook Campaigns:

• Grow A Pair:  Showing their commercials + monthly contest. Currently running ads with videos pointing to Facebook
• Recipes: With an easy Print, Share, Comment & Like links under each recipe

What stuck was the hilarious commercials from their “Purer Than Your Intentions” campaign with “Cougar Phone” and “Doris.” Watch ‘em!

Other notables:

Patron Tequila

With its recognizable bottle simply at the center on the website, surrounded by hovering, comment-shape features, the brand strongly presented itself as a premium spirit brand. I like it: It’s clean, straight-forward and it feels premium.

Was the hovering of the elements done intentionally to mimic the bee in the logo? I don’t know but now that I’ve noticed it, it’ll be interesting to find out.

901 Tequila

This is Justin Timberlake’s tequila. It’s not a spoof. He can now add “Distiller of fine tequila” to his list of accolades. The tequila is supposedly super smooth, according to tequila aficionado who tried it. Well, if you have what it takes to create a product, why not, right?

The website opens with a looped video of this girl, looking at you and, I have to admit, if you leave it on for a while, it’s kinda creepy. Within the FILMS section, you can watch its sexy smooth commercials. Coming from the guy who brought “Sexy Back,” it’s certainly appropriate.

I’m really liking Adrien Sauvage‘s take on his look book. As his first collection of suits is being praised due to its mix of modern styles and Saville Row-level cuts, I’m more drawn into the black-and-white look book.

Called This is Not a Suit, the look book showcases Sauvage’s creative talent and artistic vision, in which he cast and personally photographed some of art and music’s finest as models for his debut collection. The Tumblr site appropriately offers a simple presentation of the subject, the artistic landscape and the photography, which I really think is brilliant.

A side note on his collection: No logos or insignias—which I love. Basically, nothing gets in the way of the suit’s subtly smooth air and crisp appearance. The only nod to his name is an A. Sauvage label on the interior of the jacket with a short info of its origin along with notes about its inspiration.

That’s a touch of class, indeed.

Found via Cool Hunting.

Lancôme was smart to tap Michelle Phan as its video makeup artist in February. The 22-year-old art school student is a YouTube sensation—she’s the most subscribed beauty guru with over 200M views and 800K subscribers.

To keep her inspired, Lancôme sent Michelle to Paris for 4 days, visiting historic sites from Notre Dame to The Pont des Arts where Kate Winslet filmed the signature Trésor commercial, as well as the Lancôme Institute. Her Paris journey is recorded in Lancôme’s Facebook “Michelle + Paris” app.

Even though she’s only 6 months into her 2-year contract, her YouTube video views already doubled and she keeps on garnering buzz: This week, she is featured by T, The New York Times Style Magazine, for which she created an exclusive video titled “Futuristic Look.”

p.s.: Did you know she was turned down for a job working behind the counter at a department store for Lancôme? I bet she’s doing OK now.

Bobbi Brown—Pretty Powerful Follow-up

Bobbi Brown captured many in NYC with its Pretty Powerful campaign which was unveiled in May, from print ads to commercials in and on yellow cabs to 5-minute makeovers in their beauty counters. The campaign showcases real women and was kicked off through a video contest in January with public voting in March. For every vote cast in, Bobbi Brown donated $1 to one of Bobbi’s causes, Dress for Success, an organization that provides disadvantaged women with interview suits and career development advice.

While on my usual browse-mode, I went back to the website and noticed its been jazzed up a little. The Pretty Powerful winners now have a “Get The Look” section on a larger page format. The Beauty Buzz section looks like a news bulletin (albeit one from a very nice design firm) with a strong personal feel, especially in Bobbi ‘s Story.

On the other hand, the Learn section has an educational feel of a makeup artist class, where instructions are laid out in a very visual way and the products look almost touchable. The design “Botox” (like they say: You, but better) works for me; I found myself browsing the site more than I usually do.

Maybelline New York—The French Revolution

Gemey Maybelline, the French site for Maybelline New York, offers a lot more features I found interesting compared to the US site. On the mobile front, there are Makeup Studio Mobile app, a virtual makeup studio, and Studio Manucure (aka Manicure Studio) iPhone app which shows you the secrets to a perfect manicure, from selecting the right nail polish to nail care solutions.

In addition, there is WeLoveMakeup.com, an online community of more than 20K “Make Up Addicts” sharing thousands of looks and discussion topics. It’s like Facebook for makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts to connect, learn, share, and even have Make Up Parties.

Its Blog in The City features three personalities: Capucine (a makeup addict), Emily (a fashionista) and Flo (for NY looks & trends). The blog is young, fun and informational, the topic ranges from summer frocks ala The Sartorialist to Magnolia Bakery. I even learned that there is such a thing called a trikini. Who knew?

Meanwhile, Maybelline’s US site has the Runway VIP Sweeps and Maybelline Loves Fashion microsite to support Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in September. You can find videos and instructions on how to get the look, plus a mini NYC guide if you are here in New York during Fashion Week.

The microsite could be a lot better. It’s just not up to par with what you’d expect out of an official sponsor of Fashion Week.

Chanel—Rouge Coco

Chanel launched its Rouge Coco campaign this spring, featuring French actress / singer Vanessa Paradis. I like the Facebook effort, where you can share virtual Coco Rouge buttons (a la the press kit / swag bag that was sent out in December) by posting them on your wall. Unfortunately, once the reveal period was over, the buttons are gone.

I like that you can browse all the lipstick shades within the Facebook tab but when you click to “Shop Now”, the color you were reviewing didn’t carry through to the e-commerce site. You can see the color name in the URLstring, but you have to reselect the color from the dropdown.

This is too bad because the e-store interface is nicer than a lot of other beauty brands and because the Chanel site is gorgeous with its simple typography, clean layout and stunning photography.

Related post: Beauty brands online: Summer 2010 #1

When Squeaky first nabbed the Revlon digital account, we are excited because we were not only working with a global brand with its world-famous ambassadors (i.e. Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba), we were also presented with a challenging task for a total site re-engineering. So we brought in the glitz of fashion and celebrity, and the technology of virtual makeover.

Tapping into the star power of Revlon’s Global Artistic Director, Gucci Westman, we added behind-the-scenes Fashion Week runway and get-the-look videos into the Beauty Lounge section. From Oscar de la Renta to Rag & Bone, you get all the inside tips & tricks directly from the superstar makeup artist herself.

When we were asked to recommend a virtual makeover engine for Revlon, we did a thorough review of two of the most prominent virtual makeover software available in the market: Daily Makeover & Taaz.* Squeaky’s final recommendation for Revlon’s Virtual Makeup Artist™ is to use Taaz because it allows for a more sophisticated application with very subtle sheerness for glosses, shadows and color hues.

For example, mascara application lengthens the lashes when the amount is increased while on DailyMakeover, the mascara only becomes thicker at the base. In addition, Taaz provides options for types of top and bottom lashes while DailyMakeover only provides Top, Top & Bottom and Bottom. We really like that Taaz’s makeover preview area is much larger than DailyMakeovers. The model’s photos are also more natural with visible blemishes, providing Revlon with real makeover experience as complexion improves upon sheer application of foundation, concealer and blushes.

Other beauty brands that also utilizes Taaz’s virtual makeover engine are Estée Lauder and just recently, TopShop.

Estée Lauder—Let’s Play Makeover

One of the main draw of Estée Lauder’s Virtual Makeover is the use of Hilary Rhoda, the brand’s face since 2007, as the model for you to play with. Everyone would look gorgeous with those blue eyes.

Unfortunately, the “1-Click Look” feature only has one look at a time, while Revlon’s “Get The Look” has seven looks from their ambassadors to choose from.

TopShop Make Up—Virtual Makeover

While TopShop‘s has four looks to choose and three models to play with—if you don’t feel like uploading your own photo, Revlon has six models with wider complexion range to choose from. On top of that, since Revlon has Hair Color products, the Virtual Makeup Artist lets you choose hair color and styles you like to best complete your look.

We continuously think about new ways to improve the Revlon site, including the Virtual Makeup Artist, and believe me when I say we are brimming with exciting ideas. So stay tuned!

Up next is Part 2: From Lancôme’s YouTube sensation, Michelle Phan, to Bobbi Brown’s Pretty Powerful and Chanel’s Coco Rouge

*The review was performed on September 2009.

The premise: In 2010 Renault discovered a set of fascinating statistics. According to the figures, towns with more Mégane were happier, had higher rates of fertility and longer life expectancies. To put this theory to the test, they’ve sent Claude, a ‘consultant de joie’ to Gisburn (Lancashire), a town with no Méganes and apparently very little joie de vivre, to conduct ‘The Mégane Experiment‘.

Done by Publicis, the Renault UK campaign takes a light-hearted Anglo-French cultural comparison of the two distinct villages, basically telling the people of Gisburn that their town and people are crap and they need to do something. Watch Claude, the self-proclaimed “joie de vivre” expert, as he attempts to educate the people of Gisburn on the subject and introduces the Mégane car model as the thing that can bring joy to the city.

The Mégane Experiment‘ is hilarious in a French Borat kind of way.

Volkswagen—Anyone for a Sunday Drive?

Volkswagen Canada resurrects the oft-forgotten Sunday drive. The campaign for the new VW Golf by Red Urban asks what happened to the spirit of of the Sunday drive. “Anyone for a Sunday Drive?” campaign is true to the Volkswagen spirit: Cheeky, fun-to-drive aspects of VW. It’s for people who don’t just drive to go from Point A to Point B; It’s for people who simply love to drive.

Don’t forget to go to Remix Road and have fun—‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous is definitely in my head now!

Note: I didn’t see this anywhere on the site, but supposedly Canadians also have the opportunity to record their own Sunday driving experiences and share them online.

Ford Fiesta—The Fiesta Project

Ford Fiesta kicks up the summer with The Fiesta Project where they asked real people to come up creative ways to put the new 2011 Fiesta to the test. Interesting videos are then shot, from “Fiesta vs. Lamborghini” to “Dawn of The New Key Fob.”

Because there are no direct sales pitch per se and that “How Much Can It Bear?” has a touch of Super Troopers spirit, this one stands out in my book.

Jeep—The Things We Make, Make Us.

Jeep has been allover television and the web lately with its “The Things We Make, Make Us” campaign for Grand Cherokee. The slight note of propaganda takes you to a journey through American industrialism, patriotism and everyday hard-working people. It’s not war propaganda, it’s a propaganda of America’s manufacturing prowess.

I like the tone, the big, bold typography, the video and the clanking in the music. It reinforces the manifesto: “Our newest son was imagined, drawn, stamped, hewn and forged here.” This 2011 Grand Cherokee is 100% American, and I like it.

KIA Sportage—What’s Your Sportage Style?

KIA Sportage adds a little Facebook chatter to their web presence, starting from a simple tab on Facebook that invites you to experience and share your Sportage 360° thoughts to a sleek Flash microsite with nice scene building, extreme close-ups of features and an FB Chatter page.

Sadly, not that many people join in the chatter.

Other notables:

Volvo—Naughty S60: Microsite and on Facebook asking “Which City is the Naughty Capital of Europe?”

Toyota Camry—Autobiography: Strong Facebook presence to support TV buy. Facebook application allows you to tell your Toyota Story and upload your video.

Glorious! Soups® packaging caught my eyes when browsing through I Love Dust‘s portfolio. Beautiful illustration and typographic approach sets this packaging apart. Glorious! Soups® takes alphabet soup to another level.

Glorious! Soups®‘s simple black site allows the letters of the alphabet—an ‘A to Z of Global Flavors’—prominently displayed. Iconic, bespoke illustration represents each letter, showcasing authentic global influences and flavors of each product. The illustration is well done (if you know I Love Dust’s work, it’s not surprising at all).

“We wanted to build brand that was bold, adventurous and gutsy to inspire people to try out the new product, ” explains Mandy Taylor, commercial director at Glorious!. Working with Glorious!’s branding agency, Lambie-Nairn, I Love Dust has successfully delivered just that.

The new Glorious! Soups is bold yet eloquent, bringing some ‘zing’ to boring ol’ soups and sauces. It’s simply stunning—both the concept and the design.

How can you not love “M is for ‘Malaysian Chicken’” with delicate Asian flower motif while “T is for ‘Toulouse Sausage and Bean’” and is flanked by legs of can-can dancer?