Issue 327 | 8th February 2017

What Next?

Introducing the data dress

Google continues to expand the application of user data, and has announced that they are working with digital fashion house Ivyrevel to create personalised dresses for consumers. The catch? If you want to get your hands on one of these ‘data dresses’, you have to download an app and allow Google to track your every move. Built with Google’s Awareness API, the app will customise the dress based on factors like weather and the places you visit. Ivyrevel is calling this revolutionary idea “Coded Couture” and they are hoping to sell the dresses at a starting price of US $99.

Who doesn’t love a house party?

Launched a year ago this month, Houseparty is a social app that allows users to create live ‘hang out’ sessions with contacts in their phone, including multiple users at once. Houseparty was brought into the world by the creators of Meerkat – a short lived live-streaming platform that used users’ Twitter followers as an audience. Following the creation of Twitter’s own Periscope, Meerkat lost all rights to use Twitter as a stage and the app shut down. The developers have since decided private conversations between friends are the way to go. Brands are already seeing opportunities in the field of qualitative research, similar to the way in which Adidas and others are using WhatsApp.

Channel 7’s Kitchen Rules (Literally)

National Free to Air Station Audience
My Kitchen Rules – Mon Ch 7 1,309,000
My Kitchen Rules – Sun Ch 7 1,193,000
My Kitchen Rules – Tues Ch 7 1,193,000
My Kitchen Rules – Wed Ch 7 1,113,000
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – Mon Ch 10 959,000
Married at First Sight – Tues Ch 9 934,000
Married at First Sight – Sun Ch 9 909,000
Home and Away – Mon Ch 7 878,000
Bride & Prejudice – Mon Ch 7 874,000
Home and Away – Tues Ch 7 833,000
30/01 – 5/02

BBC embraces Snapchat with Planet Earth II

Nature lovers, get excited. Footage from the BBC Documentary series, Planet Earth II, will be featured on a six-episode series on Snapchat. Users will also be treated to never before seen exclusives, 3D footage and audio. Unfortunately, Sir David won’t be joining us for the weekly 4 to 6 minute episodes (we’re pretty disappointed we weren’t able to use ‘David Snappenborough’ in this article title, to be honest) but hopefully users will still be treated to some of the breathtaking content as seen on the show’s television series. The Snap shows will be narrated by actress Sophie Okonedo.

The world is Going Gaga for drones, thanks to Intel

By now, most people have seen (or at least heard about) Lady Gaga’s halftime show performance at Super Bowl LI. Gaga’s performance was memorable, not only for her incredible charisma, but also for the army of drones that lit up the Houston skyline. When you think of drone technology, the fields of photography or videography, manufacturing and military usually come to mind – using drones to replace fireworks is a relatively novel concept. That being said, the Intel Shooting Star drones have appeared across the world in the past 12 months, including stops at Disneyland and Vivid Sydney. So, how does it work? An article on Wired explains that, “Each drone communicates wirelessly with a central computer to execute its dance routine, oblivious to what the hundreds of machines around it are doing.”

The Superbowl ad champion – an unlikely contender

Many in adland have crowned the ‘recruitment’ ad from 84 Lumber (an American building materials company) the winner of Superbowl Sunday. The brand has never bought a Superbowl spot before, and pulled out all the stops for their first attempt. The cinematic piece follows a mother and daughter from Mexico making a harrowing journey to the US, only to find that there is an impenetrable wall that now divides the border. The resolution is heartfelt, but 84 Lumber took a huge risk and only showed a short version of the ad during the game, asking viewers to visit the website if they wanted to see the end. The brand has faced a fair amount of backlash for what appears to be a pro-immigration stance, however they have responded to the commentary on Twitter, stating that they are pro legal immigration only, and that the mother and daughter represent the type of employees they would like to have working at 84 Lumber.

TV2 Denmark asks us to think outside the box

TV2 Denmark’s new ad “All That We Share” is a timely reminder that, often, we spend too much time focusing on what divides us from others, as opposed to what brings us together. Without giving too much away (you can watch the video below) the ad places a wide variety of people in a single warehouse and a host asks each person to group themselves by category. The categories are decided by asking a series of questions, ranging from the ridiculous to the serious. It is truly a testament to the idea that we all may be more similar than you first think. The video has received more than 2 million views on YouTube.

Did you catch last week’s issue of What Next? Or would you like to browse our previous issues?

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