BMW South Africa recently created an interactive projection mapping experience for the new 1 Series, in the form of a social racing game. The experience was projected to an area of just over 100sqm and allowed participants to play via Galaxy tablets after connecting with Facebook.

Players times were posted to the real-time Facebook leaderboard and shared with friends after their race, with the best drivers in each location winning prizes. While I love the concept of the installation, the actual race course and gaming experience seemed clunky from the video… And for BMW, you’d probably want something a little slicker, easier to use and more exciting?

NET-A-PORTER are rolling out Augmented Reality Shopping Windows, around the world including Paris, New York, London, Munich and Sydney. The video demo above is from late last year for Fashion’s Night Out celebrations in London and New York, but as of today, it’s been rolled out globally for the new Karl by Karl Lagerfeld collection, with the same sort of features.

After downloading the NET-A-PORTER iPhone/iPad app, customers who turn up at stores can activate an Augmented Reality shopping experience by pointing the camera at the various pieces in the window, revealing 360 degree product models, video catwalk showcases, product information, pricing and the ability to buy instantly… It’s also a great way to generate after hours sales. Via.

Here is a nice social integration campaign from Air China. In order to increase consumer awareness about the airline’s flight services to Sweden and throughout the extended Asian region, Air China launched a campaign around Facebook check-ins.

The airline created partnerships with a number of popular Asian restaurants in Sweden, to act as ambassadors for Air China. At each restaurant guests were encouraged to check-in with Air China on Facebook as they sat down to eat. The check-ins were aggregated on the Air China Facebook page, complete with a leader board so and users could view the most popular restaurants. Each week the most those with the highest number of check-ins were awarded two complimentary tickets to Asia. This campaign is a good example of how best to use social media in simple way to get fans on board. (Forgive the pun). It achieved excellent results, reaching over a million people. Created by Swedish advertising agency Rodolfo.

There is a growing trend towards launching promo mobile apps for console games which I’m not sure every buys into just yet, but when you see an example like this from AKQA for Dance Central 2 (the sequel to the most popular Xbox Kinect game) you’ll soon realise the potential for fun-based feature apps and the power of the content that can be shared from it… very cool…

Charity and Human Rights organisations provide agencies with the chance to really think differently, push boundaries and innovate. But it doesn’t always happen that way… So I was really glad to see this smart campaign for Amnesty International, called “The Sound of Amnesty”.

It started like any other petition drive, but this time each digital signature would release the next note in an exclusively written song called the Sound Of Amnesty. Sure, there isn’t anything ground breaking there, but the following integration with Shazam was brilliant.

Whenever Shazam couldn’t detect a song, it would display a special message. ”Valentina Rosendo Cantu could not make herself heard either. Assaulted by soldiers, she asked for justice but the authorities refused to investigate.” It drove 150,000 petition signatures in just a week, a 500% increase on the same campaign last year. Created by La Chose.

As Cadbury reach the 1 million fan mark they’ve celebrated their community with an enormous chocolate like button. They built it entirely out of large blocks of their classic dairy milk chocolate. Check out the making of the button in this video, you’ll see how much effort went in to create this master piece. It took the chocolate architects days of planning, sketching and carefully placing the bars to replicate the iconic Facebook like.

They even created an infographic to show the stats behind the making of this chocolate model. Many loyal fans sent messages of support throughout the build and Cadbury even selected a super fan to place the final square of chocolate on the top to complete the structure. It’s great to see brands finding innovative ways to celebrate their communities. View the infograhpic here...

Here is a really cool project initiated by General Motors, called the “Windows of Opportunity” project that challenged the FutureLAB at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to make back seat windows interactive for kids…

The challenge was designed around a transparent digital display window, and the students worked with the General Motors Human-Machine Interface Group to explore the possibilities of the future. With the outcome being an entertainment centre built around apps to deliver gaming, information and creative expression for kids. Very very cool – it’s probably 10 years off I’m sure. But I can’t wait.

MINI have launched a pretty cool, live streaming social installation at the Brussels Motor Show, featuring the new MINI Countryman. The Countryman was placed on a 15% slope, held only by a thick rope, while a Bunsen burner was placed under the rope and remote rigged to their live streaming app, where each “like” generates you a burst of flame on the rope in real time…

If you’re burst of flame breaks the rope and sets the MINI Countryman free, it’s yours to keep! This is another great examples of the real and digital worlds combining. By TBWA/Agency.com

So I’ve probably seen just about every projection mapping event, installation or experiment known to man. But, I completely missed this one late last year, and… it just happens to be one of the best creative executions around. It’s a little different too, not only were these projections created for use as ads, but they were created with real-time tracking, no special effects and shot in a single take, which is no easy feat… just watch!

The campaign was created to showcase PlayStation’s “Immersive Movie Experience”… Seriously cool huh?… Can you guess the films? Created by The Found Collective. View the videos here...

Just about every other week I get asked about QR codes, you probably do too… Most people will ummm and arrr about their uptake and effectiveness, but it’s only because they don’t think about the post-scan experience properly, and typically fail to get creative enough to get results.

Well, not Scandinavian Airlines, who recently launched the “Couple Up to Buckle Up” 2 for 1 campaign that used two unique QR codes across every touch point (emails, facebook app, banners, print ads .etc), leveraging an insight into how couples most commonly book trips.

Couples would each scan the QR code assigned to them, which would sync their half of a video based offer (if they user is smart enough to scan/play at the same time) and reveal the discount code split across both screens . Now that’s cool. Created by CP+B.

We’ve seen some pretty cool Xbox Kinect experiments to date… but I don’t remember seeing an Xbox Kinect Controlled Electric Skateboard, especially one that can hit 32 miles per hour!

Chaotic Moon’s LABS program set about rigging up an electric skateboard with a Samsung Windows 8 Tablet and an Xbox Kinect to deliver a gesture controlled experience like no other. The Kinect has been rigged to control the speed and breaking abilities of the skateboard based of hand gestures, body movement and distance. Plus they call it the “Board of Awesomeness”

To start, riders raise their hands up to activate the board, then push their hands forward to control the speed, pulling them back to control the brakes in it’s simplest form. Love the Kinect! via PSFK.

It seems like Google has been pumping out a tonne of new ads recently… and this one, launched just a few days ago at CES 2012, again honours their famous analogue story telling style. The ad takes the form of the classic labyrinth game that you might have on your iPhone, but is re-imagined as a massive, physical, handcrafted version of Google Maps. (created by Venables Bell & Partners)

The ad follows a journey through the gyroscopic, maze-type structure to showcase a whole bunch of Google Maps’ features that add ease and discovery to what would normally be just another trip…

It’s Saturday, my time to kick back and relax after a crazy week. And today, I’m watching “PressPausePlay” the award winning SXSW film that has been screened at more than 30 film festivals around the globe. It depicts the digital revolution of the last decade, and the way that technology has opened creativity to each and every one of us…

The film features interviews with thought leaders from different creative spectrums such as Moby, Robyn, Olafur Arnalds, Seth Godin, Sean Parker, Behance founder Scott Belsky, Jonas Woost of LastFM, author Andrew Keen and many more. All sharing their own view of how digitalization has changed the creative industry… It’s just over an hour long, so grab a drink! Watch the full film here...

Here is the teaser video for a new “transparent” smart window screen released at CES 2012… And from all reports, it’s one of the hottest pieces of technology seen so far. The Samsung Smart Window wraps the whole “minority report” experience right up. Supposedly, the new “Smart Window” is just about to hit mass production, so we won’t have to wait too long in 2012 to get our hands on one! So, what would you actually use this baby for? (thanks Franko!)

Here is a neat iAd from Volkswagen which ran in the Auto Esporte tablet magazine recently. Created for the Tiguan, the iAd showcases the Park Assist II feature that is now available, even off road.

The iAd challenges readers to place their finders on the target spots which triggers the Volkswagen Tiguan to “self park” hands free right between your fingers. And of course, the ad goes on allowing you to explore all the key features of the new Tiguan inside the ad. From our friends at AlmapBBDO.