Nike: The Chosen

Nike's first ever all action sports spot is dark and explosive

Working in collaboration with Los Angeles based agency 72andSunny, Nike has launched a new global campaign, based as always on the Just Do It strategy, entitled The Chosen. A film made up of a series of epic action sports commercials and behind the scenes features, it features the likes of Paul Rodriguez, Danny Kass and surfer Julian Wilson amongst others.

Shot by renowned cinematographer Lance Acord, the filming takes place in the inky darkness of night using a combination of lighting techniques; huge rigs, spotlights and the odd firework create scenes with a pretty cinematic feel. It's not the first time someone has shot action sports in this style, but it's definitely one of the few times all of these sports have come together in one coherent commercial - the result is a seriously good-looking piece of content that appeals to both the core and mainstream views alike. The footage premièred on Facebook yesterday evening (2nd June). Fans of Nike 6.0 (the brands' action sports offshoot) were alerted through the social network and tuned in from 7-8pm GMT to watch the action and participate in the live chat stream.

Nike is also running a video contest inviting skaters, surfers, BMX riders, snowboarders and skiers to submit a footage of themselves and friends. It's a great prize for a budding action sports fan - the chance to travel with the Nike team and get access to exclusive Nike products and experiences. This will run within Facebook and winners will be determined by fan support, Nike and their roster of elite athletes.

http://nike.com/chosen

Vaseline - Love it?

Vaseline has released a brand new flavoured lip balm which is sure to have people divided.

With most brands offering just strawberry and other fruity options Vaseline have decided to widen their options with Marmite Vaseline.

They say....

'Following over a decade of in-depth research, it was clear the ‘yeast extract’ lip care market was not being catered for. So the lip experts at Vaseline and flavour junkies at Marmite have finally joined forces to create a mouthwatering new flavour.

Like Batman and Robin, cheese and pineapple, and, erm, Jedward….this is the partnership everyone’s been waiting for. Guaranteeing healthy looking lips and protection from the elements, Vaseline Lip Therapy Marmite is also rich in B vitamins and 100% vegetarian.'

More information on the limited edition Vaseline Lip Therapy Marmite (RRP £1.99) is available here.

Will you be buying this? I certainly shall.

The Man Saver

This clever app makes sure you (yes, boys!) don't forget any relationship milestone, and gives you advance warning so you can make romantic plans.

There may be nothing worse a man can do in a relationship than forget his anniversary. If such forgetfulness happens, one of two scenarios will likely ensue: a rushed panic to make a dinner reservation, find a gift, and locate an open flower shop before it’s too late, or forgetting altogether and get hounded for years (or until you break up) about that one time you forgot your anniversary. Trust me with this one, you will pay a price for this blunder of all blunders. While I am a fan of iindividuals who can remember by themselves or have the smarts to write that special date down, the MANsaver app (free) could be the lifesaver of those who tend to forget.

The clever app asks you to enter whether you are dating or married and the start date of your relationship. From that simple information, the MANsaver app generates reminders for every possible anniversary, holiday, and milestone that could possibly occur. It has all the important dates covered, but even reminds you about absurdities like “100 days of dating” that only the crazy girls would pull on you, so you’re safe no matter what. Push notifications give you a generous five-day notice on important dates as well as a day-of reminder in case you still haven’t made that reservation. To get even more ambitious, the app gives you creative date ideas, gift options, and sentimental drafts of text messages. I'm not so sure that plagiarising an overly-sweet text message will put you in your girl’s good graces, but remember that big one-year anniversary definitely will. If possible, I suggest also plugging in her/my birthday. Wouldn’t want to miss that one.

What...you think that I only get the ladies because I'm the most re-dunk-u-lous-ly good looking news anchor in town? Stay classy Man Saver.

- R. Burgandy

Lick It...

It's interactive. It has a cat. It makes you uncomfortable. It's so Skittles and it's so good.

A Screen Legend

Dubbed 'the last of the Hollywood greats', the much-loved actress's life had held the public imagination from the moment she first appeared on screen in 1942, not only for her beauty and glamour, but also for her turbulent personal life, her many marriages and her tireless charity work.

Born to American parents in London in 1932, Dame Elizabeth starred in her first film, There’s One Born Every Minute, at just 10 years old. She then skyrocketed in to fame at the age of 12 after her role as Velvet Brown in National Velvet but, like many childhood stars, she struggled for the public to accept her in more mature roles and for MGM, the production company to which she was signed, to give her more serious parts.

However, in 1960 Taylor went on to land one of her most famous roles as Cleopatra, complete with a million dollar pay cheque - a first for any Hollywood actress. Taylor starred opposite Richard Burton, whom Taylor went on to marry twice, marking the start of an iconic Hollywood relationship.

It was no secret that as captivating she was on screen, and it was Taylor’s glamorous, provocative personal life that lead to the most interest. She married a total of eight times in her life (she was divorced seven times and widowed once), although it is thought she never got over Burton and was inconsolable following his death in 1984, saying "perhaps we loved each other too much".

Taylor was always ahead of the times, from her controversial movie roles, to her personal life, and in 2009 she managed to break the mould again by joining - and becoming an active user of - Twitter. She used the medium to both promote the various good causes she was a supporter of (including many AIDS charities) and to share inspirational words of wisdom. One of her final tweets, referring to rumours of a film about her and Richard Burton's life together, read "No one is going to play Elizabeth Taylor, but Elizabeth Taylor herself.. Not at least until I'm dead, and at the moment I'm having too much fun being alive...and I plan on staying that way. Happiness to all."

Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away today (23 March 2011) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in LA. She will endure as one of Hollywood’s greatest and most glamorous icons, and she will be greatly missed.

Bizarre foods: European "delicacies," by country

What constitutes "food" is relative, depending upon what part of the world you call home. In Asia, pretty much anything on no (snakes), two, four, six, or eight legs is up for grabs. Europe, however, has its own culinary oddities, as detailed below. Got maggots?

Iceland
Hákarl: Fermented, dried Greenland or basking shark. This tasty treat is prepared by burying the beheaded and gutted shark in a shallow hole in the ground for six to 12 weeks. Unsurprisingly, the end result is considered noxious to pretty much everyone on the planet aside from Icelanders.

Norway
Smalahove: Boiled lamb's head, traditionally served at Christmas. The brain is removed, and the head salted and dried before boiling. Because they're the fattiest bits, the ear and eye are eaten first. More fun than a wishbone.

Sardinia (yes, it's in Italy, but this one deserved its own listing)
Casu marzu: This sheep's milk cheese has maggots added to it during ripening, because their digestive action creates an "advanced level" of fermentation (also known as "decomposition"). Some people prefer to eat the soupy results sans critters, while the stout of heart go for the whole package. Be forewarned: according to Wikipedia, irate maggots can propel themselves for distances up to six inches. Here's fly in your eye.

Northern Sweden or Finland
Lappkok: This charmingly-named concoction consists of blodpalt--a dumpling made with reindeer blood and wheat or rye flour--served with reindeer bone marrow. Well, Santa's herd had to retire sometime.

Sweden
Lutefisk: This dried whitefish treated with lye is beloved by Scandinavians and their American Midwestern ancestors (let's just say it's an acquired taste). It's traditionally served with potatoes or other root vegetables, gravy or white sauce, and akvavit.

Scotland
Haggis: Who doesn't love a cooked sheep's stomach stuffed with its lungs, heart, and liver, combined with oatmeal?

Poland
Nozki: Literally "cold feet," this dish of jellied pig's trotters isn't as repulsive as it sounds. The meat is simmered with herbs and spices until falling off the bone, and set in gelatin. Think of how much fun this would be as a Jello shot.

Ukraine
Salo: The cured fatback of pork is actually quite delicious, and similar to Italian lardo when seasoned. It's chopped and used as a condiment, or eaten straight-up on bread. Plan your angioplasty accordingly.

England/Ireland
Black (or blood) pudding: Technically a sausage, this mixture of animal blood (usually pork), spices, fat, and oatmeal or other grains is surprisingly good. It's served uncooked, fried, grilled, or boiled. Sound bad? At least it's not called Spotted Dick.

Italy
Stracotto d'asino: A northern Italian donkey stew, often served as a pasta sauce. Donkey and horse are eaten throughout Italy, but this particular dish is a specialty of Veneto, and Mantua, in Lombardy.

France
Tête de veau: You have to love that the venerable French culinary bible, Larousse Gastronomique, describes this dish of boiled calf's head as, "a gelatinous variety of white offal." Mmm. While there are many different preparations for the classical dish, it was traditionally served with cocks' combs and kidneys, calves sweetbreads, and mushrooms.

Eastern Europe
P'tcha: A calves' foot jelly enjoyed by Ashkenazi Jews throughout this part of Europe. It's uh, high in protein.

Germany
Zungenwurst: This sausage is made of pork blood and rind; pickled ox tongue, and a grain filler, such as barley. It's available dried, or can be browned in butter or bacon fat before eating. And bacon makes everything better.


Netherlands
Paardenrookvlees: Culinarily-speaking, the Dutch usually cop grief for their proclivity for pickled herring and eating mayonnaise on their french fries. That's because most Americans don't know this smoked horse meat is a popular sandwich filling. Trust me: Seabiscuit tastes pretty good.

Greece
Kokoretsi: Lamb or goat intestines wrapped around seasoned offal (lungs, hearts, sweetbreads, kidneys), threaded onto a skewer, and cooked on a spit. You know what's good with grilled meat? Meat.

The Augmented Effect

There has been a huge rise in the amount of augmented reality advertising billboards that are creating dynamic experiences around the world, and this one by Lynx brings sexy angels to Victoria station. As you can see from the video commuters are encouraged to interact with the ads and this draws attention from around the station and creates a level of engagement that a normal billboard could only really ever dream of getting.

See the clip above to find out how they wowed people.

Word spread fast as travelers found they could interact with the angels in virtual reality on a big screen, after stepping on a special floormat. We're wondering how many people missed their trains as a result.....

The campaign was created by BBH, London.