What was sprite thinking? Let me hazard...

What was sprite thinking?Let me hazard a guess:

Sexy German Sprite Ad - BJ from Max Isaacson on Vimeo.

Could it possibly be that Sprite took a risk and wanted this advert to be banned? Could it possibly be that Sprite is illustrating a movement in to the social media and "viral" space through controversy?I think that Sprite made use of the German standards to benchmark a campaign that would expand much further than the initial launch of the advert in Germany. I think they were banking on their advert being banned from Germany, finding it's way online and spreading across the world.Did anyone notice the new can in the adverts? I did. It could even be said that Sprite is rolling out a world wide relaunch of their brand and this is the mechanism they have chosen to introduce users to this new brand. Perhaps.

The Vida e Caffé tribe

The tribe is strong with this one.Last week (26 March 2009) saw the launch of the Vida e Caffé Twitter Account (follow them). I immediately followed them, then realised they were giving away free coffee to the first 60 direct messages. So I sent off a message and managed to get myself some coffee to collect soon at my nearest Vida, which happens to be Rosebank, Johannesburg.The very next day I decided to have a morning meeting at Vida e Caffé in Rosebank with my coffee and my mac. I paid for my coffee. I don't even care if I ever get my free coffee, it's the idea that matters, the offer that counts and the ownership I feel towards the brand that makes me loyal to the Vida brand.Hell, to be perfectly honest, I'm not even sure if I think there coffee is the best of the best, but I really don't care.Let me tell you why I don't care.I don't care if Vida has the best coffee because I like the service I receive when I order my coffee. I get smiles, jokes and laughs.I don't care if Vida has the best coffee because I like the way they operate their business.I like the placement of their shops. I like the vibe of the brand, the funkiness and the way they embrace the culture of South Africa in spite of the brand being more Portuguese.I like that their menu is simple and their food is good, however expensive it might be.Vida e Caffé has positioned itself as one of those brands that people would rather pay an extra R5-R10 for per coffee just to say it's a Vida coffee. Simple. People feel like they are getting more when they are paying more.The Vida e Caffé brand owns me and let me be clear here, I feel an acute ownership of the brand when I choose to have meetings there, drink the coffee or eat the food.

Working From Home

It's hard to work from home. There are distractions all over and reasons not to work keep popping up. Is it wrong to watch a movie when you should be working? Is it? I think it is but sometimes I just can't help myself.I overcame the early mornings (I am now awake at about 7:30am every morning) and have overcome the breakfast issues (I now eat breakfast). The next hill to climb is gym.I think the best alternative is to get offices. WiredWorks is going to need offices, soon. I think that it is important, not the most important, part of a new company, offices. The corporate identity and brand that offices offer are invaluable. In spite of being an online media company I think that real world organisations like to see some sort of professionalism in small to medium size enterprises and start up companies. Offices, in my opinion are a helpful way to create this identity.There are others ways to achieve this of course, but I think that for me right now, I need to get out of the house.[techtags: corporate identity, startups, branding, marketing, image]