iDog Clip from Sega Toys dances with you

Written by: Michael Keferl on July 7, 2008 at 11:22 pm | In Technology & Gadget Trends | No Comments

It’s been some time since the iDog from Sega Toys debuted in Japan. In fact, it was one of the original products in this new age of digital lifestyle goods coming out of the Japanese market, and set the stage for what has been several years of fun and weird gadgets. iDog Clip is no exception.

iDog Clip is just what it sounds like: The ear-dancing and LED light-displaying canine (head anyway) clips to your shirt or bag to beat to the music wherever you go. Just plug it into your music player, and you can get the sound directly through the built-in speaker. The best feature is that you can also plug in your headphones as well, eliminating the speaker sound, but keeping the motion as you listen to whatever it is you kids are listening to these days.

Product page

Tags: iDog, iDog Clip, Lifestyle, music, Sega Toys, Toys
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage

MINIInternational Magazine Kyoto Mash-Up party

Written by: Michael Keferl on June 9, 2008 at 12:28 pm | In Marketing & Ad Trends | 2 Comments

Last weekend CScout Japan teamed up with MINI Japan, Kreative Konzeption, and Metropolis to help put on the Kyoto Mash-Up party at hip event space Sfera, celebrating the latest edition of MINIInternational Magazine.

The stars of the party, of course, were the stars of the magazine, which focused on Kyoto’s booming art/design/music scene. Music was provided by acclaimed Kyoto-based DJ Halfby and DJ Nic Jagger who flew in from Germany for the event.

You’ll have to pick up your own copy to get the full experience, but MINIInternational magazine features a broad cross-section of modern Kyoto from traditional architect Katsumi Yasuda to director Kazushige Togo, and SOUSOU footwear designer Takeshi Wakabayashi. This isn’t the typical “outsider looking in” view of Kyoto, but was written by experts who were either born in Kyoto, or have adopted it as a second home.

Thus far there’s been great coverage of the party/magazine, from press, featured artists, and attendees (See 1, 2, 3, 4) to MINI dealers here.

Stunning papercraft was on display from Eriko Horiki, a featured MINI
International artist.

Kudos to MINI Japan for their support, and Kreative Konzeption and Metropolis for putting together an amazing event with a top-notch guest list. Special thanks to Roland Hagenberg, Yoshihito Sasaguchi, and Yasuyuki Sodeoka for putting together an amazing magazine with their deep expertise on Kyoto.

Of course, many thanks to the artists and guests that came to celebrate together, as well as all of the caterers, Sfera staff and management, and all others involved in making this project a success.

It’s amazing how many people go into making a single party, but we had a great time, and hope everyone else did as well.

To sum up, here’s some more DJ Halfby for your listening pleasure.

Tags: Architecture, Art, Automotive, design, Mini, music, Parties, Press
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage

Marketing fun in Shibuya with Hachiko and J-Pop

Written by: Rebecca Milner on May 29, 2008 at 11:59 pm | In Marketing & Ad Trends | 1 Comment

Zexy, a popular bridal magazine, has co-opted Shibuya’s beloved icon Hachiko for its current elaborate marketing campaign. While the original dog statue was created to commemorate the loyalty of a dog who met his master everyday at Shibuya station, this new effigy of Hachiko has been created by Zexy to serve as a mascot for women in love.

From this week in honor of the magazine’s 15th anniversary, Zexy is launching a one-month limited-time site for PCs and mobiles, called the “Love Special Site,” that is overseen by the image of a doe-eyed, tiara-wearing, Chihuahua-esque character named Hachiko. The site features a daily love horoscope and a love message board, plus information about Hachiko’s very limited appearance this week in front of the Tsutaya media store at Shibuya crossing.

The “real” character is a surprisingly natural looking robot dog, atop a pedestal modeled after the original statue, that needless to say attracted crowds of mobile phone picture takers. While you have your mobile out, you can also scan a giant QR code poster to take you straight to the website.

Meanwhile, down the street, pop idol duo the Vanilla Beans staged an interesting publicity stunt in a truck parked in front of Shibuya 109. In promotion of their new single Nicola, the pair donned retro flight attendant ensembles and hung out (looking kind of bored) inside the window-fronted truck.

Guess which act drew the most attention (and mobile photographers)? Yup, the robot dog.

Tags: Bridal, magazines, music, QR Codes, Shibuya
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage