July 1, 2008
eBay Ordered To Pay For Fake Brands, More To Come?
A French court has ordered online auction house eBay to pay LVMH damages for assisting in the sale of knock offs - while a ruling on a complaint by Tiffany in the US is expected soon. The Financial Times reports:
In spite of Ebay’s claims to have cracked down, in some markets the sale of large numbers of counterfeit luxury goods continues unabated.
After a long-running feud with some of the world’s most famous luxury brands, the moment of truth for Ebay may finally have arrived.
A French court yesterday handed down the most significant judgment to date, ordering Ebay to pay nearly €40m ($63m) to LVMH.
Meanwhile, a judge in the US is due to rule at any time on a similar case brought by Tiffany. “This gives Ebay significantly more incentive to adjust its business model to make it less advantageous for counterfeiters,” said Geoffrey Potter, a US legal expert on counterfeiting issues.
Together, those cases represent the biggest attack on Ebay’s way of doing business in the company’s 13-year history.
FT.com / Home UK / UK - Moment of truth for Ebay on fake luxury goods
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June 27, 2008
Tourist Photographs: Foiled!
Possibly frustrated with rampant tourism around his ‘hood, Berlin-based artist Julius von Bismarck developed a device that manipulates photographs being taken by ‘vandalising’ the subject matter with light. Working much like a portable light projector, Bismarck’s “Image Fulgurator” is comprised of a regular camera, flash control and unit, sensor and a positive-developed picture slide of “graffiti”. The Image Fulgurator fires its own flash when it detects a photograph being taken nearby, flooding the area with a projected image invisible to the naked eye. It’s when the photos are being reviewed after the fact that the vandalism is noticed. Now we just need to get prepared for more paranormal activity reports.
[via Freshness Magazine]
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June 23, 2008
Festival To Feature Wind-Powered Charging Station
The UK’s Glastonbury Music Festival will feature a charging station powered solely by the wind and sun. The French mobile-providing giant, Orange, is the proud parent of the latest edition – last year they tested out a similar station with then-partner Gotwind (and is talks with them for larger-scaled wind-power generators). The tent itself is capable of charging 100 phones per hour and will be a free service offered to concert goers – the “free” part being something that trendwatching.com has been researching religiously for quite some time.
REcharge Pod
[via springwise]
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June 19, 2008
Diesel Marketing Stunts at European Music Festivals
We remember when it was a struggle to dig up $20 for a concert tee with a band logo, but you did it anyway to wear as a badge of honor for having been there/done that. Now Springwise reports on Diesel’s two interesting marketing campaigns at European music festivals this summer. First, Diesel will be hawking (for a whopping 161 euros) a limited edition pair of mud-resistant jeans designed especially for Denmark’s Roksilde festival, one of Europe’s largest with an expected 75,000 attendees. And at Pinkpop, a Dutch festival, Diesel provided showers, fresh towels, and “a little something for those pesky hangovers” - plus they handed out free Diesel underwear to a lucky few.
It’s not the same as wearing a band’s concert tee, but with your new Diesel underwear and special-edition jeans, at least concert-goers have branded memories to hold on to.
via Springwise
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Inspirational Music Video by Naive New Beaters
French electro/rock/pop band, Naive New Beaters, have just come out with this amazing video that will no doubt leave you thinking “how’d they do that?” The track is called, “Live Good.”
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June 17, 2008
Nike PhotoiD
As an extension of Nike iD, the footwear company has launched Nike PhotoiD, a mobile marketing campaign that allows consumers to customize their kicks with colors from the real world. Take a photo with a mobile phone, text message it to a designated number, and Nike will extract the two dominant colors from the scene to create a pair of classic 1985 Dunk high-top basketball sneakers.
The campaign, created by digital agency AKQA, is currently rolling out Europe-wide; no word on future availability in the US.
via Brand Republic
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June 16, 2008
Most Liveable Cities
Monocle editor and Financial Times columnist Tyler Brûlé has announced his most livable cities in the world based on a set of criteria that includes the ease of opening a small business and the number of cultural venues.
- Copenhagen: out in front by virtue of its scale, a good airport, all those bike paths and handsome locals.
- Munich: almost a winner, but it should have committed to building the Transrapid airport rail link.
- Tokyo: the world’s best big city by far. Unfortunately, last week’s stabbing spree hasn’t done much for its public safety record.
- Zurich: more relaxed neighbours would put it in first place.
- Helsinki: a European capital with a foot firmly in Asia.
- Vienna: one of Europe’s greenest cities.
- Stockholm: the city wants to go vertical — a tricky mission.
- Vancouver: the best of North America in a beautiful frame.
- Melbourne: the best neighbourhoods in the southern hemisphere.
- Paris: its visionary mayor has made the old dame internationally relevant again.
Brûlé says that London didn’t make it because city planners fail to inspire and Toronto is off the list because of its sprawling “hideous” suburbs. He tells his FT readers what he thinks most urban dwellers really want:
What urban dwellers tell me they want is pretty standard: a mix of shops and services within walking distance, a good transport interchange within close proximity, green space as part of their residence, a good park with a body of water for a refreshing plunge nearby, independent businesses as a key feature of the community, a sense of security (police on the beat or a Japanese-style police box in their neighbourhood), excellent coffee (Melbourne’s Fitzroy and St Kilda and Sydney’s Potts Point frequently came up as neighbourhoods that had the ideal mix of restaurants, cafés and street life) and finally a little bit of grit and surprise.
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June 9, 2008
Asymmetrical Glasses for Asymmetrical People
Back in the 90s, V-8 commercials promised to “straighten out” those who lived life a little lopsided. Now in 2008, lopsided is the new cool. Sugarkane is an Italian company that produces photochromatic glasses - prescription lenses that are clear when you’re inside and turn into sunglasses outside - with asymmetrical frames. The glasses come in a variety of lollipop and neon colors.
via designerblog.it
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May 30, 2008
We Are Jean Claude Van Damme
Eric of Dark Planneur sent us news about Jean Claude Van Damme mania in Paris. After the success of the Belgian “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis” (soon to be remade by Will Smith – “Welcome To The Ghetto”) this year, Paris seems to be looking for more inspiration from “Le Plat Pays” - which is also home to the next big thing: JCVD aka Jean Claude Van Damme. Eric says:
France is seemingly Americanized with its new belief in the ever so popular “Second Chance.” Just as “Rocky Balboa” resurrected Stalone, “JCVD” will be a perfect comeback for Van Damme, with an added independent movie touch on top of that. In “JCVD,” Van Damme plays himself, ultimately finding himself a hostage in a petty post office in Belgium. The film – a cross between biopic and fiction, is a cinematographic UFO that offers Van Damme the role of his life, as we’ve never seen him before : authentic, betrayed, sensitive, weakened, but never defeated!!!
David Abiker (the famous French columnist) said it : “We are all Jean Claude Van Damme.” JCVD is in the air, as we’re all inspired by the lifestyle he embodies, i.e. his “crazy cool” attitude towards life.
Here’s an except from the movie:
Dark Planner will be holding a week long JCVD event on their site.
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