Wrigley’s Orbit gum has jumped on the crowdsourcing bandwagon, inviting the public to engage with the brand from a design and customization perspective, via packpage designs on a Facebook app. Live through February, the app pulls data from a user’s profile and generates a custom gum pack design for every participant, “essentially making each person’s Facebook life a work of art.”

The contest leverages infographics technology and the design skillz of EVB (Evolution Bureau) digital artist Joshua Davis, known for building algorithmic systems, although anyone can now audition to be a digitally crowdsourced artist. Facebookers can solicit votes for their package designs and the winner could even hit store shelves in 2012.Continue reading...

Last June, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett introduced DumbDumb, a production company backed by Ben Silverman's Electus to create original web comedies for brands, starting with Orbit gum.

Add Denny's to that roster with Always Open with David Koechner, a new web series that reinforces its "America's Diner is Always Open" campaign. It stars Koechner — who you may recognize from his recurring role on NBC's The Office — chatting with a cast of fellow comics that includes Bateman and Arnett, plus Kristen Bell, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, and Will Forte.

Watch the trailer above, and the first episode below.Continue reading...

In keeping with its longstanding tradition of bucking the system, Viacom's U.S. all-humor network, Comedy Central is launching “Portable Lounge.”  This Web series is being taped on-location across the country, in front of small audiences in such non-traditional comedy venues as a comic book shop, a butcher shop and a chocolate factory. The name comes from the intentionally crummy set: two fold-up beach chairs, a wooden crate and a lamp with a tacky red shade.

The first of the fifteen-minute episodes, above, is set in a bowling alley. The schedule is somewhat erratic; with no commitment to a regular slot, the format includes a rotating roster of guests and hosts such as Chris Gethard, star of Comedy Central’s Big Lake series, and Saturday Night Live regular Bobby Moynihan.Continue reading...

NBC Universal's new Dial Star, a 10-episode Web series sponsored by AT&T, is the latest proof of the media giant's growing commitment to branded entertainment. It also follows on rival moves, such as Orbit’s new DumbDumb campaign from former NBCU entertainment head Ben Silverman and actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.

Starring Annalynne McCord (above, of 90210 and Nip/Tuck fame), Dial Star aims to build an online following and viral buzz with its mix of Hollywood glitz and glamour, deception and identity theft.

NBCU, which made its name in TV and filmed entertainment, now aims to be the "the leader in original digital entertainment with brands."Continue reading...

It may be called DumbDumb, but there’s nothing dumb about this branded entertainment startup from comedians Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, as evidenced by its first longform video spots for Orbit gum.

The brand is not so subtly hyped on DumbDumb's site and YouTube to pitch Orbit as a product that can “clean up dirty situations.” Arnett and Bateman are the creators, directors and executive producers of the shorts, in which they also star.

It also marks a new direction for Orbit, the Wrigley-owned brand that spoofed its longrunning "dirty mouth" campaign at the recent profanity-filled MTV Movie Awards.

DumbDumb is co-producing the Orbit digital shorts campaign in partnership with CollegeHumor.com and Electus, the branded entertainment company started by Ben Silverman after he left NBC as its head of entertainment.Continue reading...

"Ready or not, here it comes."

That's the tag line of a new TV ad for Stride Shift, a sugarless gum that claims to change flavors as the consumer chews it. Available in two flavors (Berry-to-Mint and Citrus-to-Mint), Stride Shift is the latest entry in the sugarless gum category, a market worth over $2 billion.

What's changing, in addition to Stride's Willy Wonka-esque flavor-changing twist, is the marketing approach of Kraft's Cadbury division when it comes to the brand.

Already positioned as "The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum," Stride has abandoned the typical sugarless gum marketing strategy of pitching fresh breath, whitening, or being good for consumers.Continue reading...

Wrigley is the world's leading chewing gum maker. Its Orbit brand is number five on Euromonitor's list of top-selling candies and gums in 25 countries. But in Russia, Orbit is number one,  according to BusinessWeek. So Wrigley, purchased by Mars in 2008, is making a play for a bigger share of the Russian market.

For Russians, Wrigley is introducing new Orbit flavors, but it is also taking somewhat of a brand risk. BusinessWeek reports that the company has just begun marketing "individually wrapped snacks that look like baked flat breads or crackers and come in a variety of flavors." Erwin Hinteregger, Wrigley's director of emerging business territories, said the "croutons" were developed by the company's Russian unit to fit the country's unique snack demands, and it's unlikely that the product will be marketed elsewhere.Continue reading...