Isolation and loneliness may seem like an odd foundation for a Coca-Cola campaign, but in China, the brand is aiming to bring the smile associated with Coke to a generation afflicted with such attributes as they try to find their way in suddenly booming metropolises.

Coca-Cola's "Friendship Experiment" aims to capture moments of "happiness creation" by inviting "complete strangers to come together and share a moment of connection." It's an effort by Chinese photographer Kurt Tang to combat what he saw as the "dispiriting sense of isolation and loneliness" found today in China's cities.

"We even date through virtual social networks instead of more intimate, human close-in-person communications," Kurt Tang, the photographer and 'Happiness Creator' of the Friendship Experiment, told brandchannel. Tang's photo and video collection, a project that used Coke to bring urbanites together, recently showed at the Fei Gallery in that same city. Notably, the photo exhibition does not contain Coke bottles or products, although some of the videos do.Continue reading...

Just because Polaroid isn’t producing the instant film cameras that dominated that marketplace for 60 years doesn’t mean it's just going to disappear from the scene altogether. PetaPixel.com reports that Polaroid and The Impossible Project are teaming up to release 6-10 Polaroid Classic-branded products each year. The first item in their collaboration: a do-it-yourself paper-camera kit. The kit (only $20) contains materials to create replicas of six classic Polaroid cameras out of paper. The set will include little fake Polaroids that will “develop when rubbed,” the site notes.

The two companies famously paired up in 2008 when cofounders Florian Kaps and André Bosman met at a party for the closing of a Polaroid plant in the Netherlands. The pair teamed up (along with Marwan Saba) and bought the plant and its machinery in order to take over the instant-photo business that creates products that work with Polaroid cameras. Now, Impossible has offices in New York and Vienna, while Polaroid is putting its energy into consumer electronics and eyewear these days. The two will also work together to sell off the final “batch of Polaroid film ever produced,” the site notes. 

The announcement of the new products came in conjunction with the kickoff of this year’s massive Consumer Electronics Show. At last year’s CES, Polaroid announced that it had partnered up with Lady Gaga to announce its new Grey Label, which was to be co-designed by the performer.Continue reading...

Launching their first brand campaign since 2005, Kodak is trying to cheer up consumers worried about the ailing economy.

Starting tomorrow, Kodak will inform consumers that "It's Time to Smile" in a series of television and print advertisements.

The branding campaign is a response the challenging economic climate. Eastman Kodak Company commissioned a report, the “Future of Reconnectivity,” which found that during "tough times, people have a common desire to reconnect with loved ones, in part, by sharing photos."Continue reading...