As Ad Age notes this week, Google is pitching ad agencies on its new Silicon Valley x Madison Avenue positioning, "Agile Creativity." As the trailer above shows, it's Google's hope that it will spark conversations with advertisers and marketers about tapping into and collaborating with its technology — such as Project Glass (aka the augmented reality Google Googles), self-driving car, and other innovations.

Below, watch the August 8th Google Hangout discussing the digital tech pitch with, from Google, Torrence Boone, Managing Director, Agency Business Development (a former agency exec); Chee Chew, Director of Engineering, Google+; a rare sneak behind the curtain by Rich DeVaul, Rapid Evaluator at the stealth skunkworks that is the Google[x] Lab; and on the agency side, Greg Andersen, CEO of BBH NY; and John Boiler, CEO & Founder, 72andSunny — both of whom share their insights on Google's new Agile Creativity home page.Continue reading...

Google today announced it's expanding its self-driving robotic car test with a new car model for the next leg of its journey: the Lexus RX450h, which will help it "refine our systems in different environments and on different terrain." Its blog post update on the project:

Our vehicles, of which about a dozen are on the road at any given time, have now completed more than 300,000 miles of testing. They’ve covered a wide range of traffic conditions, and there hasn’t been a single accident under computer control. We’re encouraged by this progress, but there’s still a long road ahead. To provide the best experience we can, we’ll need to master snow-covered roadways, interpret temporary construction signals and handle other tricky situations that many drivers encounter. As a next step, members of the self-driving car team will soon start using the cars solo (rather than in pairs), for things like commuting to work. This is an important milestone, as it brings this technology one step closer to every commuter. One day we hope this capability will enable people to be more productive in their cars. For now, our team members will remain in the driver’s seats and will take back control if needed.

On Day 10 of the London Olympics, Nissan on Monday unveiled its vision for the future of the city's iconic 'black cab' and its 300,000 daily users - the Nissan NV200 London Taxi. Taxi versions of the NV200 have already been unveiled in Tokyo and New York, where it's billed as the "Taxi of Tomorrow."

The NV200 London Taxi will offer significantly reduced CO2 outputs compared to current taxi models, in line with London Mayor Boris Johnson's Air Quality strategy for London. An all-electric e-NV200 concept is also set to undergo trials in the Capital.Continue reading...

Five years ago today, Apple changed the world – again — by launching the first iPhone. The press release for the 6:00 p.m. EST, June 29th, 2007 launch noted:

iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a revolutionary multi-touch display and pioneering new software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers. iPhone combines three products into one small and lightweight handheld device—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod®, and the Internet in your pocket with best-ever applications on a mobile phone for email, web browsing and maps. iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

Since then, the smartphone marketplace has changed considerably thanks to its innovation and design. And Apple has reaped the rewards, pulling in $150 billion from the iPhone alone — and creating an "app economy" the likes of which even Steve Jobs couldn't have predicted five years ago.Continue reading...

Sunday's New York Times magazine paid tribute to "32 innovations that will change your tomorrow" (and let designers hack its logo as part of the package). Best Buy's new ad campaign also pays tribute to student innovators, while the electronics retailer tips its hat to phone innovation, below.Continue reading...

Apple's latest TV commercial pairing iPhone's Siri with a celeb stars John Malkovich, above. He's the third celeb to test Siri's voice recognition chops (and sense of humor) following Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson. Malkovich is the first celeb, however, to get two spots: "Joke," above, and "Life," below. On a more serious note, the security of Siri's voice data is also raising concerns in some quarters.Continue reading...

Apple nearly went out of business back in the late ’90s, but the creation of the iMac helped save it. Of course, then the iPod, iPhone, and iPad came along, all of which didn’t just change the revenue stream at Apple, but helped the change the culture overall.

Even though it’s already had such recent success, Apple’s SVP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, tells the Telegraph in part two of an interview (here's part one) that the company is still working on its “most important and best work.”

The London-born Ive, who goes by Jony, was back in his homeland for a momentous occasion — the newly minted knight is now Sir Johny Ive, thank you very much. Not that the soft-spoken Brit would want to be called that back at the office.

“We have become rather addicted to learning as a group of people and trying to solve very difficult problems as a team,” the design guru said of his colleagues at Apple HQ in Cupertino, CA. “And we get enormous satisfaction from doing that. Particularly when you’re sat on a plane and it appears that the majority of people are using something that you’ve collectively agonized over. It’s a wonderful reward.”Continue reading...

The assembly-line process made famous by the Ford Motor Company that ushered in an era of mass production that enabled consumers across the globe to have the same products at the same time is about to change.

Assembly-line jobs used to be the backbone of the working class. But now robots are entering the picture more and more and Canon claims that it will have its digital-camera assembly line in Japan completely automated as soon as 2015, according to The Toronto Star. As it is now, jobs have been moving out of the country to China, India, and elsewhere in Asia due to the high price of labor expenditures.

Employees of Canon needn't be alarmed. “When machines become more sophisticated, human beings can be transferred to do new kinds of work,” said Jun Misumi, a spokesman for the company, commented to the Star.Continue reading...