Break Through Buzz: Full of Surprises

Break Through Buzz is the creative stuff that impressed Ketchum’s creative community this week. Check out what captured our imaginations and inspires us to keep pushing the boundaries of possibility.

park benchNo Ordinary Park Bench
Selected by Prasanna Ratanjankar

To showcase their in-flight service, Virgin Atlantic set up a park bench in the middle of New York City, where unsuspecting souls were treated to a first-class in-flight experience that included gourmet meals and entertainment. Watch this video for an unexpected twist that brings the entertainment to life in the middle of a crowded space, involving onlookers and picture-takers in a surprising development. Great idea and brilliant execution.

samsungThe Samsung Galaxy Stare-Off
Selected by Charlotte Haigh

To launch the new Samsung Galaxy S4, telecommunications provider Swisscom challenged consumers to a 60-minute “stare-off” in a Swiss train station. Using the Galaxy S4’s new eye-tracking technology, Swisscom dared consumers to stare at the phone for a full 60 minutes while the telecommunications provider unleashed distractions all around them. This campaign not only provides humorous content, but it also illustrates the passion that fans feel about the phone – if someone would go through all this to get one, it must be worth it.

skypeBeing There Without Being There
Selected by Jeff Lewonczyk

Get the tissues ready – Skype has released a series of new videos in which a photographer creates ‘impossible family portraits’ that use Skype connections and projectors to virtually reunite separated families in a single image. The stories behind the photos pack a real punch – whether caused by tragedy or more benign means, the disconnections and reunions perfectly illustrate the way Skype is making the world smaller. This is a textbook example of how emotional narrative combined with great insight – in this case, that it takes more than distance to keep a family apart – can create a memorable impact.

crash courseA Crash Course in Makeup – Literally
Selected by Claudia Geidel

This video, which went viral last year, is actually very shocking! I’m inspired by the extreme emotion it evokes – it isn’t easy to do something absolutely unexpected online, but this video succeeded. Second, the fact that it uses a typical YouTube tutorial demonstrates how we can integrate bloggers and YouTube stars into our campaigns in creative ways.