Spacedog: A Digital Ideation Agency

We are very pleased to bring you our latest effort: fakerestaurant.com. Go there now to check out bonus footage from CKE’s remarkable and elaborate Fake Restaurant campaign.

You’ll meet people who were happily tricked into spending $14 for a Carl’s Jr. burger. Plus you can check out in-depth, behind-the-scenes, footage to see exactly what went into making Fake Restaurant work. You can even get up close and personal with the real stars of Fake Restaurant: the burgers.

Many thanks to our partners and vendors who made this possible. And of course all of our tireless and dedicated Spacedogs.

Embrace the fake today at Fake Restaurant. Explore and enjoy the site, and be sure to share it with others who want to get in on the fake out.

Best,
Spacedog

To generate buzz for the TV show Law & Order: SVU, we were approached by NBC/Universal to develop a digital content campaign that would captivate a younger audience of untapped viewers.

We felt the best way to draw a user into the storyline was by putting them directly into a show situation - an interrogation. It can be a pretty nerve racking experience to be on the the other end of an interrogation with an SVU detective - particularly when it’s Ice-T (one of the main characters on the show).

Here is how it works:
1) You set up your buddy by entering some information about your relationship.
2) Your buddy receives an email saying that you’re in serious trouble and you need his help at the police station.
3) Your buddy has now been put into a 1st person interrogation with Ice-T and he knows when you are lying!
4) After the interrogation, the original sender receives an email letting you know if your buddy cracked under the pressure.

Spacedog was responsible for concepting, script development, web design and back-end development. The site was built in Flash 9 to take advantage of the latest video functionality that is the back-bone of this experience. We worked closely with the Wolf Films team on shooting the video footage of Ice-T and then integrating this into a back-end system to splice all of the videos together based on the user experience.

The site just launched. Please be a part of the viral discussion: give it a try and pass this along to your friends!

Mimeo is the fresh upstart on the block, utilizing innovative online, on-demand document printing and distribution to set itself apart from bigger players like Kinko’s. We like to think of Mimeo in Mac and PC terms…think Mimeo is to Mac as Kinkos is to PC.

Mimeo approached Spacedog to help them design the interface for their new website. In our approach, we wanted to accomplish the following:

1) Create an intuitive interface that drives users into the trial navigation funnel.

2) Immediately communicate that Mimeo is a better solution than Kinko’s or other printing services by highlighting Mimeo’s core service offerings & customer service proposition.

3) Develop a look & feel that supports Mimeo’s positioning as an innovation leader.

Working closely with the Mimeo team, we developed a user interface and information architecture strategy that would accomplish these objectives.

Check out the website at www.mimeo.com.

Spacedog was one of 4 agencies selected to present an example of an integrated campaign case study at the Yahoo! Creative Summmit at the Pacific Design Center.

Spacedog presented a branded content and marketing campaign for Mazda called “Revved”. View the Webcast Here.

Leomax Entertainment approaches Spacedog Entertainment to create a compelling story to act as the prequel to their next feature film, Walled In (based on the French novel Les Emmures, by Sergio Brussolo).

The franchise was created to generate further interest in the story surrounding Walled In and provide multiple touch points for consumers to tap into. Spacedog’s market penetration in the comic book and graphic novel community provides direct access into some of the most desirable and sought after demographics in advertising. The story is being released as a single graphic novel in 2008.

The movie is currently being filmed in Canada, and is being directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner (UV, Pretty Things) and starring Mischa Barton (The OC, The Sixth Sense, Notting Hill) alongside co-stars Deborah Kara Unger (Payback, Sunshine), and Cameron Bright (Thank You for Smoking, X-Men: The Last Stand).

Walled In, the movie, follows engineering graduate Sam Walczak, a demolitions expert following in her family’s footsteps. Sam is hired to supervise the demolition of a mysterious building, an estate constructed long ago by the infamous architect Malestrazza, a man inspired by Egyptian sorcery to entomb his residents within the building’s very walls. Sam’s time inside Malestrazza’s home unveils unknown details of the architect’s life, and the long-forgotten secrets of his astonishing house.

Illustrated by the extremely talented Dennis Calero (Legion of Super-Heroes, Peter David’s current run on X-Factor), the series explores the life of Malestrazza, prior to the motion picture. The book is scheduled for a summer 2008 release. The movie - which is in post-production - is expected in fall 2009.

Did you know that it takes about the same amount of time to fly from California to Italy as it does to Sydney, Australia? (We knew b/c our clients are Qantas and Tourism Australia).

So, you would think that people would consider a one week trip to a city in Australia. Well, our clients Qantas Airways and Tourism Australia had found that most people didn’t think of Australia when considering one week vacation destinations.

Voila - The genesis of the “AussieWeek” campaign. Qantas and TA are running a multi-media campaign to help change perception about Australia and at the heart of the campaign is the AussieWeek website that showcases videos and testimonials from actual travelers who have gone down to Australia for a 1 week trip. The website is used as storytelling device to change perception…with the limits of a 30 second TV spot or a 12 second banner ad, the website is the perfect platform for getting the “story” across and engaging our target audience of California travelers.

Spacedog was the lead online creative agency, but we have to give credit where credit is due. We worked closely with M&C Saatchi and our friends at We Are Mammoth (back-end flash developers) to create this website. This is the 1st phase of the website and more will be rolling out soon…

OK, now check out the site and get on a Qantas plane down to Australia…

Sony Music Japan and Spacedog Entertainment have partnered to create a video featuring the music of J-Pop sensation HALCALI and specially created animation for the Spacedog’s newest release, eV, a manga developed by Spacedog, is being published through TokyoPop, the largest publisher of manga in the U.S. The story follows a teenage girl that is swept up in a worldwide effort to save the Earth from impending aliens. eV is written by Xombie’s James Farr and features art by Alfa Robbi.

HALCALI is a Japanese hip-hop duo consisting of two female members, Haruka and Yukari. In what started out as a contest for best female rapper, the group has pop-icon status sold out headlining shows and have recorded with many high-profile Japanese artists. At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, HALCALI won “Best New Artist” for their song Strawberry Chips and “Breakthrough Video” for Giri Giri Surf Rider. Recently HALCALI was nominated by Shojo Beat in the third annual Shojo Beat Music Awards for “Best New Artist or Group.”

With HALCALI’s upcoming Japanese CD release and pending U.S. CD release, eV provided a unique opportunity to collaborate on a fun and unique element for fans of both genres. Spacedog worked closely with James Farr to produce video animation to set to HALCALI’s song Sister Ship, creating a video encompassing the youthful appeal of both eV and HALCALI.

The video is scheduled to debut in mid-March.

In a dual celebration of the holidays and competition, Spacedog recently completed it’s 2nd Annual SD Olympics. In a tight battle, Team Grey (led by yours truly Dustin Callif) defeated Team Black (led by my partner and losing captain, Roger Mincheff). In true Spacedog style, the events consisted of such tests of will and athletiscm as: Rochambeau (AKA, Rock Paper, Scissors), Mechanical Bull Riding, Laser Tag, Air Hockey and Family Feud.

Mark Kauffman was the overall individual winner and walked away with the coveted Olympics Champion trophy.

We’re all champions, just some a bit more than others Here are some pics from the Olympics.

Mistletoes are great and all, but it’s kind of tough to carry one around…until now. In the spirit of the holidays, Spacedog introduces the “Mobile Mistletoe”. Now you can have a digital mistletoe on your cell phone so you’ll always be armed for that moment when you’re ready to pucker up. Big Thanks to Briabe Media who worked with us to produce the Mobile Mistletoe.

Get your Mobile Misletoe by texting “KISS” to 59568.

Happy Holidays!

Working with the Greenspun Media Group out of Las Vegas, we designed, developed and recently launched (yesterday at 5pm) a portal dedicated to Jazz Music at www.jazz.com. The site is built on a comprehensive content management system that allows Greenspun Media to update practically every content section on the site. Built using the Ruby On Rails platform, the site shows off our latest Web 2.0 chops with blogs, RSS feeds and Social Media Community sections.