I would have to say this is one of the most innovative blog projects I’ve seen in a while. The site explains its mission thusly:
For Art of Speed, Nike commissioned 15 talented young filmmakers to interpret the idea of speed. Over the course of 20 days, this weblog will introduce these innovative directors, their short films, and the digital technology behind the scenes.
Combining two of my favorite trends: advertainment (advermovies, in this case) and business blogging. What else can I say?
Hardly surprising that the creative engine behind this project is Nick Denton‘s Gawker Media. On Nick’s personal site, he writes a more detailed and thoughtful explanation of what the new site is about and the future of this kind of “campaign blog,” which he likens, appropriately, I believe, to a magazine’s “special advertising section”:
Gawker has produced an Art of Speed weblog, consisting of items about the films, their makers, and digital filmmaking in general. The microsite is at www.gawker.com/artofspeed. It’s a month-long temporary weblog, written by Remy Stern of newyorkish.com, and designed by Patric King of House of Pretty.
…
In principle, campaign weblogs allow a marketer to participate in the weblog conversation, rather than observe it as a passive sponsor. Now we’ll just have to see whether they work.
There is a lot more to his post than what I’ve quoted here, but rather than just reprinting the whole thing, I’d encourage you to read it for yourself. There is no doubt this is a seminal event in the development of business blogs. The NYT also reports on this project.
Another crossover idea? Let Nike sponsor the production of a young band’s video… Lord knows what kind of product placement they’d demand in return (probably too much, sadly), but Nike could generate a lot of goodwill -buzzsetting up young bands and young filmmakers together and reaping the karma points.
Comment by hugh macleod — June 14, 2004 @ 5:19 am