PS4 Virtual Reality Project

But I wonder if people will be able to differentiate between what's real and what's virtual, when our senses are fooled. See this.

Kirin - football against the Samurais

What have you? Japanese beer and Samurai fused with Western soccer.

The Wind Rises

I don't mean to spam, but this is one movie that I'm planning to catch:)..

Shampoo in subway

Amazing, right?

Phonebloks - Google Ara Project

I first chanced on a post a few months back on a concept which a company is trying to develop - a fully customised phone. Take a look here.



Yes, it's a great idea which not only "saves" the environment, but also gives power to the consumers on how they want their phone to be like. And it's good to hear that they have progressed since October 2013. Below is the update.



With Google I'd expect things to speed up, and am looking forward to hearing more from the guys!

Elder Scrolls Online - Beta

Let's take a look at this cinematic 'arrival' trailer...



I was wondering if I have seen something similar to this. So actually I realise that the first part of the scene with the giant circular thing floating in the sky seemed a bit familiar with the egg in the sky shown at in Realm Reborn - End of an Era.



Anyways, Elder Scrolls is a cool series. Am looking forward to playing the beta this weekend. Will update what I think about the beta later.

Tango Mango

This is a product which I have been waiting for since I was a kid. Imagine if you can turn your environment into virtual world, and (maybe) control the environment by making changes in the virtual world:)...

Panasonic Econavi Technology (Demo Video) - How it works

Let's take a look at an eco-friendly feature of Panasonic air-conditioner - EcoNavi.



So actually to make Econavi work properly, you'll need to set the temperature of the air-conditioner 1 degree less than what you do with other air conditioning equipment.

After trying EcoNavi for an hour, I thought it'll be better just to switch the feature off and work the air-conditioner as - another brand of air-conditioner.

Ravijour - TRUE LOVE TESTER

The next woman's best friend? The True Love Tester...

Remora Wallet Case for iPhone5

This invention caught my attention. And the advertisement shows well what functions and considerations are put in place when the product is made.

I'm surprised that they have pink colour. I would figure that this wallet case is more for guys than girls, since guys prefer to travel light.

Smaller Size Me!

At the end of the day, it's really about the choices we make.

Cross Country Cycling

It's epic! Cross Country cycling. I wonder if I would have the guts to do it.
You should take a look at this inspirational video.

Merry Christmas!

Here's one from Apple. Merry Christmas!

Fabulous, energetic, powerful - The Taste of Korea

This is what's spotted at potong pasir mrt station. 

Fabulous seaweed...

Energetic oyster...

Powerful flatfish...

There are certain phrases which only Koreans and Japanese can pull off. The phrases seem to suggest food items that can restore hit points or mana points in the consumer. The person who directed this set of advertisements must have liked playing computer games.

Like what...?

So the advertisements are fronted by CNBlue. They did both Japanese and Korean songs. But I don't know who the girl is.

Yup, that's the full one-minute commercial featuring CNBlue and K-Food. K-Food is exciting. This commercial covers a wide range of food except for seafood, featured on the train station platform. It's mesmerising and bold, and I would that that K-Food (and CNBlue) has thickened their skin to confidently promote their food to the world in this manner.

I wonder how many people visit the Korean food market after seeing this commercial.

Welcom to Taiwan 2012 - Time for Taiwan

So after taking various directions and approach to promoting tourism in the country, Taiwan to a step back and levelled up it's branding. In this TVC, Taiwan's attractions are presented in a manner in sync with the slogan, "Time for Taiwan".



So the following themes are presented:
- Time for Taiwan: key attractions in the country
- Time for two wheels: travelling around Taiwan on bicycle
- Time to eat
- Time to shop
- Time to marvel: featuring the cultural faces of Taiwan, including the celebrated festivals and aboriginals ceremonies
- Time for nature: on the natural side of Taiwan
- Time for love: to feature photoshoot locations for newly weds

There is marked differences in the presentation done in 2012 compared to the efforts made in previous years. This TVC is more organised and straightforward, making it simple and easy for visitors to understand what Taiwan has to offer.

Welcome to Taiwan 2011 - Time for Taiwan

The campaign for 2011 took a different direction. Instead of focusing of celebrities and doing "hard sell" via popularising how interesting Taiwan is, the bureau took a down-to-earth normal visitor perspective of things.



So this minute-long TVC is a snapshot of the 16min-long short feature. In it the TVC depicts how visitors from various background - nationality, age and gender - perceive Taiwan. It works because the country is viewed from a visitor's point of view, e.g. group of Japanese girls focusing on shopping and eating in the city, backpacker being in touch to the villages, elderly couple taking the slow pace travel in the farms and a family touching base with various attractions in the country.

It's time for Taiwan~ :)...

Welcome to Taiwan 2010 - Wish to see You in Taiwan

So after Ah Mei and Jolin Tsai, the bureau got 飛輪海 (Fahrenheit) to front the campaign. Watch this.



The main story in this commercial is for the band to bring the fan girl around the country and enjoying, having loads of fun in the country. There's nothing much for me to comment on this TVC.

Welcome to Taiwan 2008 - 2009

After getting Ah Mei to front the Welcome to Taiwan campaign, the next was Jolin Tsai. Let's take a look at the commercial.



So the focus of the campaign this time is very different from the previous in 2007 where Ah Mei and the cultural side of Taiwan was featured. The 2007 campaign was focused on introducing the attractions and achievements of Taiwan. It may sound like as if Taiwan was boasting about it's achievements - but why not? The strategy was probably to get potential visitors interested about what is nice about Taiwan, and why they should visit Taiwan.

So it's a pretty straight forward campaign that year. Just Welcome to Taiwan!

Solvil et Titus 2013 - Time is Love

Time is Love - Solvil et Titus...

This commercial caught my attention on channel 8 (Singapore TV) when it first appeared.


The story is about how love continues to flow as time passes, despite the passing of the female lead, or the destruction of the forest. The message is very clear, just to say that the watch made is long lasting, like how the love is between the couple.

As I went on to do more research and reading on this TVC, I found out that Solvil et Titus has a series of TVCs featuring their watch brand. More information is found on their website here.

And I dug out a prologue to the TVC, which is the one here.


So if you take a closer look at the prologue, you'd realise there are seems to be more than just the story of the couple in the forest. I reckon there'll be something about the old couple on the beachside and the girl running in the rain. But I wonder if the song will remain the same for all TVCs.

Welcome to Taiwan 2007 - Naruwan - Welcome to Taiwan!

So in 2007, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau got Ah Mei to be the ambassador of Taiwan tourism. The TVC is largely focused on publicising the cultural aspect of Taiwan, mostly featuring the aborigines, where Ah Mei is from. Here's a look.



So the TVC ends off with Naruwan - Welcome to Taiwan!, which means "Hello, welcome to Taiwan!", in one of the aboriginal languages. More information on Formosa languages (aboriginal Taiwanese languages) can be found here on wikipedia.

Well, when you have an international star taking the front of a campaign, it's an impact itself. So there needs less to do much about the TVC. I can venture a guess that the bureau probably spent a lot on the fees paid to the singer as an ambassador, but it's worth it. In fact, this is the reason why I noted the Welcome to Taiwan campaign from the beginning.

Thus, there is a lot of significance in getting Ah Mei to front the campaign for the year, and tying the theme of  having the people who originally owned the island welcoming visitors to Taiwan.

Here's a song from Ah Mei which features her mom.