Red Bull unveils Vonn video viewer
Olympics champions have a long tradition of having their jubilant faces plastered on cereal boxes. That was so last millenium. The new way to honor the medal winners is to have them come alive on the side of energy drink packages.
I got an early glimpse of the latest marketing magic when a still photo of Lindsey Vonn, winner of the gold medal in the downhill competition and bronze medal in the super combined race in the 2010 Winter Olympics, come to (virtual) life on the side of a six-pack of Red Bull energy drink. The ultra-slick press kit arrived Thursday morning. The heavy-duty, smooth paperboard box with a glossy close-up shot of Vonn in her ski goggles opens in the center to reveal the six-pack of the beverage tucked into a compartment surrounded by a plexiglass-protected photo of a smiling Vonn. A card with directions to head to the Red Bull webcam viewer site (www.redbull6pack.com) and a flash drive with additional press materials were cemented to the inside "doors" of the box.
It took me a while to figure out how to get my webcam configured to work with the site, but once I got connected, I simply had to hold the six-pack package up to the camera and wait for the magic to begin. Tip: Start the Webcam and put it in "IM" mode, then head to the Red Bull site to start the connection to their interactive video player.
After holding the package to the camera for several seconds, a head shot of Vonn seems to come to life and in next few seconds you see Vonn going through her daily and weekly training routine. There are clips of her twisting downhill and crashing past gates on her way to the finish line. The image on my screen was of me, holding the box with the video of Vonn playing on the side. As I tilted the box from side-to-side or moved back or forward, the image held tight to the box, moving, shrinking and growing with my every movement. As the video comes to an end, Vonn does a brief "walk-on" in front of the image on the side of the box, then she "tears back" the side of the container to reveal the Red Bull cans inside.
It most certainly has the wow factor.
You can see it for yourself, as the limited edition Lindsey Vonn six-packs of Red Bull in regular and sugar-free varieties are now available at Kroger, Safeway, Vons, Ralphs, Jewel-Osco and other locations nationwide. The list price is $8.99.
