Taxi 2 has become Canada’s first agency named on Google‘s annual Global Creative Canvas, which highlights the online media company’s favourite examples of digital brand creativity that showcase innovation through Google products.
Google announced the 2010 list’s 24 global campaigns Oct. 28 and Taxi 2 got the nod for its Koodo Mobile campaign called Sugar Streak.
The Creative Canvas’ 24 honourees are split into four categories: “Tell Stories,” “Empower Users,” “Evoke Emotions,” and “Start Conversations.”
Sugar Streak was an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure-style YouTube game created with the use of clickable buttons called “annotations.”
Users were able to jump between 13 different videos, totalling over 12 minutes of content, while chasing Koodo’s mischievous Gingerbread Man. This campaign garnered more than 1.5 million video views.
“We’re really excited to be included in that list,” said Taxi 2 executive creative director Lance Martin.”We’ve been trying to think holistically and embrace new technologies from the beginning here. Everything is interlaced across platforms. So when [Sugar Streak] became as popular as it did, for us it was a great validation that we’re headed in the right direction.”
That said, Martin said the pace of innovation in today’s industry won’t let his team rest on their laurels.
“It’s funny, [YouTube] annotations was a pretty new technology at the time, but it just goes to show how quickly things move that not even a year later that it seems kind of old school,” he said. “We’re just trying to stay on the edge of things, so for us to be involved in that collection of work makes us really proud.”
Other awarded campaigns include a Razorfish-created H&R Block execution that also used annotations on YouTube, Nike Football work from AKQA and the “Roller Babies” viral for Danone’s Evian from Euro RSCG Worldwide.
