Maximum Digital
By Rob Gerlsbeck
MGM Grand’s website by Diesel, Montreal takes home Best of Show at Digital Marketing Awards
A PVC-clad dominatrix spanking a BMW Mini into submission, animated TV characters slugging each other to the tune of “Kung-Fu Fighting” and George Bush shouting “Tabernac!” while lobbing missiles at newspapers, TVand other media. Those were a few of the more unusual ad campaigns that won at the 2006 Digital Marketing Awards.
But while better web technology and the proliferation of video on web campaigns made these and other marketing efforts more enjoyable and user friendly, the Best of Show winner at this year’s DMAs best exemplifies the merger of technology and creativity with a stunning rich media experience that lets visitors tour the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as if they are really there.
Launched this summer and designed by Diesel in Montreal, Maximum Vegas (http://experience.mgmgrand.com) uses music and dreamy video sequences to give potential guests the full sights and sounds of the hotel. “You felt like you were right there in Las Vegas even if you were in front of your computer in Vancouver or Toronto. It let you experience what the hotel lobby was like, the rooms, everything,” says Jeff Smith, DMA co-chair and senior manager interactive marketing and ebusiness at HBC in Toronto.
Right from the opening screen, viewers are given a sense that the MGM Grand is as far removed from your typical Howard Johnson as can be. On one of the revolving home pages, a man and woman in their underwear, appear engaged in a pillow fight in their hotel room. The picture is still, but white feathers from the pillow float around them.
Once users click on “Enter Maximum Vegas” the scene becomes real. The woman gets up and walks out the door into the lobby, and ends up travelling through various parts of the hotel. It’s all designed to showcase the five major sections of the website: dining, nightlife, amenities, entertainment and accommodations. In one scene she’s lying poolside, in another she (and her man) are at a show and then dancing at a nightclub.
After that one-minute intro, viewers can get a deeper tour of the five hotel sections with photo and video tours of the rooms, restaurants, nightclubs, gaming facilities and shows like Cirque du Soleil’s Kà.
“This site stood out on so many levels. It rocks,” says Dawna Henderson, president of Henderson Bas in Toronto, who sat on this year’s jury and co-chaired the 2005 DMAs. What particularly impressed Henderson was the seamless video. “It wasn’t just let’s go into the frame and click play to see a video,” she says. “They used rich media that was immersive, and so viewers really experience the brand. That’s what it took to win.”
Rich media aside, the site is wonderfully user-friendly, the DMA jury members noted. For instance, a circular video player on the screen lets users fast-forward or rewind video scenes. They can hop from one part of the site to the next without hitting the back button, and the reservation section is always on the screen. As well, readers are offered an RSS feed, which means they can get information on the resort’s special promotions and upcoming events sent directly to their personalized pages, rather than to their e-mail inbox.
“I think we’ll be looking back at this in a few years and say it was very advanced,” says Dave Stubbs, at Teehan+Lax in Toronto, another jury member. It shows Canadian agencies are doing great work on the world stage, he adds. (In fact, in August Maximum Vegas was named Site of the Month by the Favourite Website Awards.)
In addition to DMA Best of Show, Maximum Vegas was a gold winner in the Entertainment Arts and Tourism website category. It was one of 11 gold winners, including the aforementioned George Bush missile game, a promotion for Infopresse done by Marketel, Montreal, which won in the Spawned Ads category.
There were also 15 silver, 15 bronze and seven certificates awarded. American Dad vs. Family Guy, a hilarious fighting game for Fox Home Entertainment by Fuel Industries in Ottawa, won a silver in the Promotional Website category and bronze for Viral Marketing. Mini Canada and Taxi Toronto picked up a certificate in the Consumer Products website category for Mini Dominates Winter, in which a dominatrix employs S&M innuendo to showcase the Mini’s winter driving features.
MGM GRAND
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TITLE: Experience Maximum Vegas
PRODUCT/SERVICE: MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
MARKETER: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
AGENCY: Diesel, Montreal
WEB DEVELOPERS: Pierre Paquet, Andre McDonald, Sylvie Tremblay, Robert Limoge
CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Philippe Meunier, George Giampuranis
COPYWRITERS: Tony Babinski, John Zapf
ART DIRECTOR: Nicolas St-Cyr
DESIGNER: Dave Roberts
PROGRAMMERS: Steve Mathieu, Alain Vézina,Patrick Matte, Louis-Philippe Tremblay
PRODUCER: Richard Jean-Baptiste
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Julie Demers
ANIMATOR: Patrick Matte
CLIENTS: David Van Kalsbeek, Michael Perhaes, Steven Ng, MGM Grand
AGENCY ACCOUNT MANAGERS: Annie Verrier, Martin Gauthier
3D & POST-PRODUCTION: Fake Studio
URL: http://experience.mgmgrand.com
