Using a social media fail to rejuvenate customer relations can turn the misstep into a blessing in disguise.

The American Red Cross posted about #gettngslizzerd with Dogfish Head Beer on Twitter. They quickly rectified the situation by stating that “the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.” Dogfish Head also jumped on the PR showcasing by asking its fans to donate to the Red Cross.

This is a great example of Public Relations in social media. People often do not care what went wrong or how, they just want it fixed. Responding to indignation with tasteful humility is best.

[ Via Mashable]

Yahoo!'s Purple People Greeter

Yahoo!'s latest brand ambassador has taken the form of a high-spirited, witty and over-sized purple mailbox—The Purple People Greeter. He’s made quite the impression on New York and Chicago with the first video of the promotion reaching 15,000 hits on its first weekend online.

Yahoo! tapped into audiences’ curiosity, humor and personal interests by leveraging experiential tactics.With the comedic talent behind the voice and personality in a discreet location and inconspicuous crewmembers carrying out logistics, the Purple People Greeter was able to give intrigued onlookers gifts that held some form of personal relevance.

[Via Creative Guerrilla]

Newcastle Brown Ale's Lighter Side of Dark

Newcastle Brown Ale recently layered some attention grabbing marketing moves onto its "Taste the Lighter Side of Dark" campaign.

The brewer cleverly brandished the city of San Diego with striking instillations and interactive art that conveys the wit and subdued dark humor encompassing the brand's renewed personality. Blank canvas by day, and shadow art by night intrigued audiences in the city's nightlife district. The 256 square foot shadow sculpture was constructed out of just one sinlgle light source and 3,000 Brown Ale bottle caps.

[Via VitroPress]

Social Media Gamification: You LOL You lose.

Combining social networks, facial recognition, and video sharing, Iris and Frijj have teamed to create a virtual staring contest. Frijj feels that people need to practice experiencing the unexpected to strengthen their reflexes. In a world of epic fail and funny cat montage YouTube clips... why not!

Friends challenge each other with the weirdest YouTube videos to see who can hold a straight face for longer. The advergame features facial recognition technology to detect the loser.

[Via Digital Buzz ]