Mindblossom has won first place in the ‘09 Aegis Media North America 3C Awards for its work for Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka.  Winners in Aegis’ internal competition were announced last month, and we thought it to be about time to share the strategy and creative that put us at the head of the class. Please take a look at the storyboard below, then head over to http://crystalheadvodka.com to get the lowdown from Dan Aykroyd himself.

One last thing: We must apologize in advance for any moments of ‘blast!’ caused by a difficulty in getting your hands on a bottle of the crystal-distilled spirit for yourself. ‘Seems a thoughtful mix of strategy, execution, and good old fashioned word of mouth can really do a number on the supply of a finely crafted vodka such as Crystal Head.

Just last September we launched the Crystal Head Vodka site for Dan Aykroyd’s newest alcoholic endeavour. Released on the heels of the latest Indiana Jones movie, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and amidst the controversy about whether or not there will ever be a Ghostbusters 3 movie, the site was a hit.

Crystal Head Vodka officially reached viral status when a user posted, “Dan Aykroyd has lost his f***ing mind,” on Reddit.com. 301 comments were made almost immediately as viewers discussed the video, Dan Aykroyd, the vodka, and everything in between.

Titled simply Crystal Head Vodka, has been viewed 10,291 times.

And it doesn’t end there. Since then, besides being picked up by sites such as BoingBoing, Paste Magazine online, and NYMag, “the PC guy” of Mac vs PC fame posted a YouTube video with his initial tasting notes.

His comments include, “Remarkably smooth, very light with a glycerine-like finish… and a distinct nose of the paranormal”. Launched on Hallowe’en called “Crystal Head Vodka Tasting, this video garnered 30,089 views.

We’ll cheers to that!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

I found a great article on New Scientist the other day by Michael Bond, How Your Friends’ Friend Affect YOur Mood

Here are some excerpts:

“Christakis … found that a person’s happiness is dependent not only on the happiness of an immediate friend but - to a lesser degree - on the happiness of their friend’s friend, and their friend’s friend’s friend. Furthermore, someone’s chances of being happy increase the better connected they are to happy people, and for that matter the better connected their friends and family.”

“Two factors appear crucial: the frequency of social contact, and the strength of the relationship. This is not too surprising: we know that emotional contagion requires physical proximity. It is also likely that the closer we feel to someone, the more empathetic we are towards them, and the more likely we are to catch their emotional state. However, how these two factors play out in day-to-day interactions is uncertain. What is also unclear - because it has never been properly tested - is the extent to which emotions can propagate through virtual networks, where the opportunity for physiological mimicry is much reduced.”

Networks of Influence: New Scientist

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