PhoneBook Wins Cannes Lion Award
The Cannes Lion award is an internationally coveted award for excellence in advertising. Winners this year, as in most years, include big named companies that employ advertising powerhouses such as Nike/Livestrong, VW, Old Spice, Hasbro, Ikea, and a slew of others. Included though was a small company in Japan called Kodansha with their innovative new app PhoneBook. Being the first app/app company to win a Cannes Lion, this is a pretty big deal.
PhoneBook is an app that integrates itself with kids books to give them a more interactive experience. The experience starts with you buying a "PhoneBook" ready book that has a cutout in the middle. After you've downloaded the free app, you place your phone in the middle of the book, and away it goes.
As neat as the app/book combo looks, it's hard to imagine that it will really take off in the US market. It's very cute, but the idea of putting an iPhone in front of an infant, at least to the average American parent, sounds absolutely horrifying. The book may only be available in its native Japan though, where people seem to be much more open to technology at an early age.
Check out the winning ad below, the concept is awesome.