Here’s a fun campaign from TomTom promoting its new partnership with LucasFilm Ltd. Yes, it’s now possible for you to get your GPS directions from some of your favorite “Star Wars” characters. Darth Vader is available now, with C-3PO, Yoda, and Han Solo slated to release this summer.

The campaign is supported by an augmented reality game, which encourages you to use The Force in order to win a TomTom To-Go personalized with Yoda’s voice. The premise of the game is simple enough and the creative is well-executed, although I did feel that the actual gameplay is harder than it should be if TomTom’s goal is get people to enter the contest.

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Here’s a quick first look at WIRED Magazine on the iPad and why I think this new medium will be huge for advertisers in terms of increasing sales and measuring ROI for media buys.

Got questions? Leave a comment below, email me, or find me on Twitter.

7-Eleven, looking to capitalize on Facebook’s social gaming users,  recently launched a major partnership with Zynga, the popular social gaming company. The promotion is in conjunction with the wildly popular games Farmville, MafiaWars, & YoVille. Farmville alone boasts 10% of US Facebook users playing their game & 20% of worldwide users. Zynga also claims that 80% of registered users are playing at least one of these three games daily.

The reach of this promotion is potentially huge for 7-Eleven as players of these games are known to be rabid about collecting special items to gain an advantage over the friends they are playing against.

The concept is simple, purchase a branded item in one of the 7,000 stores in the US get a special item to use with the games. If you collect enough items, 9 to be exact, you would be able to collect an uber item, one for each game. To get credit for the purchase all you have to do is go to the 7-Eleven site “Buy. Earn. Play“, enter your code, and you’ll receive your special item plus a “punch” in your card toward the uber gift. If you purchase a Zynga branded 7-Eleven gift card you’ll get two “punches”. There is also an option to text your code from your mobile phone.

The one problem that I ran into while taking a look at this promotion was that I had to turn on the Instant Personalization feature within my Facebook account before I could poke around on the 7-Eleven site. I’m sure that Farmville users will have no problem allowing this feature access to gather the prizes but with all of the privacy concerns that Facebook has been facing a few might opt to not take advantage of this promotion.

Farmville specific gifts:

I really love the concept behind the Adidas Celebrate Originality campaign. Without seeing any advertising, the tag line paints an immediate picture for me about highlighting everything that is unique in the world around us. The description on their Facebook page supports my imagination:

“In 2010, we’re going to continue to Celebrate Originality by showing you how it comes to life on a special street. We’ll see what happens when original people, just like you and your crew, get together and have an original time”

Enter their new video campaign featuring such celebrities as Noel Gallager, Agyness Deyn, Ciara, David Beckham, & even Snoop Dogg to name a few. While I think that the video is well done and very entertaining, to me as a consumer, it goes against the message. I understand that celebrity is a powerful thing in the world of advertising. However, I feel like this campaign should be more about real people being original and not just another outlet for people to emulate their favorite stars.  At least that’s how “Celebrate Originality” speaks to me.

The video is a blend of the two worlds, but, as much as I like any excuse to look at David Beckham, it just rubs me the wrong way.

What’s constitutes a check-in worthy venue on Foursquare? This is a hotly debated topic within the BFG Content Department and one we often see discussed by members of the local Twitterati (Erik, Amy, Allison) who shall remain nameless. We really like this short video on Foursquare Etiquette put together by Charlie Curve at Curve Detroit.

Here’s the simple litmus test: Check in when you’re doing something you WANT to do (fun, interesting, cool). Don’t check in when you’re doing something you HAVE to do (errands, obligations, bodily functions).

Foursquare Etiquette from Charlie Wollborg on Vimeo.

What’s your biggest Foursquare check-in pet peeve?

If you’re a wine lover and into travel, this might be right up your alley. BFG recently launched a social media-based promotion on behalf of Lapostolle that will bring one lucky wine passionista to Chile where they’ll spend two weeks as a wine apprentice. They’ll learn the ins and outs of winemaking from a team of the some of the best around. Plus, they’ll even leave with their own blend.

To enter, all it takes is a little creativity and a Twitter account. Apprentice hopefuls are being asked to tell us (or show us) their passion for wine in a Tweet that includes #Lapostolle. If you followed BFG’s search for an Assistant Content Manager via Twitter, this may sound very familiar. Creativity counts here but in this case so does voting.

Twitter entries are displayed on UncorkThePassion.com where site visitors can let their voices be heard by casting votes for favorite Tweets. A pool of the top 50 Tweets will be selected based on community votes.

From there, we’ll turn it over to the experts. Our team of three judges will narrow the pool of 50 down to one lucky apprentice. The judging panel includes Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibrary, Nick Fauchald of Tasting Table and Lapostolle winemaker Andrea Leon.

The entries are pouring in already so go ahead and cast your vote or get your creative juices flowing and Tweet your way to Chile. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

My dream vacation for the longest time was Grand Cayman.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been there; done that. I absolutely loved it and have been plotting and scheming on how to return ever since. Those plans, however, may now be on hold.

The new destination I am coveting is Bali; specifically a stay at the Alila Villas Uluwatu (pictured below).

The villas are part of an emerging trend in the luxury resort industry of properties that are being developed with a flair that is both modern and minimalist. Much more than an attempt at greener construction, the resort aims for true ecological sustainability.

The resort was recently the recipient of a 2009 Green Good Design Award and was constructed according to strict a Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) framework. In compliance with the ESD framework, local materials, such as teak, lava rock, and bamboo, were used for construction. Water conservation was made a high priority, as well, incorporating the use of salt water pools and gray water systems to help recycle laundry, dishwashing and bathing water for reuse in landscape irrigation.

Located on a clifftop not far from the area’s famous surf break, the villas are inspired by Balinese open-air structures, allowing guest to adjust the airflow of natural breezes with sliding glass doors and large wooden blinds.

The only real threat I think I’d face in this locale is the desire to never return home. Sell my stuff; ship my dogs to me; I’ll send you a postcard… right after my morning surf session.

It’s time to put Geekend back on your radar. The three-day interactive conference that shook things up in the Southeast last fall is back. The Geekend crew (BFG included) has been hard at work making the conference part of an official non-profit. That’s right, a 501c3 called Thinking Cap Inc. Its goal will be to support creatives and creativity through a philanthropic arm and of course the annual Geekend conference.

Geekend is the annual gathering of the geek tribe in Savannah. It brings together the brightest geeks, designers, social media mavericks and forward thinking entrepreneurs who are blazing trails and inventing the future today.

Dates for the 2010 conference have been set, so mark your calendars now. Geekend 2010 will take place November 4-6 in downtown Savannah at the Coastal Georgia Center.

We’re currently looking for speakers to fill up our roster. If you have an idea for a Geekend talk or panel, go ahead and submit it at geekend2010.com.

If you’re wondering what last year’s Geekend was like, visit our Facebook page or check out the 2009 conference guide.

See you in November!

Note: There are no spoilers included in this post (at least about the current season, if you’ve never watched I make no promises)

Some of us here at the BFG offices (read; “I”) used to think we were smart, until, like a lot of others, we started watching Lost. The premise seemed simple, plane crashes on an island, people survive, they spend the rest of the show trying to get rescued. Simple is a relative term once you factor in polar bears, dead people appearing in the jungle, numbers, the mysterious Jacob, a smoke monster, flashbacks, flash forwards, and now flash sideways?!?

Current season aside, my most lost moment came during the episode where we finally learned about the difference in time between the island & the ‘real’ world. Consequently this episode, The Constant, is shaping up to be my favorite of the series (mostly because I’m a sucker for Desmond & his ‘Constant’).

Each week after a new episode of Lost I can often be heard saying “I need someone to explain this to me.” The following day I read the recaps provided by E! Online’s Watch with Kristin and another called The Lost Diary written by Daniel (who I’m convinced I should be friends with). Both tell me about the little things that I might have missed and sometimes I gain a little understanding.

At this point I have a feeling that Lost may be going the route of Alias, and I’m not going to be satisfied with the ending. BUT! Have no fear. The people over at atom.com have provided us with an excellent ending that I’m willing to accept as truth should I be unhappy with the actual ending.

LOST: Those Meddling Castaways

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Spoofs | Funny Animations

Given everything that has happened during the series of Lost, a Scooby-Doo style ending would not surprise me one bit.

Anyone who uses social media has one of these friends. They don’t just share details about their lives. They overshare, Tweeting or Facebooking about bodily functions, personal health issues, and mindless details that simply don’t interest anyone. The site Oversharers.com popped up to highlight some of these funny and even at times shocking updates. Now Pringles is stepping in.

They’ve created an application that allows you to call out your oversharing friends on Facebook and Twitter. Once you’ve allowed the application, you’ll have an extra option on status updates. Instead of clicking the “Like” button, you can click “Overshare!” and send an update to your friend with a link that promises them some help from the folks at Pringles.

If you’re more into the Twitter world, simply Tweet the offending overshare remark to @helpoversharers and see your Tweet make it to their oversharing wall.

The campaign is meant to go along with the idea that Pringles is one of the few things out there worth sharing. While I’m not sure that I necessarily agree with that statement, I do love this campaign. Like Burger King’s Whopper Sacrifice on Facebook, this shows that Pringles gets it. They understand their audience and the things about social media that likely annoy a big chunk of them.

By the looks of things, Pringles is investing pretty heavily into this fun concept. In addition to the Facebook and Twitter functionality, they’re encouraging people to add to an overshare video. There’s also a store where you can buy t-shirts that show off oversharing remarks.