What could you do in 14 years? Construct the Taj Mahal, create Mount Rushmor, build the Forbidden City or watch a 56k university network grow into the sprawling global behemoth that is the world wide web. The internet has changed personal, commercial, local, national and global communications in ways that no one ever imagined 14 and a half years ago. With it, advertising has grown to utilise and integrate all aspects of what it has to offer.

But what has changed in the last decade? What are the major digital events that have lead to the impossible becoming altogether possible?

In a lead up to our 10th birthday, Cybercom have taken a look back at the last 10 years of digital advertising and extracted the 10 key digital events that have been instrumental in shaping a decade of advertising and have left a lasting effect, which will continue to influence the next decade of advertising. Did we get it right? Are these the 10 MOST significant digital events in the last 10 years?

Tell us what you would have chosen.

Groundhog Dreams
http://groundhogdreams.com/
The age old question of ‘when will the Groundhog rise’ is brought into the digital age with this cool, interactive, rich microsite.

Digital Concert Hall
http://dch.berliner-philharmoniker.de/
Live concerts for a global audience. CD quality sound, in High Definition video on a digital platform dedicated to the world’s best orchestra!

Skoda Octavia
http://www.octaviarc.nl/
Car websites can tend to be a bit dull (we just happen to find all the best ones!) but this is a serious exception. Lose yourself, exploring the new Octavia, or drive it by remote control!

Pretty Loaded
http://prettyloaded.com/
Peruse through this archive of preloaders! Created and curated by Big Spaceship, this infinte loader captures a vanishing art form.

Cybercom are proud to announce the launch of Carlsberg’s latest digital offering – The Carlsberg Loft www.thecarlsbergloft.ie

The Carlsberg Loft is a place where Carlsberg RM members can indulge in their passion for football and comedy, in a unique 3D design that allows consumers to immerse themselves into the world of Carlsberg.

The site will be a hub of activity over the coming months, with football quizzes, a football TV guide and even the chance to meet Trapattoni at an exclusive Carlsberg press conference! Alongside all the football, the comedy section will be launching soon with even more content, so make sure to sign-up to stay in touch!

Carlsberg have also just aired their latest TV ad “Thatchers”. If you haven’t seen it, check it out here http://www.thecarlsbergloft.ie/?go=billboard

Crispin, Porter & Bogusky for coined the tagline, “Friendship is strong, but the Whopper is stronger” but in the current marketing environment it could just as easily be, “Video is strong, but an App is stronger!”

The meteoric rise, and subsequent fall, of Burger King’s recent “sacrifice” your friends campaign is well documented. The much discussed Facebook App allowed Facebook users to effectively exchange 10 friends for a Whopper. Unfortunately after 233,906 friends were removed by 82,771 people in less than a week, Facebook pulled the campaign citing that it went against their Privacy Ts&Cs by notifying users that they had been removed as someone’s friend.

The impact of the campaign is obvious, but it’s by no means an isolated example. PixFix, a branded app sponsored by Clearasil, allows Facebook users to edit blemishes in photos. As the largest photo sharing site in the world (Nov ’08) Facebook is the perfect platform for this type of app. In 4 weeks the app gained 164k users. Interestingly, the app was completely unbranded bar one line at the bottom of the app: “If you used Clearasil in real life, you probably wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Another example comes from Kraft, who created an app to donate six meals to hungry families, through the Feeding America charity, for each friend users convince to add the application. In less than two weeks, more than 25,000 Facebook users have added the app. At this rate, it is on track to reach 50,000 application installations, sometime next month.

So does this mark the end of viral video? Hardly, but it does show that we have other options to drive viral marketing campaigns.

Last week saw the launch of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). After a long competitive tender process, 3 Ireland were awarded the contract to implement and operate the NBS on 23 December 2008. The Scheme is proposed to deliver broadband to areas in Ireland in which services are not currently available. The contract requires 3 to provide services to all premises (commercial or residential) in the outlined NBS areas, should they request them. Interestingly the contract also requires 3 to provide wholesale access to any other authorised operator who wants to provide broadband to premises in those areas too.

Unfortunately there are limited stipulations as to the type of broadband services that must be made available. The guidelines will apparently allow for 3G Dongles and Satellite as acceptable broadband solutions. As pointed out by Damien Mulley, “[I know] some businesses do operate using one [3G Dongle] but they can basically handle email and very light web surfing. An office with 5-6 computers though?” Aside from the inadequacy of a 3G Dongle as a commercial broadband connection, the question of cost is also raised. If you were to provide a dongle for each PC in a small office, you would most likely end up paying ten-fold or more, what businesses in Dublin pay.

For those unlucky enough to be outside 3G coverage, the solution will be a satellite dish, a large bill and a capped download limit. Again, not exactly a fantastic solution.

The NBS coverage map can be found here.

Eddy Izzard narates the Lego reinactment of Darth Vader’s trip to the Deathstar canteen. Extremely amusing.

Following the award winning success and recognition of our Search Marketing Department, we are now on the hunt for a Head of Search Marketing and Paid Search Executive.

Criteria number one? We need search marketing experts with years of passion and dedication to show for their work.

Passed this stage? You can find detailed specs and next steps in the application process on our careers page.

Good luck!

Ford Truck F-150
http://www.fordvehicles.com/2009f150
Ford’s All-New ’09 F-150. The site features four full-screen episodes, a ‘History of Tough’ timeline, a series
of interactive demos and a very nice intro!

Sony – Cam With Me
http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/handycam/camwithme/
Sony let you experience their latest HandyCam by showing you exactly how you’ll use it. See your child grow up and how you’ll film their life. Great interactive process.

Eternal Platinum
http://www.eternalplatinum.com/
A 360 degrees project for an art exhibition in the Milan Triennale. 7 Product designers, 7 Fashion designers and
9 Jewellery designers realized 23 rings of Platinum with different concepts and styles.

Volvo FH16 – World’s Strongest Truck
http://www.strongesttruck.com/
Volvo introduce the world’s strongest truck through a cool interactive microsite. Play the game, drive the truck, and maybe even win a prize. Not bad for a website about trucks!

It’s still early in the new year and resolutions hopefully haven’t been broken yet. Now is the time to plan all those crazy things you promised yourself you’d do in your life. Travel to India perhaps, maybe white water raft in the Rockies, or base jump off a mountain without a parachute….

The latest ComScore data from the US internet audience proves to be invaluable reading for any marketers facing the financial dilemma of 2009. This year has been suggested as that when Internet Spend will overtake television spend and, looking at the number of videos being watched online, it is obvious to see why.

In November 2008, 12.7 billion videos where viewed online – a 34% increase from November 2007. Google sites such as YouTube ranked number 1 with over 5.1 billion videos watched. The fastest growing property was Hulu with over 226 million videos watched, giving it a 1.8% share of the market.

Unlike traditional television, the average duration of online videos was 3.1 minutes and the average online video viewer watched 273 minutes a month. With the successful launch of BBC’s I-Player and Channel 4′s On-Demand in the UK, we have high hopes that RTE’s iPlayer, due at the end of February, will certainly shake up the landscape of Irish TV advertising.