This promotional concept received third place and a cash prize in an international competition promoted by Jovoto on behalf of Bitbop. 

Competition Brief:

Bitbop is an on demand subscription mobile video service and entertainment platform, launched in the U.S. in early 2010, which allows users to watch their favorite TV shows, anywhere and anytime, across various digital platforms (mobile, computer and tablets).

Bitbop wants to generate interest around its recently launched service in Germany. They’ve asked entrants to devise unconventional ways using a combination of engaging offline and/or online experiences to generate awareness buzz around the product.

The experience should be engaging, provocative (but legal), interesting or unfamiliar. They’re looking for genuinely refreshing ways to drive media attention. It should not be treated like a mere promotion. They’re looking for credible ways to introduce their service to a tech-savvy crowd and allow news of the service to spread either organically or virally across social networks.

Entry Description:

The Bitbop Origins of Entertainment Project seeks to promote the Bitbop service through the release of a series of flip books that present films from the early days of cinema.

This marketing campaign sets out to promote Bitbop's service while shedding light on the seldom viewed films made by the pioneers of cinema during the late 1800s.  The proposed flip books will be a combination of quality, content and novelty that people will end up keeping (instead of throwing away) at their office desk, coffee table,etc...  This will reduce waste while increasing visibility for Bitbop's service.

A flip book is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change.  (as defined by wikipedia)

Upon first impression, this campaign strikes a chord of humor, since one might imagine that a flip book was the original Bitbop!  Like Bitbop, it was mobile and offered entertainment through a moving picture.

Beyond the initial humor and novelty of a flip book.  The Origins of Entertainment Project would have an educational subtext, which is to get people to enjoy and learn more about the early days of film.  Many of these old films are now in the public domain and have a running time of 20 to 40 seconds, just long enough to fit a flip book.

The back inside page of each flip book would feature a small synopsis of the film and why it was important in the early days of cinema.   A web address at the end would direct users to the Bitbop website to learn more about the history of film and probably learn more about Bitbop too!

The backside of the flip book is a call to action for potential users to ”bring your entertainment into the 21st century”, followed by bulleted reasons why they might want to use the service.