Now the concept is evolving, and brands are catching on. The same grocery shopping wall is currently being tested on a smaller scale in several bus stops throughout Seoul, and household needs giant Procter & Gamble executed a wall in four major subway stations in Prague featuring razors, laundry detergent and the like at the end of 2011. Just weeks ago, consumers in New York were treated to a shoppable apothecary wall by Conde Nast’s Glamour magazine, and Chicago’s own O’Hare airport is currently sporting a wall by Sears with popular toys for boys and girls (seen in the photo above). Business traveling parents take note—if you forgot to grab little Susie or Bobby a souvenir from your trip, this wall could be your saving grace on the way to baggage claim. Just a few clicks and the latest Elmo-doll sensation could be yours!

While many of the executions noted are using the more widely recognized QR codes for scanning purposes, SpyderLink’s Snap Tags are also starting to make appearances in the world of (literal) window shopping.

With brands on the lookout for new ways to target consumers, technology takes center stage with virtual walls providing a seamless, simplified shopping experience.

According to their website, Benetton’s Unhate Foundation “Seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning values”.  The foundation’s website boasts future plans of a Global Unhate Day, and a giant “Unhate Dove” fabricated entirely out of recycled war bullets.

While taking on all of the hatred in the world could certainly do us all a little good and the campaign is sparking conversation around the globe, Benetton’s commitment to making a legitimate impact is a steep goal. Sure, they’re doing an excellent job of creating (both positive and negative) buzz about their brand and potentially even enticing consumers to purchase their exceedingly pricey clothing, but it is safe to say that a bunch of unorthodox ads will likely fall short of creating world peace. Consumers are looking for causes where their contributions may have a real effect on a final outcome. Knowing the amount of press and simple word of mouth viral activity the ads have created in a matter of weeks, it will be interesting to see how Benetton’s campaign to change the world plays out over the next several months.

With many brands taking a back seat to creative product launching, Nike went full-force with innovation to—quite literally—launch the Jordan Melo M8, the latest in the collection designed exclusively with New York Knicks forward Camelo Anthony. Using special effects and an 85-foot 3D projector, 2,500 spectators were treated to a lights and water showcase over Pier 54 at Hudson River Park with a three story tall Carmelo Anthony sporting his new shoes and dunking on the water. For the rest of us not at the event, Nike also provided a live feed through a microsite dedicated specifically to the Melo shoe.

Nike has long been a brand patronage pro teaming up with athletes to develop products with an automatic fan base for decades. With more than half a dozen shoe designs already in the Jordan Melo line, the collaboration with Anthony has been an undeniable way for both to make a splash.

Many hotels are already offering experience-based rewards in their loyalty programs and enhanced concierge services to assist guests with discovering the world outside of the hotel. Instead of stockpiling points for a free night’s stay, members of these programs can earn cultural activities, like going backstage before a performance at the Peking Opera or spending the day with a professional bullfighter. Some loyalty programs even offer express experiences specifically designed for business travelers who may only have an hour or two to spare but who still want to go home with at least one memorable insight into the destination they visited.

Additionally, several startups have recently emerged to meet the wanderlusty needs of travelers by offering trip curation tools, local knowledge and a much-needed dose of personalization to the online trip planning process.

Launched in April, Vayable connects travelers with tour guides offering unique and intimate local experiences, like scouting Montmartre street art in Paris or visiting sample sales in NYC with a fashion insider. By allowing these independent guides to sell their local knowledge, Vayable is redefining the tour and activity segment of the travel market.

And then there’s Fortnighter, also launched this year, which provides (for a fee) made-to-order itineraries from professional travel writers based on the user’s dates of travel, interests and budget. Fortnighter brings currency, personalization and expert knowledge to the travel planning table and allows users to steer clear of the unreliability of algorithms and user reviews.

A slew of other services have also cropped up recently. All of this suggests that the travel experience marketplace is heating up, and there appears to be room for more. When looking across the dreaming, researching, booking, experiencing and sharing travel cycle, what kind of product or service can you offer that will assist travelers with collecting those sought-after experiences? How do you evoke the moments that inspire us when we travel? How do you help deliver more authentic travel experiences?

But while Ariel was busy cleaning up a mess, Mr. Beam was dumping all sorts of colors into a plain white room. The clip below shows how their blank canvas was anything but limiting, even going so far as to seemingly manipulate the textures of the items in the room (perhaps most impressively when the couch “becomes” leather at the 0:34 mark). While this example is certainly visually appealing, it also speaks to projection mapping’s ability to overcome special limitations in finite environments. After all, this clip runs through as many rooms as you’d find displayed in some department stores, all within the confines of a modest space. Does this mean that future IKEAs could fit into a crammed storefront on Milwaukee Avenue? It’s possible.

Speaking of working within limitations, it’s no secret that projection mapping requires some incredibly precise alignment between the projected elements and the surfaces on which they interact. That explains why many of the more elaborate shows are stationary displays in a single location, never to hit the road. Well, apparently that era’s over. DJ Amon Tobin recently embarked on a tour in which he’s embedded in a gigantic wall of cubes, onto which an accompanying array of intricate projections swirl, explode, grind, and shatter in rhythm with the music. (See the behind the scenes clip below.) Holy crap, it’s definitely the future.

With everyone jumping on the QR code bandwagon, the wrong tactic in the wrong place was bound to happen. While 2D codes offer a great real-time call-to-action, it’s time to take a step back and think about the overall communications strategy.  When and where is the best place to engage consumers with your brand?

How about on television? The Daily Show with John Stewart ripped CNN’s recent use of the mobile barcode tactic for encouraging their viewers to leave the broadcast for exclusive content during their Republican presidential debate. On the flip side of that, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has done a great job using smart codes with new bands—offering links to videos or additional audio. This one makes sense. Fallon’s fans are early adopters of the technology and highly involved and engaged with his show (just ask his 3.5 million Twitter followers).

What it ultimately boils down to is that marketers need to think about their target, when they’re receptive to receiving messaging and when they’ll actively engage with the brand across the medium or technology. The true challenge is up to us—people are going to decide to adopt or ignore the technology based on what they get on the other end. If they snap and get relevant and compelling content, we all win. I’ll be waiting at the bus stop with my phone out trying to see what that truly “mobile” ad was for.

But the four-wheeled madness doesn’t stop there. Check out the above race from Hot Wheels, featuring a three-dimensional obstacle course projection-mapped on a building in Sydney. (Thanks to Karlin from MUSE for the tip.)

Speaking of races, check out the above clip from a Cornetto projection in Istanbul. In the midst of a big ol’ street party, the brand projected an interactive casual game where onlookers could compete against each other using their phones. As if an interactive projection didn’t have enough stopping power! It’s great to see that, no matter how many projection examples we share, someone always seems to be raising the bar on what’s possible with this medium.

But don’t worry, we’re bringing the music.

Yes, Upshot’s SXSW Interactive coverage team has arrived in Austin, and just like last year, we’ll be covering the town with our QR-coded stickers. (Unlike last year, we’ve got a slick new design, shown above.)

If you’re in town – or if you’re just curious about what’s happening in town – scan the QR code above to make sense of Austin’s music scene during Interactive week. (Need a QR code reader for your phone? Shoot us a message with your handset type and we’ll recommend a free reader.)

And that’s not even the last trick we have up our sleeve…

Ever since Sao Paulo decided to ban billboards, ad folks in the US (and around the world) have nervously wondered, “Could it happen here?” While it’s hard to say, we’ll soon know what that scenario would look like, thanks to the latest project from Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame). He’s developed a platform called No Ad that taps the power of crowdsourcing to virtually erase billboards and outdoor ads in US cities. (Thanks to Jaclyn Gordyan for the tip!) He starts by filming a panoramic view of the area in question, and then asks fans to use the site (essentially an online, stripped-down version of Photoshop) to replace the ads in each frame of the clip. And Spurlock’s aiming high to kick things off: he’s taking on Times Square. While it’s unclear whether this campaign is reflective of a larger sentiment among Americans (one could certainly make the argument that the advertising clutter in Times Square is precisely the draw of the place), it’s certainly a reasonable discussion to have about the future of advertising. After all, knowing that consumers are seeking Primitive Simplicity in their personal lives, is it just a matter of time before this preference gets applied to experiences outside of their homes? It’s certainly a possibility.

But, as we’ve regularly restated, don’t mistake this desire for simplicity as an anti-technology stance. In fact, certain technological advancements are considered to be the solutions to these dilemmas, rather than the problems. For instance, let’s consider one of our favorite things in the world: interactive projections! (We’ll take any excuse to mention them, won’t we?) In this case, it’s MINI Cooper projecting virtual vending machines in a handful of Canadian cities, as seen in the video above. Passersby choose from nine different MINI paint jobs and text their selection to the projection, at which point the selected car is discharged in a very MINI-esque manner. But, in the context of our discussion above, does this kind of OOH experience qualify as clutter or enhancement? One could argue that it’s a shiny, distracting intrusion each city’s nightlife, while others could make the case that turning a boring ol’ building side into an interactive, engaging source of entertainment that enriches the participants’ evenings. Moreover, projection as a medium is inherently temporary, requires relatively little power, and leaves no lingering impact on the environment. If we can check those boxes off, does Spurlock’s complaint become spurious?

(Aside from the clutter discussion, we do want to note one other spot where the campaign falls short. After choosing their car, the recipient receives a text message inviting them to Like MINI on Facebook. Certainly, some follow-up is better than none, but considering the projection’s level of engagement, shouldn’t the SMS deliverable be equally engaging? Why not ask the participant for their zip code and provide them with the nearest dealer, or offer them a chance to schedule for a test-drive, or offer some promotional incentive to walk into the dealership? Seems like a missed opportunity.)

These kind of projections are only the beginning, especially considering what hack-happy designers are doing with the Microsoft Kinect system. The gesture-based interface is proving to be enormously versatile, delivering jaw-dropping interactive experiences without the need for wires, controllers, or other electronic clutter. One example that we especially enjoyed is the music video below, in which the German group Moullinex uses 3D motion-capture to show renderings of the musicians in action. Better yet, the group was kind enough to share the secrets behind their process, just in case anyone else has a hankerin’ to be Driven by Data. Knowing that these low-impact, high-engagement options are becoming more readily available, are critics of consumerist clutter going to view these solutions as resolving the problem or making it worse? If you’ve got an opinion on the matter, let us know in the comments below.

Since it’s Friday, and since we just filled your head with a TON of content in our 2011 Trends Smartshot webinar, we’ll stick with the shiny stuff for now.

Enjoy the video above, which equips skateboarders with the tools to go all Tron on a halfpipe (yes, with support from Disney).

While it certainly recalls Red Bull’s interactive projection snowboard ramp from a couple of months ago, the Tron execution takes a slightly different approach. While the Red Bull project used infrared cameras to track the riders’ movements, the Tron version provided each skater with an iPod Touch that featured a specially designed app, and used that device to measure how long each rider was in the air, where they were on the ramp, and the like. In other words, the resulting designs on the ramp were definitely Driven by Data. It’s a mesmerizing trend, ain’t it?

See you next week, assuming our offices aren’t torn asunder over this Bears-Packers game. Seriously, it’s getting tense ’round here.