matthew.d.mercer, visual thinker

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After working on traditional banners and eventually the Happy Holiplay site for Hostway, the client was interested in reaching out to small business owners as a significant piece of their target market. We decided that the best approach to this was to sidestep conventional advertising altogether and to try something purely viral and exploratory. Bob's Cube is a fictional environment, based around the character of Bob Masterson, a cubicle drone who has dreams of something better for himself. Despite never actually seeing Bob, users get a good idea of what he is like by listening to his phone messages, reading his email, and looking through his sketchbook. Additional Bob-related entertainment included rear-view mirror video clips, reading materials, and interactive games. Bob's Cube attracted over a million visitors with little-to-no advertising support and resulted in several hosting plan sales for Hostway.

Client: Hostway Corporation
Date published: March 2005
Role: Design & Sound
Studio: 15 letters inc.

Click for team details

Creative director: Mark Rattin
IA & design: Matthew Mercer
Interface Flash developer: Jin Young Kim
Flash game developer: Jeff Froom
Flash game developer: John W Fisher II
Database developer: Rich Hanson
Copywriter: Greg Rolnick
Photography & sound effects: Andrew Heidgerken
Photography & videography: Mark Lind
Music & additional sound: Matthew Mercer
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Related projects:
Happy Holiplay
Leroy the Hand
Hostway Knows