MANILA – Unorthodox. That’s one word to describe how John Merrifield began his talk at the adobo Tambuli Asia-Pacific Conference 2016. He began by showing a clip of the recently deceased musician Prince performing a stunning guitar solo of The Beatles’ classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. This was because until Prince’s passing, the Chief Creative Officer for Asia Pacific of Google had no idea that he was such a virtuoso on the guitar.
He then shared a clip of one of his favorite television shows growing up. “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” was something he looked forward to as a kid, and apparently, it was also a favorite of Prince’s. The frequent Manila visitor observed that this show, sponsored by a midwestern insurance company, was branded content before people knew what branded content was.
While “Wild Kingdom” aired on Saturday nights when Merrifield was a kid, Sunday nights were a showcase for “The Wonderful World of Disney.” Merrifield stated that these two television shows were how brands, namely Mutual of Omaha and the Walt Disney Company, made a real positive contribution to society.
As he expounded on heading Google’s “Zoo,” Merrifield said that their mission, “is to hopefully make a dent.” He then presented a case study of Collenso BBDO’s “Pedigree Found” mobile app that helps dog owners in New Zealand find dogs that they have lost. Within six weeks from its launch, he shared that they had reunited 96 dogs with their owners and Pedigree Found will soon be launched in Europe and the USA.
He then shared some slides from a forthcoming Google project to assist farmers in Australia. Merrifield relayed that over the past decade, nearly 500 Australian farmers have died on their farms because they weren’t found in time to be given care or assistance.
Finally, Merrifield presented the case for Lux’s Sakura Dream app, which allowed people worldwide to imagine what any location would be like if it had Japan’s national symbol, the cherry blossom or sakura. Taking it one step further, Merrifield said that over the course of the next eight to ten years, Google and Unilever are joining forces to plant 170 kilometers worth of cherry blossom trees in an area devastated by the tsunami from 2011. Merrifield stated that cherry blossoms are symboic of renewal in Japanese culture, and this project is a chance for Google and Unilever to do something meaningful that will last for years to come.
