A focal point of
the Fiat stand in Bologna are two
large spheres which illustrate the deep bond between the
eagerly anticipated New 500 and the original model of the
Sixties. One of the two is projecting period films that focus
on the values of the first Fiat 500, while the other
contains the Concept-Lab, the virtual laboratory of the New
Fiat 500 which has already received thousands of
configurations, and ideas for accessories and customisation
from the many enthusiasts who have flocked to the
www.fiat500.com site (the new multimedia interactive
platform created specifically in anticipation of the new
model).
It is a captivating setting, perfectly in tune with the
philosophy of the new model: ‘a car created by the people,
from the ideas of the people’. On December 15 there will be
nine months to go to the launch of the new 500, the heir to
a true motoring icon. The debut of the new car is a very
important event, for which a special communications project
has been prepared, known as ‘500 wants you’, an interactive
multimedia platform created and developed in close
collaboration with the Leo Burnett and Arc advertising
agencies.
It is a revolutionary project that uses the Web and extends
to other means of communication, with the sole objective of
involving the public in the design of what will be the
evolution of Italy’s most popular runabout. ‘500 wants you’
is a huge online laboratory, where users can discover the
stylistic concept of the new car for themselves, expressing
their preferences, proposing ideas and contributing to its
creation, in a combined, active manner, for the first time
ever. The www.fiat500.com site will collect the suggestions
and expectations of the public, who will thus contribute
directly to the development of the product.
The ‘500 wants you’ website also contains the ‘500ology’,
the largest online encyclopaedia of stories and pictures
dedicated to the Fiat 500, which are written jointly with
the users, and the Concept Lab, a virtual room where you can
play at modelling the Fiat concept car, and register your
ideas.
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On
December 15, 2006 there will be nine months to go
until the launch of the new Fiat 500 model, the heir
to a true motoring icon. |
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A focal point of
the Fiat stand in Bologna are two large spheres which
illustrate the deep bond between the eagerly
anticipated New 500 and the original model of the
Sixties. |
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But, as so often happens on the Internet, the
‘www.fiat500.com’ site is a constantly evolving project,
which will continue to incorporate new contents, activities
and initiatives.
All this is as part of a programme that envisages
numerous updates during the days leading up to the launch of
the new car, which will gradually be implemented over the
coming months. We must underline that the www.fiat500.com
site continues to be an unprecedented success with the
public, with over 13,000,000 pages seen to date. What is
more, over 159,000 ideas for configurations, accessories and
customisation for the new model have been collected through
the Concept Lab. And over 17 proposals for the homepage have
been submitted, as well as 370 ‘Faces for the 500’, a game
inviting people to associate a facial expression with a
chosen part of the 500.
Previous initiatives (the ‘Designboom’, ‘500 take you’ and
‘500 wants a mascot’ competitions) have recently left the
stage to other new, entertaining initiatives. One of these
is ‘Speak 500’, a multimedia archive containing over 50
audio files of how the word “500” is pronounced in as many
languages and regional dialects around the world. The site
will also grow exponentially, thanks to contributions from
users who can take part by sending in their submissions
together with the flag of the country or region they come
from, and the graphical transcription of the term ‘500’.
The second initiative is ‘Jingle Box’, a music player that
makes everyone into a musician, trying their hand at
composing their own soundtrack for the homepage. Users can
access a proper DJ’s console where they can select and mix
different musical bases, sound effects and over 70 vocal
claims (in Italian and English). They will be able to hear
the jingles created immediately, record them in the site
archive, and even download them onto their computers as MP3
files (so that it will also be possible for people to
transfer their own creations onto their mobile phones or MP3
players). And finally, ‘500 Screenmate’ is now available on
the website, a
program for people to download onto their computers, which
warns them with a pop-up every time an event starts or a
news item related to the world of the New 500 is released.
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