We had hopes for “Radio Maliboom Boom”, the newest phase of Malibu’s “Get Your Island On” campaign, for not only providing booze-soaked tropical escapism but possibly giving us the chance to interact with hip DJs and indulge our music fetish.
Though the overall campaign is being handled by Publicis London, Sweden’s Great Works (who did a commendable job on Absolut “Machines”) took the lead with the online radio station, which introduces us to the campaign’s two protagonists: DJ Bernhard and MC Wonder Full, who are pretty much a Barbados version of Dr. Dre and Ed Lover.
Cool points go to GW for designing the interface as a series of record crates, with various record sleeves popping up to direct you to character bios and a handful of videos giving a little insight into Bernhard and Wonder Full’s backstory, island life and comedic interplay.
Unfortunately, uncool points for the videos’ slow load time, stuttering and overall lack of hilarity. Another disappointment is the backdrop of the homepage, which basically consists of a static image of the dynamic duo in their shack-like studio and little else beyond a link to Malibu’s official site.
But when we tune to Radio Maliboom Boom itself, which makes us feel like Peter from Office Space with Caribbean-flavored tunes (via Rhapsody) from current artists and classic ones like Bob Marley, it’s easier to overlook the flaws. Besides, this destination is heaven-sent when compared to Bacardi’s own summer-themed web effort, which at this point has about as many fans as Bernie Madoff.
P.S. If your web surfing adventure isn’t complete without palm trees and coconut cocktails–and whose isn’t?–there’s the “Islandize” bookmarking tool that makes over your browser window with artwork from illustrator Julia Potts.
More: “Bacardi’s Summer Accessory of Choice: An Ugly Girlfriend”