Speaking of branded entertainment…

Check out this M&M’s Flash game. [via neatorama]

OneCafe, a Swedish company, claims to have developed a patented coffee bag which combines the taste of regular filtered coffee with the convenience of a tea bag. In a consumer taste test, 88% of testers found the coffee to be better tasting than the coffee they normally drink. [thanks, Red Ferret]

Cool and imaginative entertainment and casino and hotel and retail concepts abound in Las Vegas. Future developments and entertainment options are only limited by imagination, which has no limits. To mix things up here at SHARKRIDE, I propose a little competition: I will accept submissions for imaginative hotel, casino, restaurant, show, or entertainment venue Vegas concepts via email, or comments and will select what I believe to be the 5 best to be voted on by SHARKRIDE readers - feel free to submit as many ideas as you want. The submission deadline will be Sunday, September 10, 11:59pm PT. I will subsequently figure out how to do that blog voting thing, and will paypal the winner $50!

To foster imaginative thinking, here are a few of my own concept synopsis samples:

1) A James Bond fantasy laser tag game played in a casino complex - perhaps there could even be a mission - such as an Oceans 11 inspired heist challenge!

2) A Space Hotel and Casino with midget alien servers, weightless simulators, rooms with planet shaped beds that hang from the “space” ceiling, a virtual UFO abduction experience, a space station replica etc.

3) A “heaven” themed Hotel and Casino, which features famous artist and celebrity sponsored visions of heaven - there could be different visionary concepts within the hotel - perhaps even a feature where you can select your favorite things from a list of available options, and a semi-custom heaven experience can be created for you. Bikini clad women serving warm chocolate chip cookies, and margaritas under palm trees, for instance.

4) Underwater restaurants and Ice Bars and rock and roll and Hollywood and jungle themed restaurants have been done, but what about a restaurant where you need to catch the fish you want to eat, or catch a chicken with your bare hands, or a simulated hunting game, or pick vegetables in a real garden, and then master chefs prepare you a gourmet meal with your selected elements as you watch, or perhaps there could be a conveyor belt type floor that travels through different themed sections, where the menu options can be presented via various themed shows hosted by theatrical chefs.

5) The ultimate putt putt golf experience that goes way beyond the ordinary “gypsie” theme. Perhaps there can be cars won for holes-in-one, and other organized wagering. Instead of spinning windmills, there could be pong-like robots, and the course would exist on multiple levels, so you would need to climb up and down volcanoes or over ravines with crocodiles, and you can challenge “pros” employed by the course who are basically comedians, or dressed up animals - and there would be laser shows, and really cool water hazards that spray water etc. — whatever, you get the idea.

Let’s have some fun!

Heinz’s Talking Labels Service allows you to create custom labels for ketchup bottles! A 14 oz glass bottle of ketchup costs $6.

“BANG HARDER!” or “Got blood?”

[thanks, uncrate]

I will be on a summer break without computer access until Monday, July 31. Regular posting will resume then. Thanks, Matt

Water Bank of America is marketing ice cubes made of fresh spring water. The Ice Rocks brand will be target the luxury consumer for use in fine alcoholic beverages, for example, and to tourists in developing countries who desire fresh ice cubes. The company is also developing an ice cube product for kids made of frozen fruit extracts. [thanks, Evan Orensten]

Haagen-Dasz and Austrian Postal Service launched a limited edition series of stamps featuring original artwork and an adhesive infused with flavors like Cookies & Cream and Macadamia Nut Briddle. For every ten scoops of ice-cream purchased, a book of stamps was given out, as part of a loyalty program.

[thanks, Ilya Vedrashko]

The Blind Cow Restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland is a 60-seat restaurant that is booked months in advance, and offers an entirely innovative and unique dining experience: you dine in complete darkness. There are no candles, flashlights etc. and you are waited on by mostly visually handicapped staff.

To listen to the story on NPR, click here.

Other “dark” dining and bar destinations are also in Paris (Dans le Noir), Melbourne and Cologne.

[thanks, Joyce Wycoff]

Exploiting the red hot user customization trend, M&M’s has an incredibly cool web offering to create custom printed M&Ms. You can select the colors, and custom printing of up to 2 lines with 8 characters each. 4 bags costs $40. M&M’s has also launched a limited time selection of exotic flavors, including “All that Razz” (creamy white chocolate + milk chocolate +raspberry shell), “A Day at the Peach” (peach flavored shell), and “Cookie Minister” (crispy center and mint flavored shell).

P&G’s Pringles has also launched a line of a chips with printed themes, including jokes, world records, Daytona 500 trivia, and Survivor Trivia printed right on the chip, which creates an innovative experience of entertainment fused with crispy, snack enjoyment. Pringles is also soliciting ideas from consumer for future printing themes.

JavaVoo has developed and patented a disposable Ready-To-Pressure-Brew cup of Espresso, or other hot beverages, using any standard microwave. Utilizing proprietary Micro-Brew technology, the Micro-Brew Personal Barista replicates the same pressure brewing process as an expensive Espresso machine. It’s a completely self-contained package, which comes complete with all necessary ingredients including water, ground coffee, cream and sugar. An additional benefit: no clean up! The cost is less than a medium cup of Espresso or Latte at Starbucks.

Tempra Technology has developed proprietary technology for a self-refrigerating can, which lowers the temperature of a can by a minimum of 30 degrees in just three minutes via an environmentally safe process. When activated, the all natural desiccant contained within a vacuum draws the heat from the beverage through the evaporator into an insulated heat-sink container, and it’s this patented vacuum-power, which lowers the temperature so dramatically and quickly. The company is commercializing the technology and Miller Beer will be introducing Tempra cans by mid-2007. There will be, of course, a price premium, but it’s an incredibly great product offering for camping or fishing, for example.

[thanks, Ilya Vedrashko]