Yahoo! kicks off Project Purple

MANILA, Philippines - Yahoo! Philippines unveiled last week an online social campaign called Project Purple designed to make Filipinos more aware of the fun and creative things they can do and experience online using Yahoo! tools.

Why purple? Aside from it being Yahoo’s corporate color, the project proponents believe the color purple signifies innovativeness, uniqueness, creativity and passion — attributes that the campaign itself wishes to unleash from every Filipino who leads digital lives.

“Project Purple is a social movement and is open to everyone — online and offline. We are rallying Pinoys to be purple and utilize the Internet to aim higher,” said Jojo Anonuevo, general manager of Yahoo! Philippines. 

“The Internet and Yahoo! have become essential services to people and a great equalizer for people to expand their horizons,” he added.

Through an engaging mix of online and offline initiatives, Yahoo! Project Purple seeks to heighten Filipinos’ potential and drive to find, get and share the things they are passionate about using Yahoo!

For example, if they fancy owning the latest digital devices, especially for free, Project Purple features a Purple Hunt micro-site where online participants will be asked to solve online clues and find items around Metro Manila.

Purple hunters can win Canon digital cameras and BlackBerry mobile phones with special skins designed by Filipino artists tapped specially for Project Purple.

There are also lots of Purple Krispy Kreme doughnuts waiting to be redeemed as minor prizes, and a one-of-a-kind Honda Jazz car sporting purple artwork created by WeWillDoodle as major prize.

To join, neither shovel nor compass is required. Purple hunters simply need to log on to the Yahoo! Philippines front page (www.yahoo.com.ph) and click on “Purple Hunt.” The online treasure hunt begins tomorrow and will run up to July 25.

Running parallel to the online hunt is the Purple Hunt Tour to be sponsored by the Ayala Malls where Yahoo! booths will offer the public free purple-themed pictures of themselves, Nestlé ice creams and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Mall-goers can also stop by the Yahoo! Mobile Surf & Lounge Booths to learn about surfing the Internet.

The Purple Hunt Tour will take place at Market! Market! on June 5-7, at Greenbelt 3 on June 8-10, at Glorietta 3 on June 11-15, and at Trinoma on June 16-18.

“Yahoo! is excited to connect the country together in this campaign and we expect many more to join us in the coming weeks,” Anonuevo said.

There are some 17 million Yahoo users in the country, a number that has kept doubling during the last three years, Anonuevo told NetWorks. Through Project Purple, he said they hope to generate more new Yahoo users.

Meanwhile, six local rising artists have submitted art pieces for the Project Purple to be part of a soon-to-be-released limited edition art book “Purplescape.” 

They are Aaron Roselo, Anjo Bolarda, Bjornik, Beth Parrocha-Doctolero, Christian Tamondong, Paul Imbong, and artists from WeWillDoodle.

Their works will be showcased along with that of other graphic artists from Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The graphic artists were chosen based on the works they submitted in response to Yahoo’s call for their individual renditions of a “purple world.”