The Obligatory
"Play safe. Ski only in clockwise direction. Let's all have fun together."
Friday, April 07, 2006
Viral Marketing Gone Wrong
Now that "viral" is offcially the best new way to sneak an advertising message past us ultra-hip, media-savvy, too-cool consumers, everyone's getting in on the action.
Unfortunately, not everyone actually 'gets' what viral marketing is supposed to be. Sometimes you get some cool, genuinely weird stuff, like Burger King's Subervient Chicken or the on-going Halo 2 promo / bizarro mystery ARG I Love Bees. Most of the time, though, it's just a YouTube-quality video of someone getting hurt, and then a giant company logo somewhere in the scene.
Lame.
Now, it looks like the thing companies are trying to get into are 'user created' advertising. The idea being, "hey, the kids like the mash-ups, and the remixes. Why don't we let them create our advertising FOR us, then they can send it along the inter-web to their friends?"
The problem is, most of the people who would be into remixing their own advertising, probably aren't gonna be into sending the message your marketing department would like.
Witness the Chevrolet Tahoe. As part of an 'Apprentice' tie-in (a.k.a. "1 Hour Product Placement the Show"), Tahoe launched Chevyapprentice, where users can use stock ad footage of the Tahoe in typically car-commercial moments to create their own ad. You can select music, add text, and have the chance to win tickets to fancy concerts or getaway vacations.
Predicatbly, most of the commercials created poked fun at the Tahoe and SUVs in general. And, just like the Chevy execs wanted them to, they're being passed around virally on the YouTube. One of the better ones is posted below, but just search for 'Chevy Tahoe' on YouTube, and you'll find a bunch.
And, of course, if this kind of stuff gets your blood boilin,' and you still have a little tax refund money left over, might I recommend the TerraPass once again?
For just 40 bucks for the year, you can help offset the amount of greenhouse gasses your car puts into the atmosphere. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a start. It's cheaper than buying a hybrid car and has the added benefit of making alternative energy power plants more economically viable. And you'll feel good about doing it, too. Honest.
Unfortunately, not everyone actually 'gets' what viral marketing is supposed to be. Sometimes you get some cool, genuinely weird stuff, like Burger King's Subervient Chicken or the on-going Halo 2 promo / bizarro mystery ARG I Love Bees. Most of the time, though, it's just a YouTube-quality video of someone getting hurt, and then a giant company logo somewhere in the scene.
Lame.
Now, it looks like the thing companies are trying to get into are 'user created' advertising. The idea being, "hey, the kids like the mash-ups, and the remixes. Why don't we let them create our advertising FOR us, then they can send it along the inter-web to their friends?"
The problem is, most of the people who would be into remixing their own advertising, probably aren't gonna be into sending the message your marketing department would like.
Witness the Chevrolet Tahoe. As part of an 'Apprentice' tie-in (a.k.a. "1 Hour Product Placement the Show"), Tahoe launched Chevyapprentice, where users can use stock ad footage of the Tahoe in typically car-commercial moments to create their own ad. You can select music, add text, and have the chance to win tickets to fancy concerts or getaway vacations.
Predicatbly, most of the commercials created poked fun at the Tahoe and SUVs in general. And, just like the Chevy execs wanted them to, they're being passed around virally on the YouTube. One of the better ones is posted below, but just search for 'Chevy Tahoe' on YouTube, and you'll find a bunch.
And, of course, if this kind of stuff gets your blood boilin,' and you still have a little tax refund money left over, might I recommend the TerraPass once again?
For just 40 bucks for the year, you can help offset the amount of greenhouse gasses your car puts into the atmosphere. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a start. It's cheaper than buying a hybrid car and has the added benefit of making alternative energy power plants more economically viable. And you'll feel good about doing it, too. Honest.
Labels: Internet Video
that one guy you know, 10:16 AM
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