Six of the Best Special Edition: The 2008 Virals (Part 2) ~ Brand Mix

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Six of the Best Special Edition: The 2008 Virals (Part 2)

Part 2 of an SOTB three-parter on virals. Today's six are what I'm classifying as YouTube-style ads. These are ads that take their cues from YouTube or other online channels, contrasting with the ads from Part 1 which are essentially modified TV ads. There are a couple of spoofs on the list as well as a couple of ads that directly mimic typical YouTube product reviews.

By embracing the medium more actively, these ads get a head start over those from Part 1, at least in terms of audience receptivity. And it's probably no coincidence that the top picks from my "best-of" list sources come from this batch. These ads also have more of a call-to-action point about them than the first group although not that strong in all cases.

The blue star (*) is for virals that made it into my (heavily-defended) inbox.

YouTube-style ads (Spoofs and/or done in the style of YouTube)
1. Wassup anno 2008 *: Vote Obama spoof (by the original director) of Budweiser' famous Wassup ad (Organ Grinder's #1 pick)
2. Moonwalking Bear *: Transport for London's cycling safety spot.
3. Tiger Woods 09 – Walk on Water *: Electronic Arts clever response to a flaw in one of its games.
4. Pot Noodle "Tipping Pot:" A £10,000 spoof of the £10 million Guiness TV ad. (Campaign's #1 pick)
5. Samsung Omnia i900 Unboxing: Samsung's spoof of the tech-fan trend of filming box-opening.
6. Printing's Alive: This Montreal-based printer loves printing and shares his love in this video. 135,000 views on YouTube but, more importantly, 800 inbound calls from potential customers.

My favorite of these six: Printing's Alive



Partly because here I can actually see the data that proves that the ad worked but also just for the sheer bravado of the printing-loving printer.

Next up: Viral marketing campaigns

Sources:
1) Top 10 viral ads of the year: Organ Grinder Blog @ The Guardian
2) Top 10 Virals of 2008: Campaign
3) Top 100 funniest virals of 2008 The Sun's Funny Ad Clips
4) Viral Hall of Fame: Marketing Sherpa's 2008 list via "The Browser"
5) ViralBlog: Viral Ideas. Trends. Inspiration

1 comment:

Jeffry Pilcher said...

My vote is for TW09. They took lemons and made a brilliant new brand of lemonade. It was on-brand for both TW and EA Sports. And there was no downside, no one to piss off or offend. Brilliant.

 
Blog Directory - Blogged