Events
Leaving Viral Back In 2009
Here’s a post I meant to write at the beginning of the year, but I never got around to it. Thanks to the “#snowpacalypse” in NYC (or few inches on the ground), I had a bit of time to aggregate links last week. Now that it’s Friday I have a bit more time. So let’s get down to business.
I, like many planners, having been keeping track of and keeping my clients up-to-date on the content online that’s spreading across many people for a while now. It started years ago as a way to shift the conversation away from “We want the next Tea Partay” to “what’s right for us and our audience and what would they want to pass along” by providing examples with various levels of taste, humor, shock, etc. Plus, because the majority of “viral successes” come from individuals, it was helpful to start looking more closely at what companies were doing.
Fast forward to present. Thankfully we don’t get too many briefs with “viral” as a deliverable anymore. But for those who do, there’s been some great thinking about the problems with the term/request done by Faris, Bud, Paul and Ivan. However, I still do collect examples of (mostly) brands’ attempts to produce (mostly) video content to be passed around…and rack up that coveted 1 million YouTube views.
Since I had all these links in my delicious or email, I figured I’d put them all in one place and share them with you - just in case it’s useful in any way. Without further ado, the 2009 “viral” year in review:
Q1 kicked off with Mini has some fun with the “Is it fake?” theme of many viral videos. Geico feeds off the equity of the Numa Numa Guy to create a hit video (though other videos leveraging memes that they put on their YouTube channel “itsthegecko” had significantly less views). Nike had Taylor Momsen (from Gossip Girl) do some parkour to avoid the paparazzi. Ray Ban “Never Hide Films” (behind the catching sunglasses video which has over 4 million views) came back in early January with another video, which did not get quite the same response. Cadbury, on the other hand, came back strong (after the drum-playing gorilla) with “Eyebrow Dance” and got a lot of views.
Then, there were the commercials, which were heavily spread online like McDonald’s Fillet o’ Fish commercial, which has a techno song remix as well. Though, Pharrell trying to get the Mickey D’s in Paris airport gained more traction. Then, there were ones that just didn’t stir up the controversy they had hoped to, such as Domino’s CEO going hard at Subway.
After his death at the end of June, it was no surprise that Michael Jackson was all over the Internet. Millions of views for everything from this old Pepsi commercial to this Twitter mashup to the tribute by Philippines detention center inmates, who are more famous for their original Thriller performance.
Back to brands, Samsung put out this LED sheep thing which got tons of views. Then followed up with more crazy stuff at a trade show. I know it’s a TV campaign, but the geeks went gaga for this Intel work. And sticking with tech, peeps have been all about Xbox’s Project Natal and its first official look. T-Mobile is back (in the UK) with a follow-up to their train station dance, getting a crowd together to sing “Hey Jude”.
There’s what Nike did for Free And what FC Barcelona’s coach put together with Catalonian TV before playing Manchester United in the Champions’ League Final, which was inspired by this.
Remember the EA Sports response to Tiger Woods superfan and YouTube user? They tried to build off it (but less successfully) with this before the Open. And I think Gilette’s still sour that Philips had such a hit with their body groomer (”Shave Everywhere”) work a few year’s back and came out with this “manscaping” tip video. But that’s probably better than the Comfort Wipe infomercial out there and Burger King “Square Butts” (Sponge Bob + Sir Mix-a-lot) commercial, both of which have been racking up views online.
Of course you’ve seen “I’m on a Boat” by Lonely Island, but even better is this a Capella version. Plus, on the subject of singing (or lip-syncing in this case), here’s a kid who produces and broadcasts his talent from the Apple Store.
There’s the Kanye interrupting Obama mash-up and likely the most viral video as of the year (parodied on NBC’s The Office): “JK Wedding Dance“.
Nike, EA and RayBan returned with Skateboarding and Ice Cube, FIFA 2010 and a SxSW video respectively.
Discovery Channel launches a bunch of mini-clips for Shark Week. Disneyland brings us a magical (come on, don’t be a hater) proposal. Evian helps you feel young…with roller-skating babies. And MSI gives us “Guy catches laptop with his butt.”
United Airlines gets firsthand experience in the power of the customer and a PR nightmare when they broke a dude’s guitar. The Muppets sing Bohemian Rhapsody. There’s a Christmas Light Hero and a Gap commercial tribute.
Over the holidays, we had the option to stay warm by the fire or with your Weezer Snuggie. But, as NYC Health advises, stay away from the soda (WARNING: KINDA GROSS). And if we ventured out, we could have brought some money for the Salvation Army and ImprovEverywhere. While brands were not pumping out as much online video content as in past quarters, there was this nice set of videos for Google Chrome.
And there you have it. Say goodbye to 2009 (again)..and (now) to “viral.”
Everyone’s Favorite Super Bowl Game
After focus groups prevented me from playing The Bachelor’s Rose Ceremony Game on Monday night and Lost bingo on Tuesday night, you better believe nothing’s getting in the way of my (sub-par) Super Bowl boxes on Sunday night.
As you can see, Charles and I have an uphill battle going into the game. But he’s a lucky dude and there are 9 ways to win. For those wanting to play along, here are the deets:
$20/box / 1st quarter - $150 / Half-time - $300 / 3rd quarter - $150 / Final - $1100
Additionally, the “four touchers” of the final score box will get $50 each and reverse score wins $100.
So start your own tomorrow at work or with your party on Sunday. Or just root for me.
Filmed Brand Experiences
I’m very much in agreement with Zeus Jones that actions speak louder than words, so it’s always nice to see companies spending some time/money to do things for people (their customers, fans, etc.). To see them making good, creative use of the moments people’s lives intersect with their company’s products or services. To do unexpected and fun things with/for people. To make them smile.
One issue many clients seem to have with actions is their limited reach. “That’s awesome for those twenty individuals but what about the other twenty million.” Word of mouth is tough to track, especially offline. That’s why it’s helpful to capture these actions in picture of video form. To tell the story. To share it with a broader audience. To enable them to share in it and share it with others.
Experiences plus Content. When done right, it’s like Jay-Z and R. Kelly (the best of both worlds). When done wrong it can look staged (reactions rehearsed). It can look selfish instead of generous.
Here’s one I saw this morning that, in my opinion, works.
Red Bull is a company I’ve felt does this particular thing (amplifying experiences) really well. It creates real world events that, whether tens or thousands attend, tell a story to millions about their brand.
T-Mobile in the UK offers a couple examples of bring people together to do something and developing content off it. And, of course, there are the masters at ImprovEverywhere, who do this often - sometimes for (a bit of) good but mostly just for fun.
Brands understandably want to get credit for their actions/the experiences they provide. But let’s not let that become the driving force for doing.
Introducing The Group of Death
In anticipation of the 2010 World Cup draw this Friday, we’ve worked with ESPN to put together a fun little thing for football (soccer) fans…
We’ve created a heavy metal band called The Group of Death.
Inspired by the most hardcore group of the World Cup draw every four years and with the goal of entertaining football fans across the world. See the band’s one-sheet below for more info.
As most of you know, we’re constantly producing things with ESPN at W+KNY — for its sports properties (e.g., NBA on ESPN Shaqtus), shows (SportsCenter Duck) and media (ESPN.com Answers). Shit, I was going to say “I rarely share…” but instead I added links.
Anyway, the reason I wanted to post about the GoD is because it’s one of those ideas that usually get left behind for the main campaign, for the big stuff. Whether it’s too far removed from the ultimate objective (selling something), the immediate objective (need to focus everything on one main idea) or the more easily measured objective (ratings). Whether it seems too rushed to execute or too risky. Whether there’s just not enough money because producing 3 TV spots is the priority. Or whatever. An idea like this often never sees the light of day.
Props to ESPN for allowing us to bring The Group of Death to life. They had to be comfortable with the fact that this idea is not about promoting its coverage of the draw and is not meant for the sports fan masses. It’s about being present on the is the most important day for fans until the tournament starts on June 11, 2010 and doing something interesting/exciting/authentic for avid football fans.
Specifically, this idea is meant to capitalize on the fact that when the draw comes out, fans want to know two things: (1) where their team (or teams) are placed and (2) what teams are in the most difficult group - The Group of Death. It’s one of many ways we’ll be trying to build a relationship with sports fans leading up to the World Cup. And we got off to a good start yesterday when “The Gaffer” (no relation) unboxed us on EPL Talk.
Hope you enjoy it. Make sure to check out the songs on the music tab within the Facebook page (IMO it’s the best part). Come through Nevada Smiths around 5PM on Friday for the live concert. Leave a comment if you want me to save you/bring you/send you a t-shirt - I’ve got a few extras to give away.
A Good Idea If You’re In London
Hit up the Good Ideas Salon put on by PSFK.
Check out the speaker list and get your tickets over at the site linked above. I’d be pumped to see the Dopplr dude and “Ruby Pseudo” for sure. But what I think will be interesting more than any one individual is the percentage of people with the title, “Founder,” who will be talking. Get your learn on from those with experience launching ideas. That’s valuable in this climate, especially. And Piers has done it up right with conferences in the past as well as the recent morning salons here in NYC.