brands
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.”
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.
The Proof is in the People
I just read an interesting post over at Thought Gadgets, which talks about the importance of putting individuals at the front of companies’ social media efforts. I agree with just about all of it, except not sure about the thought that “the most authentic brands online are the ones that give us real people’s names.” Certainly Ford’s Scotty Monty on Twitter (where he uses his own name) @scottmonty) is a great example (cited in the post). And of course, Zappos’ Tony Hsieh and his staff counts (even if he uses @zappos and other names range from @zappos_fly to @Zappos_Service). But would Skittles Fan page on Facebook be more authentic (or successful) if its CMO or Director of Product Innovation shared his/her name and let everyone know he/she had the reigns? Probably not. That is, unless some Willy Wonka-type character (or Leprechaun) worked there as “Keeper of the Rainbow.” I’m not sure Nike+ (the example in question) gains any authenticity points for being a real person vs. having a real purpose for it - customer service, new features or linking up users and Twitters who are geographically and pace compatible. (Of course it doesn’t have to be one or the other.) No one seems to be dinging at @TOMSshoes for lack of transparency about who’s tweeting from its end. Because humanity is baked into the business (buy one pair, one pair sent to someone in need).
But that’s not to nitpick or twist words. It’s just to build and ultimately get me to a point about how in social media or traditional media: If the goal is to move away from being a faceless corporation—or in more positive terms to be human—, then you should empower your employees to bring to life the personality of the brand. Whether they become faces of the company or not and whether you do it on Twitter or TV, it still about people. And when you encourage/enable them to add their own unique personalities to the mix, that’s when you get something really special - like @JetBlue which updates who is on Twitter duty or one of my all-time favorites, Southwest’s David Holmes:
You go airlines!
Ads, Brands, and ESPN: A Presentation
I just returned to the office from giving a guest lecture at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. The audience was first-year students in Professor Ansari’s Marketing class, which is part of their core curriculum. That means, they have to be there whether or not they give two hoots about this fuzzy stuff. And at 9AM, at that. However, I must give credit to the class - they were surprisingly awake and engaged from the get-go, and they asked very smart questions. All A’s, I say. (Unfortunately, I have no power to do such a thing.) So thank you to them, Prof Ansari, W+K, and ESPN - nothing makes up for lack of new thinking better than some “This is SportsCenter” spots. Thanks to the blogosphere and plannersphere, from whom I’ve learned (and stolen) much to make this presentation. And thanks to my parents, who as educators themselves, have instilled the importance of, and inspired the passion for, teaching. (Yes, I know it’s only a presentation, not an acceptance speech for an award show.) Enjoy and please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or on SlideShare. I’d like that.
(Note: Many of the slides contain hyperlinks to videos. Also, I have no idea why that clip art heart shape would upload properly. But I’m done trying since it’s not relevant to the pres. Plus, it’s only getting further away from Valentine’s Day.)
UPDATE: Many people have told me they need the VO with this or even the notes, and unfortunately I don’t think there’s a way to upload it with them. But in the absence of each, I must clear up just one misconception - I’m not feeling that State Farm spot creatively or strategically. Of course I understand that it was just to get the NFL sponsorship across; however, I used this slide to make the point that advertising is not the end game - that it must serve the brand, connect to your memories of the brand, etc. In hindsight, that was probably not the best example or title of that slide for those reading it. Thank you, Clay, for bringing it to my attention considering I got the idea to use when he and an ex-colleague bashed it on the same day.)
Are Athletes Not Enough for Gatorade?
I’m honestly not trying to drink the Hate-orade (I know too easy), but I really don’t understand this move. Why would Gatorade do this campaign? What was its objective? To gain urban credibility? To launch a new bottle with the Big “G”? Why does Pepsi Company just seem to think think a refresh is in order across the board? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for experimentation on the design and advertising tip. But I just don’t see this one at all. And that’s even as a big fan of the JabbaWockeeZ (big enough at least not to have to look it up to spell it) and spoken word poetry (on Saturday nights past you couldn’t find me at the club, you could find me watching Def Poetry Jam on HBO on my couch…I wasn’t a grouch/ I was awaiting De La Hoya / Because even though I’m an Irish Jew I look Latino / Ja Rule baby!). I put it out to Twitter and got pretty much all negativos:
Here’s the pillar spot, which incorporates athletes at least (and comments are split 50/50)…