Leave it to Levis to come up with a better video the day after I post their previous attempt in my “best of” picks for ‘08. Nice work!
Careful with this one though, it makes you cringe a bit.
I’m all the more impressed if this is the work of Wieden + Kennedy who has only been working with Levis for a matter of days.
Yesterday’s contemplation of “Viral Marketing” led me on an exploration of the best and worst our industry had to offer this year. Here are some thoughts on best practices.
Levis
How do we know this for Levis? Nothing more than the classic patch on the back. One of my favorites.
Be careful of the source of your inspiration though, this video led to some discussion of these tricks being a take on another, older video worth mentioning….
From 2007: Ray-Ban
The Muppets
Everyone’s favorite puppets made a return to the screen earlier this year, prompted by a viral YouTube campaign that reminded us that Statler and Waldorf were the forefathers of today’s social commentary.
If only they’d return full time to properly introduce Kermit to my kids!
Nintendo Wii’s Wario Land: Shake It
I can’t show you this one here as it is the page and experience therein that puts this video on the map. Perhaps not viral but definitely an award winner for innovation! Check it out
Samsung
Another with extra points for innovation. No guessing at the product promoted here but a fun use of a home video of a happy new owner of the Samsung Omnia
Dove
Powerful social commentary
Guitar Hero
Hey, sex sells. Hearkens Risky Business.
Gatorade
This would have been my first choice but the bottle that appears next to the ballgirl is so subtle that almost everyone missed it. Brownie points for being subliminal though, the success of this video is not just driven by the fantastic catch but the fact that is so non-commercial.
Nike
Contrast Gatorade’s success with this fun one from Nike; the contrast of course being that this is clearly Nike.
Lastly Call of Duty 4
A clip not from the manufacturer or respective ad agency but a reviewer who has a fantastic series of reviews under the label, Zero Punctuation.
Honorable mention
These final few struck me as deserving of recognition for their unintentional commercial impact.
Best Unintentional Promotion of Expedia
Better viewed in HD with outstanding outtakes on his site (watch for the one with the train!)
Best Unintentional Promotion of Taser
Who doesn’t want a Roomba??
Tell me you don’t want to work with Jones Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage Facility
And lastly, the phenomenon laid to rest by Macy’s.
Leave it to a bunch of Marketers to turn a night of binge drinking into a Case Study. SMX brought us a lot of things, news of sophistication at SEOmoz, a fantastic night out for an old school Yahoo! Shopping vet and the new guard, catching up on who’s who and who’s left, and Big Watah.
The events that led to the legend of Big Watah are almost too disturbing to repeat. Worse, it is unclear which stories have been spun through the rumor mill and which are an accurate reflection of a night of fun with new friends and peers gone so horribly wrong. So so wrong.
One thing is clear, we’re all talking about it and therein lies a success story.
Bruce Clay, Inc. has best summarized the experience but more importantly, Virginia Nussey has captured the reality behind the success in viral marketing that can come from a bunch of search marketers. Worth a read.
Video on the brain lately…
A recent conversation with the small business, local marketing blog Local Biz Bits, reminded me of a great parody video, lambasting how the internet has killed the video star. It struck me further, that yesterday’s post, referring to marketing with video, is a medium with still as many questions about effectiveness as answers to our quest for the holy grail of online marketing.
I’m not going to get into my thoughts on answers this time but consider the questions:
Does the internet really make it easier to promote your business with video? Is video really the ideal medium for advertising online? Sure, we’re watching tons of videos on the internet but are we really paying attention? Both Yahoo and CNET have made significant efforts to make video a key part of their user experience; both have seemingly failed… is that a sign?
Salud!
Creating a viral video that conquers YouTube isn’t always by accident. Many companies are achieving success promoting their brands, websites, and businesses through a video on YouTube that spreads through the Internet like wildfire. They do so through careful creation and promotion of the video that encourages people not only to watch, but to pass the video along to their friends.
When creating a viral video, always keep in mind “is this something that people will want to watch?†When was the last time your friend started sending you links to ads? Nobody wants to do free marketing for your company; they want to be entertained. Keep the content short, ideally less than 30 seconds per video, to hold interest. Make it shocking, unusual, funny, or use sex appeal to get people to watch.
Once you have the video, the most important step is promotion. Tens of thousands of clips are uploaded to YouTube every day – very few of them become viral videos. You’ll need to be proactive. For the initial views, promoting through relevant blogs and forums will help. It may be worth it to pay to get the content visible and in the hands of those who will pass it along and post it to other communities. Further, embedding YouTube videos directly into MySpace is a great way to get more views, as is using Facebook to share the video with your friends list. Once the video is out in the world, you are sure to see your traffic rise dramatically!
The Democratic National Convention has certainly kept me busy!! Don’t misunderstand me, not because I’m at the convention, or even in Denver, it has just been a busy week….
I plan to announce my Vice Presidential running mate in early 2009. Preferably someone with viral marketing experience.
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