Take It Face To Face

Zadby is a DC area “online marketplace”, or advertising think-tank, specializing in viral videos. Targeting sites such as MySpace and YouTube, Zadby provides brands with a quick and efficient way to integrate themselves with online video.

Citing Tivo and DVR technology as the cause of “death” for the :30 TV spot, Zadby believes online video is the best way to reach consumers moving forward. And they might be right. Forbes Magazine has estimated over 1 billion videos are watched around the globe each day on YouTube, not even including MySpace and other sites.

Surely kids and younger demographics make up the overwhelming majority of this usage, right? Nope, pretty far from the case. 42% of YouTube users are actually over the age of 45, a far cry from the widely held belief that online videos are for young people.

Zadby has recently created a video for Pizza Hut, now closing in on 650,000 YouTube views, to help them make the transition to viral videos and new online advertising. Not only did the video establish the brand as “young and relevant and current”, it sparked ongoing direct contact directly with the target segment, young males, through the comments.

As advertising continues its shift towards online and guerilla tactics, marketers have to do their best to adjust as well. Do you believe companies such as Zadby are the future of advertising? What other changes do you anticipate? Have you ever seen a “viral video”?

When the video dropped last fall for Beyonce’s hit “Single Ladies” the response was resounding. The choreography, the song, and the black leotard with heels all became instantly iconic.

The months that followed spawned innumerable recreations, from a Saturday Night Live skit starring Justin Timberlake to YouTube videos starring just about everyone. The hype prompted Beyonce to hold a video competition, in which the winning entry would be shown during her 2009 world tour.

But six months is a long time in the viral video universe. How much longer can the wave of success be ridden?

Trident, for one, aims to find out. Earlier this week, they staged a reenactment of Beyonce’s video with 100 dancers (as opposed to the original three) in London’s Piccadilly Circus.

To the surprise of the unsuspecting passersby, droves of women began ripping off their trench coats to reveal the familiar black leotard hidden underneath. Cameras positioned at every angle captured the intricate and painstakingly executed four minute performance.

The event serves as a launch for Trident’s sponsorship of Beyonces “I Am…” tour, and their new sweepstakes that offers up tickets to her November London show.

Several things about the performance are clear. These women are professional dancers. They’re too good not to be. And the outrageous synchronization of their choreography suggests mind boggling amounts of practice. Someone must’ve shelled out to make it worth their while.

But was it worth it for one fleeting event? Of course not. That’s where viral video comes in. Both professional recordings of the event and clips snagged by bystanders took off on YouTube and other video sharing sites, despite the recent lull in the routine’s intrigue.

No matter what, the effort is impressive. But will it be enough to bring press to Trident? Or did the potential for such a campaign to pack a real punch shimmy away months ago? Tell us your thoughts.

I came across a link to this site today, a blog detailing some sort of alleged political agenda (genocide?) I didn’t understand. Curiosity peaked, I kept reading.

Which led me here. Which then led me here.

Some diligent digging ensued (with some hint from the copyright info at the bottom of the page) before I had a solid answer as to what I was looking at.

It speaks for itself. Very simply, a multifaceted viral video campaign at its best.

Impatient? The trail ends here.

Maybe you remember when M&M rolled out the “Become an M&M” feature on its website about two years back? The program, which is still active, gives users an opportunity to design their own M&M avatar, typically in their likeness. With the exception of the blue skin, you could argue that mine looked just like me (As much as I’d like to let you judge for yourself, the site doesn’t allow users to share their creations).

Towards the beginning of 2007, the create-your-own avatar had a pretty good stint. During its heyday, opportunities arose left and right to fashion your animated self, most memorably in the distinctive styles of South Park and the Simpsons.

Though it’s unclear how recently this launched, a different sort of avatar creator has gained popularity lately: the Hero Factory, which invites users to develop their own crime-fighting computerized doppelganger.

Unlike the aforementioned programs, though, the Hero Factory doesn’t explicitly identify its creator, nor make any clear indication of its aim. It’s clear a good deal of resources were poured into the site, but it is not immediately obvious why. Did some programmer somewhere have too much time and money on his or her hands? Doubtful.

In reality, the program is the creation of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a virally-oriented advertising agency with clients including Burger King, Coke Zero, Microsoft Windows and Volkswagen.

But if their avatar creator is doing so well, wouldn’t it be logical for them to slap the company label all over it? Maybe not. The Hero Factory is presumably a proof of concept, which the agency can later use to demonstrate its viral capabilities to potential clients. The success of the demonstration could be impeded if it was perceived to have a marketing agenda.

Though these are understandable motivations for keeping the site purely logo-free in theory, I don’t believe any obvious brand association would’ve stopped me from using and sharing the site. Frankly, I’m just excited to have a cape.

Earlier today I came across www.computertan.com. The premise? It’s an online program that allows you to tan using right from your computer without any additional gadgets or applications. The site even offers a five minute free trial.

Now, I’ve never been the type to go tanning. I’m pretty much the fairest-skinned person I know; if I’m caught outside with anything less than 45, I’m in serious trouble. But I do realize that the implications that kind technology would have on lots of others. I’d look comically pale by comparison not just in summer, but all year round!

For avid tanners, though, this easy access tanning sounds too good to be true. So what’s the catch? A few seconds after your screen begins “radiating” during the free trial, you’re hit with a barrage of pictures of gruesome skin cancer afflictions. The site is actually a hoax developed by the Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity.

Would you have been fooled?