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Viral Video Ad Round-Up: October 23rd, 2012

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Red Bull Stratos | Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic free fall

Red Bull has made a name for itself producing what I like to call “stunt videos”. Essentially, they sponsor an elaborate and exciting stunt sure to appeal to a mainstream audience. It’s a simple yet brilliant strategy: the audience gets the content it desires while accepting the subtle branding. In turn, Red Bull builds brand recognition and rakes in views which raise its SEO profile.

Red Bull’s latest video could prove to be their tour-de-force (at least until the next one comes out). Teaming with Austrian skydiver/stunt man Felix Baumgartner and a team of scientists Red Bull created project Stratos — the aim of which was to break the world record for highest sky dive. And boy, did they succeed. On October 14th, Baumgartner drifted into the stratosphere in a capsule attached to a helium balloon. When he reached a height of 24 miles above the planet’s surface – he jumped. On the ten minute fall back to Earth, Felix broke world records for highest skydive, highest manned balloon flight, and became the first person to break the sound barrier without the help of an engine. Pretty impressive there, Felix.

I find it rather bizarre that these kind of aviation breakthroughs, that were once pioneered by NASA as part of the space race, are now being made by private companies whose emphasis is not on scientific research but on creating entertainment. Truly an interesting example of the strange circumstances that can drive innovation.

Bodyform | Bodyform Responds: The Truth

Winner! Bodyform has produced the best feminine hygiene commercial ever made – hands down. The exclusive online ad is a direct response to a comment left on the British company’s facebook page. Richard Neill must have felt pretty clever when he left Bodyform a facetious message detailing his dissatisfaction with their marketing campaigns. Richard’s biggest issue? That Bodyforms adverts make periods look like fun (it’s all skydiving, bike riding, and roller coasters!) when in reality [SPOILER ALERT] they aren’t.

Well who’s laughing now, Richard? A little over a week after his post, Bodyform’s rebuttal went live, and soon after – viral. Sorry Dick, but the debate is over and you lost. In the video, Bodyform’s fictional CEO Caroline Williams, addresses Richard’s concerns – yes, it has all be elaborate lie but it was only to spare men from the real horror that is a woman’s period. The dry, ironic British humour helps the pill go down all the easier.

I’ve seen instances of companies using social media to directly communicate with fans in a fun and humorous way but nothing of this magnitutde. My hat is off to Bodyform for conceptualizing and executing this video over the course of a week. It’s fun, intelligent, and exciting new form of advertising that Internet makes possible.

BlendTec | Will it Blend? iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3

BlenTec has one of the longest running and consistent viral marketing campaigns of all time in Will It Blend? Altogether the YouTube series (which started way back in ‘06) has garnered over 204 million views. Wow. In case you’ve never seen the program before, the title pretty accurately describes what you will see. Host (and BlendTec founder) Tom Dickson attempts to blend any number of unusual objects in his BlendTec blender, always with great success.

A recurring gag on the show is the blending of the latest version of the iPhone. With the iPhone 5’s recent release the time has come to see if the new model features a redesign that will help it withstand the awesome power that is a BlendTec blender! But given all the hullabaloo happening between Apple and Samsung lately, Mr. Dickson has decided to turn the (seemingly) annual event into a competition. Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is the challenger, which will blend first? Seems Samsung is the winner in the endurance category – the Galaxy takes a severe beating but remains intact several seconds longer than the iPhone. In the end both are reduced to black powder and smoke. Six years later and still going strong, bravo Tom!

Hot Pockets | Pocket Like It’s Hot

Was anyone surprised when it was announced that Hot Pockets had signed an endorsement deal with Snoop Dogg? Didn’t think so. And the pairing makes a lot of sense (and hopefully dollars…ZING!) if you think about it. Hot Pockets, who has been hurting lately, is attempting to corner one of their most sought after demographic markets: stoners! Young potheads – with their stereotypical love of hip-hop, Internet humor, and the munchies – are the target of HP and SD’s first collaboration: a remix/parody of Snoop’s 2004 hit that is (obviously) called “Pocket Like It’s Hot”.

The response has been solid: over 4 million hits and counting. Snoop’s recent name change doesn’t seem to have affected his relationship as a brand spokesman (in this case, I think it may have enhanced it). The Snoop Lion is comfortable in his new Rastafarian persona and in parodying what is arguably his biggest hit. Alongside him are manchild humorist Andy Milonakis and YouTube top creator DeStorm Power who add to the song’s viral pedigree.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: September 29th, 2012

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Samuel L. Jackson & Jewish Council for Education and Research Super-PAC | “Wake the Fuck Up”

Does one ever tire of listening to Samuel L. Jackson swear? I’m not sure it’s possible. Well, good news folks! After showing off his quieter, gazpacho-cooking side in his iPhone commercial, Mr. Jackson is back to his old grumpy self. And just in time for the election.

It’s ironic that a year after Jackson narrated the children’s book “Go the Fuck to Sleep” he is now encouraging people across the country to do just the opposite in the new pro-Obama ad, “Wake the Fuck Up”. WTFU is the story of Little Susie, a politically conscious 8-year old girl, who must convince her family the importance of campaigning for the upcoming election. Four years ago Susie’s family was riding high on the Obama Hope wave but this time around they are less than enthused. Lucky for Susie, she has the motivational skills of Samuel L. Jackson on her side. Speaking in true story-book rhyming scheme Samuel L. encourages everyone, from siblings to horny grandparents, to “Wake the Fuck Up!” And he’s a very hard man to say no to…

Febelfin | “Mindreader”

Of the course of the past few years branded viral video campaigns have evolved to the point where one can loosely classify them by “genre”. Three major categories come to mind. First are the short narratives, like this one from Perrier, that borrow a distinct cinematic aesthetic from filmmaking. In the “stunt” genre (a strategy trail blazed by Red Bull) the audience is treated to a death defying extreme sport or activity that only minutely involves the sponsored product. Finally there is the “prank” genre where average, unsuspecting folk are confronted with a peculiar or unnerving situation in a public space. Although “prank” ads are designed and promoted as nothing more than a branded observational documentary, sometimes the situations and reactions appear too contrived to have taken place unscripted. Like reality TV before it, these advertisements beg the question: “Is this real or staged?”

That is certainly something to consider when watching this spot from Belgian financial group Febelfin. Here’s the set-up: inside a white tent in Brussels, passersbys have been invited to take part in an upcoming TV show starring a clairvoyant named Dave. The New Agey Dave first appears to be an authentic medium- he uses his powers to ascertain all sorts of personal information from his guests, including detailed financial information. So how does he do it? In true dramatic fashion, a curtains is ripped down, revealing a team of ski-masked techies who have (supposedly) gathered all this information online. The Febelfin logo appears, encourages us to be vigilant, and practice safe online banking. The victims look genuinely surprised by the stunt- but the execution is almost too good to be true. Then again, truth is stranger than fiction.

iPhone 5 Glued to the Ground | iPhone5NL

It’s that time of the year again! That’s right folks – flu season is here. But fear not! I’m not here to warn thee of the diseases and ailments caused by swine or deranged bovine. I speak instead of the iPhone fever that now grips the country.

It is true that the phone has received a lukewarm reception from critics but this hasn’t deterred millions of Americans from helping Apple set record profits. Rival Samsung has done a great job poking fun of the hype surrounding the iPhone in their latest commercial. And Apple has released a slew of advertising for the latest incarnation, ranging from inspirational to cheesy. But my favorite ad for the phone comes from Dutch website iPhone5.nl. If the name didn’t tip you off already, these folks whole business is selling iPhone 5’s, specifically in the Netherlands. And you’ll never guess what they did with the first one they got their hands on…

They super glued it to the ground! A fantastic idea really, taking something that so many people covet and rendering it completely useless for a laugh. And unlike the Febelfin ad, this spot has a low-fi production value that lends to its authenticity. It is interesting to compare the two advertisements: both follow the criteria of the “prank” genre, but one has a large corporate budget while the other has a guerilla, D-I-Y feel to it.

Ironically, I found myself wishing some of the reactions were more extreme. I guess the Dutch don’t go ga-ga over iPhones the way us Yanks do. Maybe they’ve been inoculated with an iPhone flu shot. Makes sense, given their health care system.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: May 17th, 2012

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film | Best Job

This heartfelt ad for Proctor & Gamble rolled out a few timely weeks before Mothers Day, receiving steady interest and heavy shares until grabbing the top spot on the viral video ads chart almost two weeks ago and holding on tighter than a goodbye hug. It currently has over 7 million views and is still receiving more than 600 shares a day. Talk about tent-pole. How many people skipped the card this year and sent their mom this ad instead?

The P & G products play second fiddle to the sound of your heartstrings as you watch dedicated, loving mothers around the world gently wake their children, help them get to school and practice, cheer them on, make them dinner and, of course, do some clean-up. The dishes and laundry are just part of the job. Rather than thinking about the product they use to scrub, we’re thinking of a mother’s kindness and our own gratitude. Proctor & Gamble sells them some soap, but these women create Olympic athletes.

Applaud goes to Weiden + Kennedy for creating one helluva an ad.

Radio Klassisk | Flash Mob in the Copenhagen Metro

They sound scary. That’s the funny part. If your grandma heard that you’d run into a “flash mob,” she’d ask if you were okay and offer to make you dinner. Then again, the concept of grandmas these days is changing faster than I can type so I could be wrong. Maybe she was part of a Thriller mob just last week.

But I digress. This is the one kind of mob that you’re actually jealous you missed. Who doesn’t hope for a group of strangers to press pause on their day and break the monotony with an unexpected choreographed dance number, curious social experiment or philharmonic performance of Griegs Peer Gynt on your train to work? The 2 million people sharing this ad for Denmark’s Radio Klassisk are no doubt saying to each other “How cool is this? I wish I’d been there! I hope some day I see a flash mob live!” They’re also subtly reminded of how beautiful and mood altering a classical piece can be through the reaction of the metro passengers and of themselves.

StopTheTraffik.org – Girls going wild in red light district

This PSA from StopTheTraffic.org was all about the surprise ending. Like a flashmob, there is an unexpected element from the beginning and the passerbys as drawn are into a dance number by the sexy red light district girls in the window. A heavy dubstep track plays from the shop as the girls pop, lock, shake and coordinate like they’re in a store selling Marquese Scott clones. Every one in the crowd (of mostly men) is smiling and in awe. The women in windows above act as though they’re holding the puppet strings of the dancers below and as the dance comes to an end, the crowd that has now filled the street claps and whistles.

Then the message: “Every year thousands of women are promised a dance career in Western Europe. Sadly, they end up here.” In other words: These girls had dreams, you jerks. Don’t encourage the nightmare. Stop the traffic.

Samuel Jackson iPhone 4S/Siri commercial (HD)

Siri is the most harassed woman in tech. She fetches you information while you drive or perform surgery or whatever it is you do and how do you repay her? By testing her patience with curse words or a ridiculous game of 20 questions while repeatedly proving how little she’s actually capable of. But who could blame you?

Apple is desperate to convince you that you love Siri. She’s like the little sister you never wanted! She’ll do all your chores! She does call you “Rock God“ after all …

So to follow-up the highly spoofed “Rock God” iPhone 4S ad, Apple predictably enlisted two of the most beloved celebrities in current pop culture, Zooey Deschanel (if you like that sort of thing) and Samuel L. motherf*$@in’ Jackson. The latter of which especially seems like a guaranteed win, but alas, Apple killed it. No, not that good kind of killed it. The other one. Yeah, like ruined.

What is this soft side of Samuel? Date night and fancy mushrooms? Both ads fall flat. Zooey is annoying. Did she really just ask Siri the weather while looking at the rain outside? And who wants a square Sam? Neither commercial portrays anything new about the Siri service. Instead, they make it look pretty ridiculous and unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, Siri is a cool convenience, but if these ads are Apple’s way of showing how useful she can be, I’ll take the Google glasses any day.

Sauza Tequila – Make it with a Fireman

Make what with a fireman…? Margaritas? Oh. Yeah, that’s what we were hoping. Sauza made this one especially for the ladies and we’ve got to admit, it’s some extremely successful pandering.

You’ve got a burly, fireman with a kitten. He wants to rub your feet or go antiquing - whichever you prefer. He says he’ll help you “relive that summer in Paris.” He says kittens make everything better (and this one is especially cute and has a beret). He also happens to have a very simple, so simple you’re pretty sure you can remember it, mouthwatering recipe for margaritas. And he wants you to call him.

It would be over the top except that the whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek. Especially the bit about jeggings. He’s just the kind of man that doesn’t exist. And it’s just enough to make you want a drink. Bad. The ladies in the office would tell you, except they just went out for margarita fixins.

Roller Kingdom, Reno NV by Rhett & Link – Say NO to Crack, Say YES! to Roller Skating

Self-titled “Commercial Kings” Rhett & Link are back. Of course, they didn’t really go anywhere and have continues cracking us up on YouTube regularly, but they’ve returned to their marketing roots, once again making ads for obscure businesses. This video for a roller skating facility in Reno features the duo as thugs, backing up some geriatric drug dealers trying to lure kids to the dark side. Also deifnitely worth checking out is this one called “Black and white people furniture” Red House Furniture. Our favorite part is that the comedy duo are able to make these commercials pro-bono via MicroBilt and www.ilovelocalcommercials.com where anyone can nominate their favorite local business.

TV Commercial Weekly Round Up: November 23, 2011

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Chevy – “Nick and Hunting”

In the spirit of the holidays, Chevy has introduced a new campaign staring the one and only “Nick”. Hopefully you got that this is in reference to good old Saint Nicholas, otherwise known as Santa Claus. It’s possible this is a cheap politically correct way of throwing Santa Claus into the mix, but we’re pretty sure it’s simply playing off the average viewers knowledge of Mr. C’s stereotypical look and asking, “what would you do, if Santa was your Car Salesmen?”

Each ad in this campaign plays with different aspects of the Santa character, such as milk and cookies, is his beard real and even his reign deer – which leads us to our ad in question. Jolly old Nick, like the great Chevy salesmen he is, begins a conversation with a customer who explains that he’d love a truck for hunting…deer in particular. The customer gets one look at Nick and quickly changes his story (Santa doesn’t want you hunting his reindeer now, does he?). What ensues is a bit long and overdone, but awkwardly funny enough that it’s enjoyable. Reminiscent of a Seinfeld or an Office sketch – it’s fun to see this customer crash and burn in front of Santa…Nick…whatever.

When all is said and done, Chevy did do the smart thing and cut the commercial down to a 30 second spot, which does lack a bit of the humor from the original but is much better suited for the television audience. Looking forward to seeing what other idiosyncrasies Chevy can come up with for ol’ Nick in future commercials.

The Shelter Pet Project – “Sandbox”

The Shelter Pet Project has been around for awhile with some pretty funny commercials staring your favorite lovable pet, complete with talking monologue. They started out with cartoons, progressed to the E*TRADE baby technique of making the mouths move and finally for their most recent campaign have completely internalized the animals discourse.

This looks to be a good move and is quite a bit funnier than the older versions. The talking mouths are ok, but quite unnatural. It always seemed like animals with mouths that move like a humans, especially since they obviously lack the same muscular structure, is just creepy. The day dogs learn how to curl their R’s…we’re out.

The Shelter Pet Project makes some funny commercials that have just enough humor to keep you interested in what the project actually is. It isn’t hard to figure out that it’s a commercial for adopting a dog or cat and once you found yourself at the website, it’s pretty hard not to want to adopt one. The personalities of each of the animals in their commercials are very fun and we hope they continue to put out more of these. It’s like viral cat videos, but with the animals thought process provided for us…what’s next…catvertising?

Samsung – “Next Big Thing”

This week, Samsung decided to grow some apples and pick a few fights (more puns!). At first it would seem that Samsung is touting that the release of their next phone will come with long lines of adoring fans waiting for the day it launches – this idea turns quickly, though. These “fans” seem a bit too obsessed about waiting in line, and a bit too concerned with the updates and all around just a bit too fanboy cliche…they sound more like a different company.

Then comes the ‘shocking’ reveal – these are iPhone fans, not samsung fans waiting in line. All the Samsung fans are outside, doing every day activities and enjoying the use of their 4g phones with super big screens. The iPhone users, who start to ask questions (uh oh, Apple) get a taste of the Samsung and they seem to like it. Except of course for the grand hipster-cliche-stereotype of them all: the “too creative for samsung” guy, who’s actually just a barista.

We have to give Samsung some props for this particular pie thrown in apples direction. They do bring up some serious concerns for iPhone users and ‘solve’ them with their own phone while providing funny back and forth banter between the two users (even though Samsung has had some security issues of their own). When iPhone was first released, comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges…completely different products – but as the market shifted towards the android, it seems Apple may actually have some cleaning up to do. It’s not like Apple never tried to start a fight with anyone…

If you’re a brand or agency in need of a commercial or viral campaign, contact us here.

Viral Video Ad Weekly Round Up: October 10, 2011

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Playstation – “Michael” Playstation’s newest viral differs greatly from their last ad involving the reinstatement of Kevin Butler as the PS V.P., but this ad has gone far and above the view count of the previous ad. At nearly eight million views in just five days Playstation has leveraged their player base and the respective connections gamers have with their favorite games. Seasoned gamers will recognize many of the characters from this dramatic ad, including Solid Snake and Ghost (from Modern Warfare 2). What’s certain here is that the gaming community has a lot of power, and being a very connected crowd, they naturally facilitate virality with their online presence. It might be an assumption that gamers spend more time online, but the fact that gamers will share with other gamers’ material related to their interests is not far-fetched, especially if an ad is done as well as this one was. The costume design and CGI were pretty remarkable as well as the casting of the actors to look like the characters. The dramatic climactic “Omaha” speech segues into the amusing ending that reveals “Michael” as a smiley-faced gamer in a frame that is hung up by the toasting characters. It was a good twist to a solid ad and was a good conclusion to a creative spot.

Apple – “1984″

The classic “1984″ commercial by Apple has recently popped back to popularity with the untimely and sudden passing of Steve Jobs. For those of you who aren’t familiar, this commercial was directed by Ridley Scott (known for films such as Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, and Alien) and aired only once during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The commercial is loosely based on the book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (which was later turned into a movie with the same name, also released in 1984). This iconic commercial announced the debut of the Apple Macintosh personal computer in stunning fashion. It seems only fitting that the many milestones of Steve Jobs’ life are returning to commemorate a man with such a phenomenal impact on life as we know it today. “1984″ is about destroying the norm, and taking down “big brother”, who, at the time of this commercial, was IBM. The video of the man yelling at the rows of feeble minded followers is destroyed thanks to a brightly color heroine, representing Apple. Some 20+ years later this is still one of the most celebrated commercials of all time. Thank you for everything, and rest in peace, Steve.

One.Org – “F Word”

“Drought is an act of nature, famine is man mad.” Percolate on that quote for a moment while digesting the rest of this star-studded PSA for One.org. 30,000 children have died in the drought stricken horn of Africa. Statistics like that don’t require celebrity endorsements, but their show of support helps promote public awareness to such a dire situation. This video has received over 100k views in less than a week, proving that the internet is a medium that can’t be ignored for promoting a cause. Like the PSA we posted a couple weeks ago promoting the use of energy efficient means to bring sunlight to the darkened homes of impoverished people in the Philippines, this PSA has gained a lot of attention based on the message that’s being sent. This is a serious issue, and with celebrity support shedding light on the plight of those in the famine-stricken areas we hope that people will heed the call to action and lend support to those in need.

Apple “Siri”

The wait is over! We have a new iPhone 5…oh it’s a 4S, okay! And it has a totally new re-desi…oh, it’s actually the same as before. Okay, It’s really fast though! And, as demonstrated by this video, has a new feature called Siri, which means you can now talk directly to your phone so that strangers can awkwardly look around your blue-tooth free ears to find out what you are doing. The highlight of this video, however, seems to be the accessibility for the disabled, such as the blind woman who is able to send and receive text messages thanks to the voice recognition capabilities of Siri. If the voice recognition is as good as Apple suggests, it could also be a safety feature for those of you who still like to use your hands to text and drive.

Boston Dynamics “Alpha Dog”

Almost a year ago Boston Dynamic’s Big Dog was debuted, resulting in a stir of fear and fascination from internet audiences who were creeped out by the headless robotic dog. Some of you may remember our parody of the original Big Dog video, which featured the “beta” version of the machine, but we can safely say that Boston Dynamics has done some serious upgrading to the Big Dog. This is basically a demonstration video of the Big Dog in a controlled environment as it negotiates obstacles and real-world disruptions, such as flipping over. Concretely, this is a video which updates the many followers of this technological creation on its development and the probability of its release in the near future. The device is still very strange to look at, but it possesses remarkable balance and versatility. Can you imagine having that thing bust through your door in the middle of the night with a missile on its back and two machine guns strapped on either side of it? If Boston Dynamics change their name to Skynet, we’re getting steal plated front doors.

If you’re a brand or agency in need of a commercial or viral campaign, contact us here.