At this point we're all keenly aware of the staggering potential of the Internet to spawn pop culture phenomenons which, much like the carnivorous ear-wig from The Wrath of Khan, burrow into the public conciseness. These things have been dubbed memes by, I assume, out-of-work psychologists with an urgent need to put their institutional lingo to some use beyond the wowing of laymen of the opposite sex at group therapy sessions. Of course, the origin of the word is less important than the potential implications for advertising, at least as far as we're concerned.
This is something which goes beyond our universal love/hate of the Numa Numa Dance or the Star Wars Kid, and it all seemed to crystallize for me after seeking out one of my current favorite ads on YouTube. I urge you to check it out below.
Now, my enjoyment of this ad is due, almost entirely, to the infectiously catchy tune, which is why I was on YouTube searching for an extended version. Sadly there isn't one, but I found, scattered amongst the sea of audio loops and trailers, was a surprising number of acapella efforts and home-brew remixes. Granted, it is a musical ad and there are a great many people with meager musical talent, too much free time and a webcam, but since it had only been a few days since to spot had hit TV I wasn't expecting nearly as many as I found.
It was everything viral marketing wants, and generally fails, to be. It wasn't a contest aimed at getting people to generate this content, it wasn't paid bloggers pushing things down our throat, it was genuine engagement by members of the public with an ad and, because this is exactly the phenomenon we're looking to emulate with our own advertising efforts, it bears consideration.
A lengthy discussion of why people responded to this ad, and others like it, goes beyond the scope of this particular post, but I think this speaks to the willingness of people to consume, and respond to, advertising that's creatively executed and honestly presented.
Or this might just be a commentary on how marketable the fusion of hip-hop and indie folk music could be. If anyone wants to discuss this I'll be in my basement with my posse and my banjo trying to figure it out.
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3 comments:
The real question is: Will the spot cause people to buy Mercs 2 or do they just like catchy tunes? Personally I love the spot. Much like my post on Free Credit Report. com, I love those ads and think they're really catchy for the most part but I would likely never use the service.
Video games have the potential to make great creative spots because they're computer based applications that aren't governed by the laws of science. You can do anything in a video game environemnt and people will somehow accept the premise no matter how flimsy. Gaming companies can make some really awesome commercials that target peoples' desire to break away from reality and be someone else.
Personally, I really like Mercs because it's a game where I can just run around and blow stuff up if I want to and not do any missions. It's a great escape from the tedious day to day routine to just run around and do whatever you feel like.
Wade, you have this game?
No, not the second Mercs. I have the first one on PS2. I haven't upgraded to PS3 yet because it hasn't reached the $299 price point. Once it hits $299 I'll buy one, it's my magic price for technology.
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