Digital Hive

What makes viral content "take off"?

Influx Insights led me to an interesting post from a marketer (Dan Germain) at the UK's Innocent Drinks, pondering what makes viral content "take off." He reveals an interesting story which dramatizes viral's new role in agency/client relationships (though I'm not sure that was his intention).

He got a visit from an agency wishing to work with his brand, the agency had prepared a spot that wasn't quite their cup of tea, the spurned agency then posted the spot on YouTube and as of Sunday at 3:03PM it had 4,480 views. Innocent Drinks also posted it on their blog, asked brand fans to comment, and got many pro and con posts about the spot.

A few interesting points in my mind. First, posting on the blog brand lovers frequent seems like a great way to test a creative idea. Cheap, low risk, and probably providing a pretty reliable read.

Dove campaign controversy?

Commercial Archive has an interesting post about the Dove campaign, the campaign we continue to love. Apparently some pro-family group is now boycotting Dove in protest of their campaign's recent nudity. Oh and shrinks are saying any images of nude women are "contributing to the sexualization of women as a commercial tool, as well as exposing children to adult nudity."

I say, good for Dove for geting people talking about their campaign, and, get over it people. Actually, hopefully they'll keep blathering about it so the campaign maintains momentum.

I keep wondering when a woman will commit the ultimate sin and criticize the campaign. Rosie O'Donnell perhaps? That would make this "dialogue" actually interesting. If Elisabeth Hasselbeck says something nice about the campaign that might set off the fireworks.

Great Nike spot

You should check out this great new Nike spot (AdAge, reg. might be req'd to see the spot; click on "Brand Jordan" link) - set to Mozart's Requiem, it recounts the final tense seconds of a close basketball game.

(the posted version is the :60, which is a rare treat to see)

I swear some of the talent's poses were drawn from medieval and renaissance paintings. Insanely dramatic and poignant.

I don't much like basketball, I don't care about basketball shoes at all, but I do love watching this spot. I love that there is no copy. I love that it's almost completely unbranded. I love that it's in slow motion. I love the pathos. I love that there's no viral component, no sweeps, no promotion, no way to get involved with the brand except to stop and enjoy the spot. I love that it's just wonderful entertainment.

I didn't go to the website and I don't intend to.

The first time I saw it was (appropriately) in a movie theater and it was truly awesome.

Nice work, Wieden & Kennedy. Thanks for the reminder that brilliant creative un-adorned with marketing mechanics can still inspire awe.

Rock the Internet

I love rocking the Internet.  A great idea from whoever is promoting the new Tenacious D Movie.  This site lets you play with the whole Internet - while having a fun Tenacious D experience. Aside from the brilliance of turning the entire World Wide Web into your playground, there are some other smart ideas making the experience engaging:

1) People are recognized for being the first to "rock" a site, encouraging you to find a cool site nobody's hit yet.

2) You're told how many people have already rocked any site.  This can make you feel special by showing that you're part of a large group (I was one of many who wanted to rock cnn.com) or make you feel extra special by showing that you're part of a small group (I was one of the few fans of toothpastefordinner.com).  It adds another engaging fascination - a curiosity regarding how many others have rocked any particular sites you like.

3) The very nature of the creative output lends itself to being shared.  I can rock out my friends' websites and blogs and send my custom "rocked" versions of their own pages to them. Check out my rocked version of Digital Hive.

Be sure to check out the true-to-brand disclaimer.  My only complaint is that the email-a-friend tool doesn't seem to be working right now.  They should get that fixed...

That's a new banner up there!

Look up top people!  Digital Hive is pleased to launch the new banner!  Created by our own James Biggie (AKA "Biggie", "Mr. Big" and "Bigs" - yes, that's his real name) and proudly uploaded by Jeff Flemings. 

We would love your input, thoughts, feedback or (how could it be possible) criticism. 

As you know, I am ALL about the customer feedback - especially my own.  Comment away people - the Internets is open and operators are standing by!

DO THE (RED) THING.

Can a tank top change the world? 

So asks the October 9^th issue of The New Yorker, or more specifically, the thirty (30!) Gap print ads featured within.  These ads are part of Product Red (styled: (PRODUCT) ^RED), an initiative started by Bono and Bobby Shriver in order to raise money for the Global Fund to Fights AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  The Product Red brand is licensed by iconic companies such as American Express, Motorola and Giorgio Armani, in order to create a product with the (RED) logo, and ultimately give a percentage of sales profits to the Global Fund. 

The Gap ads have the same look and feel as your generic Gap ads and feature Jennifer Gardner, Steven Spielberg, Chris Rock and a bra-less Christy Turlington.  Though I wish the ads were a bit more provocative (after all, we ARE talking about AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria), (RED) wants to be clear that they are not a charity.  They are a business model.  And a simple one at that:  “We believe that if consumers are offered this choice, and the products meet their needs, they will choose (RED). And if they choose (RED) over non-(RED), then more brands will choose to become (RED) because it will make good business sense to do so. And more lives will be saved.”

http://www.joinred.com/

www.gap.com/red

The best anti-smoking ad ever?

Hats off to AdRants for calling our attention to this wonderful execution (click on the visual above to view full size). http://www.adrants.com/2006/06/grave-site-smoking-room-delivers-powerful.php

Another blog mentioning this creative (Coolz0r) identifies the insight for this creative: “You’re the weak link, you’re killing yourself. You’re going to die. Should you chose to ignore all these messages and still want to go to the crappy, smelly corner the law has left for you in the basement of the building or somewhere in a dark shed, you’ll be hunted there as well. This ambient installment tries to bring the message across that when you smoke, you’re dying. No, you’re already dead, you just don’t know it yet."

Brilliant. There's something very 6 feet under about this - which I like.

The industry apparently agrees - this campaign was awarded with a bronze lion for ‘Outdoor’ in Cannes.

Additional executions/visuals are here: http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/06/29/smoking-kills/

The Target of Boutique Hotel Chains?

Snaps to Three Minds @ Organic's coverage of our client Hotel Indigo (http://organic.typepad.com/threeminds/)

It's exciting to think Indigo could attain Target-scaled success (Three Minds' suggestion).

It's a unique concept with a smart positioning and wonderful marketing - the campaign is all haikus, because haikus embody the wit and serenity Hotel Indigo aims to deliver to business travelers seeking more than the usual "beige" business hotel. Click the visual above to see one of the haikus and visit the Indigo website to see more (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/in/1/en/home).

I told you reflecting real consumers works better than being fake & too aspirational

Remember all the controversy caused by Ogilvy's "Campaign for Real Beauty" for Unilever's Dove? It features real women rather than emaciated airbrushed Paris Hilton wannabes - surely the world would resist this outreach, the critics said. Alas the consumer again disappoints the critics - the campaign won the top prize Wednesday night at the 38th annual Effie Awards show.

You go girl!

Read our prior post on this campaign here: http://digitalhive.blogs.com/digiblog/2005/09/real_women_real.html

AdWeek's article is here (reg. req'd): http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002650458

Now this is good marketing

Check out my favorite new site - for a movie of all things - "Michael Winterbottom's Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story".

The site is incredible on so many levels - it's open source (look in the recycle bin), has inviting, and it has surprising UI (don't let the barrage of pop ups scare you, they're part of the point). It's just about the best online I've seen in a year. You have to experience it to believe it, my describing it only takes away from the magic. So, click on the link and see for yourself already.

If you don't believe me, consider the NYTimes.com review (reg. req'd). The Times among other things commends the film's "insouciant, inventive spirit" - and the film's promotional website is all that and more. Their review also includes a multimedia piece about the film which will whet your appetite.

What's so wonderful about the site (and the movie, apparently) is that it captures the novel's core essence - of randomness and humor. The site is a brilliant use of interactive in translating a work of "art" - it's so much more than the usual boring push marketing movie web site.

Plus the film stars Britain's Steve Coogan, do I really need to add anything?