Just recently, YouTube celebrated its 5th birthday. Of all sites, I would have to say YouTube has been the most revolutionary in our time. Gone are the days when we miss a TV show and resign to the fact that we will never see it again. Gone are the days when we haven’t seen the music video of so-and-so and feel so left out when friends talk about it. YouTube has changed all that. Videos at the click of a finger. Replays on demand. Your own television channel (heck, you can even star in it if you want). That is YouTube.
But television is not television without its commercials (whether annoying, impressive, or entertaining). Hence, the advent of the virals. Viral videos come in any form but with one single goal – to buy you. Recently, shoe company Reebok stealthily released a viral advertisement across YouTube showcasing UFC former Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell working out with nothing on but his pair of Reeboks. Yes, you read that right. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell working out naked. (If you’re resourceful enough, you’ll find the video).
Like most if not all viral campaigns, the video makes it appear that the events are real, candid (as if taken by paparazzi), and not funded by Reebok. It’s up to the viewer to “spot” the product in the video.
One of my favorite viral campaigns is entitled “Liquid Mountaineering.”
Look up the video and tell me the product (without “cheating” and reading the YouTube comments, of course). I guess it’s apparent I’ve treated this whole viral business like a game of “spot the difference.” Some probably really buy the product. Others hate the product more for “misleading” them. Some actually believe the videos without even spotting the product. Either way, advertising has won again. You’ve been bought.
-Leo Rafael L. Quesada
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