If you have frequented this blog, you may have read about the merits of “viral advertising”, which is a relatively new term that refers to marketing techniques that use social networks (i.e. MySpace, your e-mail buddy list, etc) to pass along messages, e-mails, or video clips.
The message gets read or viewed and then is passed along to a friend or colleague in a viral fashion. Much like the chain letter of the old days, viral advertising is efficient and pinpoints its target. Advertisers figured out that an odd or entertaining video might be just the vehicle to bury an advertisement.
Below is a viral ad from a “high-end” blender company called BlendTec, a consumer product company that I had never heard of before this viral advertisement. They have produced a series of quirky ads that have floated around the internet with many now archived on YouTube.
(Note to self: I had better do a blog on YouTube since many of my readers may have never visited there or even heard of them).
This kitschy ad series has a catch phrase of “Will it Blend” with a host that reminds me of my son’s high school physics teacher replete with lab coat, safety glasses, and silly grin. Each episode includes another goofy test of the BlendTec blender with some offbeat item in the blender. I will stop there and let you make your own judgment.
Got to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_A3EAuXA38
The point is that this is a powerful technique that many businesses could use to build their brand awareness. Thanks to CSUF Entrepreneurship student Andrew Baker for bringing this viral ad to my attention.
John Bradley Jackson
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