This morning, I started my day by reading several articles, blog posts and emails. And it seems that all of them were about “viral video.” Did you see those cute little babies on roller skates? (How did they do THAT?) Or the naked stewardess? How about the viral video that EXPLAINS how the Samsung viral video was filmed? Did you hear that the ad world is anxiously awaiting new web videos from FedEx?
Viral, viral, viral. And this stuff is way out in the open.
But here’s the thing. It’s all been done before.
The online revolution has been a liberating force – inside and out of the marketing sphere – particularly for the information consumer. Companies large and small cram their value propositions into an 800 pixel frame for the world to see. Politicians can clearly (sometimes) lay out their platforms for voters. And millions of people (including yours truly) with opinions on millions of topics, blog the days away, blasting and re-shaping the editorial and cultural landscape.
But what about advertising? Why is it that advertising is ALWAYS about making these little movies? In the three and a half decades since the early 1970’s, the television :30 or :60 has remained the absolute pinnacle of creative output. TV wins the big awards. TV drives the big budgets. TV, TV, TV. It puts radio and print ads and direct and outdoor and promotions out to dry.
So here comes the new new economy. And the new new Internet. And the new new advertising opportunities. Anything goes, right? Flash. Ajax. New banner sizes. Peelbacks. Ads that “fly” across your website. Wow. So many possibilities for creativity. So many opportunities for engagement. So many ways to measure!
And yet what is the new new advertising form? The teacher’s pet of them all? TV spots, disguised as “viral” videos!
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
Marketing Thingy 
Nice blog. Eloquent as usual. Not sure I agree, but can’t say I disagree either. The new boss is different, he is able to connect and measure in different ways. The advertisements that create emotional connections are the bosses that have the most power. Video, TV or whatever you want to call it connects to more senses and therefore tends to be the boss. Reminds me of my stomach.
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I love your new adjective Crap-tastic (on a different post)
TV has and always will be the boss.The main reason of course is viewers. If you have more Viewers on PCs(nothing against MACs) than watching TV you will see a shift.
Now put TV and PCs in one platform, now that is a revolution.
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Nice quote from “We Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Of course, you and I both love “THE WHO” and we both agree that regardless of the medium, concepts that win people over are the ones that create a real connection. Maybe that’s why these YouTube thingy’s do so well – so many of them are like home movies, the viewer’s drops their “sales resistance” guard and suddenly, “click-whirr” they are influenced (Read “Influence” by Robert Cialdini. – Jonathan Flaks http://www.yourproducitivitypro.com
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