evolution of Dove's Evolution

One piece I'm glad to see included in The One Show's "10 Best of the Digital Decade" is Dove's Evolution which some mistakenly believe was a TV spot that never aired. Actually, it's claimed to be the first branded viral video, posted on October 6, 2006. Within a month, it got 1.7 million views (big numbers in those days) and brought the highest-ever traffic spike to its website, three times more than Dove's Super Bowl spot and attendant publicity achieved, according to Ad Age. So I guess O+M Toronto is to blame for the ensuing onslaught of irksome client requests for a viral.

Years ago, I wondered if the creative team took inspiration from an old spot for Maybelline, but according to this interesting (if long-winded) discussion with Ogilvy folks about the campaign, it seems the concept evolved from an educational video the agency made in 2004 to expose students to the hype behind fashion.

CLIO awards for emerging (some would say already hatched) media

High energy and entertainment value at last night's CLIO awards for Emerging Media. (Emerging? Neil Robinson, AKQA CD bridled at this in a panel: "Is it still 1997? Why are we still talking about the novelty of digital?")

No surprise that Crispin Porter + Bogusky took Gold in Interactive for Whopper Sacrifice which ECD Rob Reilly pointed out leveraged both social media and human nature. A Facebook application convinced more than 233,000 to defriend someone in return for a free Whopper. Dumped friends were informed they'd been sacrificed in messages that included their profile pics in flames. Facebook stepped in, disabling the app as it violated FB policy of not informing users when defriending occurs. But by then, the campaign had already converted 233,000 consumers and generated incalcuable free press and WOM. Crispin cleverly leveraged the fallout by cross-platforming the news in traditional print.

Another no brainer: Obama campaign won Gold for Integrated. Dipdive acceptor said, humbly, "Our client was the American people." No wonder their "product" was named Ad Age Marketer of the Year. A companion campaign, the hilariously effective "The Great Schlep" won Silver in Content & Category.



Surprises were multitudes of strong showings from afar. Particularly impressive was Silver winner for Innovative Media: BBDO Auckland's campaign for New Zealand Book Council. Brief: Encourage people to read again. Concept: Disguise books as computer documents so people will be able to read them at work, despite BOS. And organize books into an online library diguised to look like a Windows desktop.

An Aussie campaign for a travel company  was produced, interestingly, by an alliance between a strategic agency The Hallway and a creative one Happy Soldiers. How to get people to take vacations during a recession? Produce household staples and price them for pennies, so shoppers can spend money on travel instead.

Gold winner for viral (I know you hate that word) was Superfad's brilliant because oh-so-simple concept executed in charming animation for Durex. (As of today, 2.8 million unpaid views)



Lots more CLIO goodness (including stunningly sophisticated work from students at NYC's School of Visual Arts and Miami Ad School) in full list of winners here.

best explanation of convergence culture i've ever heard

comes from Lean Mean Fighting Machine. No wonder Cannes named them Interactive Agency of the Year. Next time your client asks for a viral video, hit play.

if obama doesn't win, it's alan wolk's fault

As any well-informed reader of ad blogs knows, Alan Wolk (aka Tangerine Toad) is vacationing in Disney World this week. While that may bode well for his family relations, Wolk's absence from the polls on Tuesday could have huge ramifications for the rest of us, as this video shows. No doubt you'll be receiving your own personalized copy  soon, if you haven't already. (Reason #2355 why Barak Obama won landslide victory for Ad Age Marketer of the Year.) Don't forget to vote.


found by The Finder, KLR

where is @don_draper when you need him?

Like many twitterers on this circuit, I was followed by Mad Men. At first it felt strange to receive updates from fictional characters. (@Don_Draper: Taking Betty to Birdland tonite to hear Coltrane or @Peggy_Olson: Hope Belle Jolie account is ok. Worries me actually.) But I found they integrated seamlessly into my stream of tweets (because who isn't a fictional character in cyberspace) and I began to look forward to their 140-character dispatches of daily doings and angsts circa 1962. I even began to interact with them directly, exhanging a friendly banter of girl talk with @Betty_Draper (who promised to try Jackie's milliner at Berdorf's.)

What brilliant marketers are folks at AMC, I thought. First, Sterling Cooper business cards as promos. Then, wrapping the Times Square shuttle (a train Draper takes). Now, they reach outside the (tv) box again to send their characters into Twitterville, connecting with (and recruiting) fans, maximizing entertainment value of their content, pushing it further, making it even more seductive-- which will make the show more seductive to advertisers, too. Of course (thought I) folks who display masterful grasp of last century adland would prove equally conversant with present-day marketing opps.



But, alas, I was wrong. I woke up this morning to a post from Alan Wolk reporting that most Twittering Mad accounts have been suspended. Why? No official word yet, but MG Siegler writing for VentureBeat reports that AMC invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to convince Twitter’s support team to suspend the accounts. (As of this posting, you can still tweet @Betty_Draper--perhaps, in keeping with sexist attitudes of the era, execs at AMC don't consider her a threat?)

I'm a content provider myself, so I understand how producers could be ruffled by others co-opting the characters they've worked hard to create. But rather than acting impetuously, hostiley, stupidly shutting down a growing opportunity to extend its fan base, shouldn't someone in marketing recognize the potential and put itinerant Mad Twitterers on the payroll, or sustain the effort in-house? Surely Don Draper would get it, if he was around. Despite the fact that, as devoted fans know, he'll be turning 79 on September 25.

UPDATE
Good news for some, annoying news for others: Nudged by Deep Focus, AMC's digital agency of record, Man Men's' Twitter accounts have been reinstated and the cast has resumed tweets.

what i love about blogging is how it connects you to new friends around the world

Just received this heartfelt note from a guy who obviously didn't get Jane Sample's memo.

Hi,

how are you?

My name is Claudio and I work for a viral production company called Viral Factory.

Just wanted to drop you a quick e mail to recommend the new campaing

The campaign is composed by a very nice viral clip (as per link):

And the viral clip is pointing to a brilliant microsite, that deserves

a visit (I know that you like nice sites)

Speak you soon

Bye

C.