Archives
A Disney Princess Bride-to-Be
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 10:30am
Disney is perhaps best known on YouTube for clever fan mash-ups and Hannah Montana videos. Riding this wave, Disney's theme parks division figures a little impromptu singing and dancing on its well-groomed Main Street, U.S.A., will create yet another "magical moment." But winning over YouTube critics takes more than a happy song as Disney learns.
Title: Disneyland Musical Marriage Proposal
A man proposes to his girlfriend through song and dance at Disneyland.
Paramount’s Premature Promo?
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Friday, June 26, 2009 - 11:03am
The most popular genre of YouTube videos these days is, not surprisingly, trailers for summer and autumn Hollywood blockbusters, (usually the kind involving the imminent invasion of Earth or some other kind of sci-fi menace). The trailers for Transformers 2 and 2012 alone have amassed more than 9 million viewings so far. The competition for eyeballs is so fierce that Paramount Pictures has even decided to start plugging now the release of its big summer sci-fi adventure flick The Last Airbender, a full year ahead of its big-screen debut. Too soon? You be the judge.
Screengrab from The Last Airbender teaser
Bacardi’s Designated Driver
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 12:12pm
Earlier this decade, Formula One driver Michael Schumacher was branded the world's first "billionaire athlete." (If Tiger Woods hasn't yet caught him earningswise, he soon will.) Now retired, Schumacher still plays the role of celebrity pitchman for various advertisers, including for liquor brand Bacardi on its campaign to remind consumers not to drink and drive. It's an expensive investment for Bacardi. Is the message catching on?
Title: As seen on Top Gear - Schumacher Drink Drive Simulation
Bacardi’s Designated Driver
Olympus Camera Cocktail
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Friday, June 19, 2009 - 9:13am
Tom Dickson of "Will it Blend?" fame has shredded, cleaved, and mutilated all manner of objects in his Blendtec blender, from golf balls to credit cards, creating one of the Internet’s most enduring viral infomercials. What’s next? Japanese camera maker Olympus has been a good sport, lending its new digital camera to the gag. But will it blend?
Title: Will It Blend?—Take Two: The full Olympus Multimedia Blend
The Post-Hit
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 4:46pm
If you were to raid the company supply closet and make off with 6,000 Post-it notes, what kind of mischief might you get up to? Admittedly, it's a strange question, but keep that figure (the 6,000 Post-it notes) in mind when you watch this next video. It took a student at Savannah College of Art and Design three months to plan and shoot this colorful stop-motion video using the lowest of low-tech messaging: the sticky Post-it note.
Title: DEADLINE post-it stop motion
Adidas Knows How to Party
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Friday, June 12, 2009 - 10:15am
A touch of the Ting Tings, a dose of David Beckham, and a smattering of hip-hop royalty made this Adidas ad a hit first time around. Now a whiff of controversy has given it new prominence online.
Title: Adidas House Party
Adidas ad still from YouTube.
GM's Rebirth Roadkilled
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 4:34pm
Within hours of General Motors' landmark bankruptcy filing, its marketing team hit the Net with www.GMReinvention.com, a site aimed at making you feel just a little bit better about the future of GM—once it emerges from Chapter 11 and removes the shackles of Washington. A few days later, a spoof ad appeared, lampooning the message that a "reinvented GM" is just around the corner. The spoofsters message: This is not "GM Reinvention." It is "GM Retardation."
Title: GM Reinvention Commercial (SPOOF)
Gillette’s Below-the-Belt Tips
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Friday, June 5, 2009 - 10:22am
Gillette's long-running slogan "The Best a Man Can Get" pretty much says it all, hence, its staying power. For years, we've been subjected to TV spots featuring close-ups of razors plowing through stubbly chins. But today's man, equipped now with five blades, evidently has new surface area to trim. Cue the double entendres.
Title: How to shave your groin—shaving tips from Gillette
How to shave your groin. Video still from Gillette.
Universal Pictures Plugs Bruno
By Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Posted Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - 10:27am
Universal Pictures is taking the softly, softly marketing approach for the cinematic release of Bruno, which arrives on the big screen July 10. So far, Universal has spent more time (and cash) plugging the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy on social networks and YouTube. Could Universal be playing it too cool? (Note: This video can be found on YouTube, but this version has been embedded from traileraddict.com.)
Title: Bruno - Official Trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures, Movie still from Bruno.
