Tron viral leads fans to a real-life lightcycle

The 2009 Comic-Con hosted, among other high-dollar nerdy attractions, a tremendous viral marketing stunt for Disney's upcoming Tron Legacy. Buzz for the effort started several days before the convention, when sites like FirstShowing.net “mysteriously received two tokens for Flynn's Arcade,” a key location from the original '80s sci-fi classic starring Jeff Bridges. The tokens and other digital breadcrumbs led bloggers to a site called Flynn Lives, where an online counter told viewers to meet at a certain cul-de-sac in San Diego Thursday night. Those who turned out got to take part in a blacklight scavenger hunt, something that's both fun and thematically relevant to the aesthetics of the first Tron. Soon they had discovered a re-creation of Flynn’s Arcade, where a secret room held the biggest prize of all: a real-life lightcycle from the new movie (shown above), accompanied by some of Daft Punk’s musical score. Hopefully this smart, inclusive delivery will get through to people who still think “viral marketing” means inventing a lame catchphrase or lamer fake Web site and pummeling the Internet with it.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on July 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under ARG, Kiefaber, Tron, Viral

Send this to a wretched, drug-addled friend

There have been plenty of viral e-mail campaigns in recent years designed to frighten, humiliate or generally screw over your friends. (Predictably, they tend to be more popular than the happy-go-lucky, make-your-friend-feel-good stuff.) But now, one such effort in the U.K. has been deemed unacceptable. The campaign, for the movie Shifty, a British urban thriller, allowed people to send realistic-seeming mock police e-mails to their friends suggesting they were "involved in illegal drugs, had been named in a police interview and were at risk of criminal prosecution." Some people just can't take a joke, apparently. What, we can make people think they're being targeted by a serial killer, but we can't falsely accuse them of pushing drugs without them getting all butthurt over it? Metrodome Group, the advertiser, apologized for all the bother, and the Ad Standards Authority took its baby away. Good thing they didn't promote The Fugitive, in retrospect.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on May 7, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Controversy, Europe, Viral

Your Hotelicopter ride isn't going to happen

Want to enjoy the five-star hotel experience while noisily chugging jet fuel in the skies far above the plebian masses? Well, tough, because the Hotelicopter, the "world's first flying hotel," which began appearing in tech blogs over the past few days, was quickly outed as a fake. It's apparently a viral marketing stunt for Yotel, a premium lodging chain located inside European airports. But if you're still in the mood for high-elevation hoax lodging, may I recommend this North Korean monstrosity? Via Presurfer.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on March 31, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Griner, Hotelicopter, Viral, Yotel

Viral video brings drift racing to the masses

Anyone can talk about making a "viral video," but the reality is that it takes a lot of great content, planning and hard work to make it happen. That's why it's no surprise that more than 16 million viewers have watched this clip produced for rally racer Ken Block, DC Shoes and Subaru. This stunning display of Block's driving is packed with mind-blowing stuff, and you don't have to be a "Tokyo Drift" fan to enjoy the show. "Ken approached us in early 2008 with the idea of co-producing a viral web film that would showcase his driving skills on tarmac, and put the sport of Gymkhana (pronounced 'jim-ka-nah') on the map here in the U.S.," writes marketing agency Mad Media on its site. "We worked with Ken over the course of 6 months to develop his idea into a practical shot list, and secured the El Toro Marine Base for location shooting. After two days of intense filming, and several weeks of editing, we delivered the final Gymkhana Viral Web Film." The result was more than 10 million views on KenBlockRacing.com, 4 million views on YouTube and many more on other video sites since the clip was posted in November 2008. Only 15 million views to go before they catch up to that damn sneezing panda.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on February 23, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Automotive, Griner, Mad Media, Viral

Cutwater's Ray Ban virals get more random

Cutwater had that big hit in 2007 with the "Guy catches glasses with face" video (below), which has gotten about 4 million views on YouTube. Now, the agency is back with some more virals for the sunglasses brand, although this time the product is much less central. Four videos have rolled out in the last four weeks, the most popular one being the sloppy "Cow gives birth to a dude" (above). The adult-size, slimy newborn emerges with sunglasses on—that's the extent of the product connection. Still, the thing's gotten almost 1.7 million views, so there's a market for this stuff. The other three new videos, "Disco Ballers," "Green Screen Guy" and "Tallest ice cream," don't feature any halfway believable stunts or nasty birth footage, so they might not do as well.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on January 28, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Cutwater, Freaky, Nudd, Ray-Ban, Viral

Bruce Lee, totally badass Ping Pong player

None of the big shots featured in Celebrity PingPong magazine would stand a chance in a match against a nunchuck-wielding Bruce Lee. This amazing viral video leads to a Web site where a digitized Lee kicks some ass with his Nokia N96 phone. Though made for a Chinese audience (ostensibly for a product sold in China), the video has traveled around the world in a few short days. No doubt, like me, the world is now going to travel to China to pick up an N96 and a little bit of Bruce Lee sickness.

—Posted by Jeremy Greenfield

Published on November 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Asia, Greenfield, Nokia, Viral

Don't listen to Levi's latest Web campaign

Dear Levi's: I took the advice of your latest Web effort and "unbuttoned my beast" at work. Everyone lost it. I thought I'd get fired for sure, but the company's shares have tanked on Wall Street, and all of Human Resources got laid off. Adweek.com says Levi's wants "young men to pass along videos of customized 'beasts' emerging from the button-fly of Levi's jeans." You choose from "nine different animated characters with names like Trout Troutman, Paul the Pincher and Sock Nasty." I sent Sock Nasty to Fred, the guy in the next cube, and he quit in a huff! Though he did IM me later and invited me to dinner. Strange, we'd never been particularly friendly before.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on October 2, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Gianatasio, Levi's, Viral

Kodak viral makes you feel like a superhero

Let's face it, agencies develop calling cards. Crispin loves the hidden camera. Barbarian still gets asked for another Subservient Chicken. EVB is no different. It gained deserved kudos for "Elf Yourself," the runaway viral hit for OfficeMax, created with Toy New York. EVB has done some cool work for brands like Adidas and Levi's, but inevitably some clients want their own elf. Kodak now has its own. The concept of "Make Me Super" is pretty similar to "Elf Yourself." You upload your picture (or a friend's) onto an animated character, then send along the ensuing video. (Here's mine.) I have to say, even though EVB's been to this well before, "Make Me Super" is pretty catchy and fun. Visitors can buy their superheroes emblazoned on mugs, mousepads and other paraphernalia. It would be cool to be able to upload one's own superhero clip to Facebook, or use friends' profile photos there to create one.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on September 23, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under EVB, Kodak, Morrissey, Viral