Adtasm.com | Ads in Media

I wrote about this particular Internet phenomenon before, but I decided to highlight one successful campaign that used the power of the Internet to generate some viral buzz. This video was an illustration in the possibilities of viral marketing and one of the factors that put Youtube.com on the map in 2006.

Dove, in 2005, started a campaign that highlighted “real” woman, as opposed to the overly anorexic wisps of air that we see normally in commercials, print ads, and the like. Seth Stevenson, in a Slate.com article critiquing the campaign, noted overall the short term prognosis was excellent, but that on the whole that:

Sadly, this is not a winning play for the long haul. If Dove keeps running ads like this, women will get bored with the feel-good, politically correct message. Eventually (though perhaps only subconsciously), they’ll come to think of Dove as the brand for fat girls. Talk about “real beauty” all you want—once you’re the brand for fat girls, you’re toast.

A bit of a change in direction was expected to keep the message fresh, but the overall message was clear: beauty is often manufactured. Along those lines, a viral video was created by Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto, which had massive exposure in all avenues and media.

Synopsis: A plain woman steps into a studio for a photo shoot. The timing is increased, ever so frantically, showing the process in which the woman is made to look better for the billboard her photo will be placed on, from the make-up artists, to the photoshopping of the woman’s features.

Bonus: Here is a parody video, amongst many on Youtube.com, that kept the original video exposed and talked about for many months after.

Slate.com’s Seth Stevenson, in 2004, offered us his analysis of the famous, mannequin-esque, creepy, albeit entertaining for some, Burger King icon. It may come as a surprise to some (the younger generation) that the original King mascot was in standard usage during the 70s (although the new King, with the oversize plastic head, has been redone to reflect edgier times).

His overall conclusion? Although the “King” does creep some out, the advertising does work with the target audience of transfat eating 18 to 35 year old males.