viral marketings?

[alexr_rwx]

Today on metafilter, there was a post with a link to a youtube video in which a dude catches an airborne pair of sunglasses with his face in a series of increasingly unlikely circumstances. I thought it was a cute video.

It might turn out that it's a viral marketing attempt by some sunglasses company or another. People get mad about all sorts of stuff, of course, but it's causing a bit of an uproar on the mefi side of things. Personally, I'm having trouble mustering up the righteous indignation.

Any thoughts about this? Is it okay for companies to use YouTube to post ads? Is it okay if they pretend to be independent users?

What if it's not obviously an advertisement? Is it alright to use nontraditional means of communication to build buzz about a product, in general? Which ones? What if I can't remember which brand of sunglasses it was and don't particularly want sunglasses anyway?

Are you upset that you get ads in your Facebook news feed?

Are there much bigger world problems that you wish I'd address instead of advertising?

Comments

[pyrona.livejournal.com]

Who cares if it's viral marketing, says I. Commercials are omni-present, and they're certainly never going anywhere; all the better for them to be amusing. Think back on all the amusing commercials you remember... how many of them do you remember the product they were advertising? A few maybe, but really who cares.

Honestly, I'm happier when advertising isn't invasive. I've pretty much accepted that it'll always be around... better that it blend in and make you laugh than stand out and annoy you.

[pyrona.livejournal.com]

P.S. - Heee! Saw you last night! I'm so good at running into you randomly... now I just need to run into you on purpose!

[oniugnip.livejournal.com]

Yeah! How about coffee tomorrow, then? :)

I'll be around TSRB-ville, especially if there's a coffee appointment!

[pyrona.livejournal.com]

Today we may-or-may-not have a lunch meeting with a project big-wig. I can't get a straight answer from my boss. How does tomorrow look for you?

[oniugnip.livejournal.com]

Tomorrow's good too! Send emails, texts, or smoke signals!

[praetorian42.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with advertising? If advertising is entertaining, then that should be considered a value-added bonus.

On the flip side, you're already wasting time watching videos on Youtube. So what if it is also an advertisement- so long as it provides more amusing things to watch.

[schizobovine.livejournal.com]

Advertising is omnipresent in our society. I don't have to like it, but I certainly am not going to hold it up as the worst thing to happen to America. We've got bigger problems, no?

[samarin.livejournal.com]

Interesting question! I'm going to posit that others' indignation could be related to the fact that a lot of the viral videos going around der Internets are, in fact, faked.

[oniugnip.livejournal.com]

Faked in the sense of "we're making an ad, pretending not to be a big company", or faked in the sense of "we're pretending to make an ad for something, but we're not really affiliated" ?

[samarin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I merely meant faked in the sense that they often depict people doing incredible things (in this instance, talented young men catching sunglasses with their face), when, in reality, it is simply special effects.