http://youtu.be/KEBJmZL8G1E
I'm not often impressed by attempts to create viral ad content. It’s very subjective to determine what works and what doesn’t. I don't even drink soda; so while I'm still not interested in sharing a Coke, I'm more than happy to share the video for discussion. Note, I didn’t go into this video looking to dissect it, but I felt conflicted after watching it. My thoughts:
The hosts are really annoying and about 30 seconds into it, I just wanted to turn it off b/c it wasn't very interesting. But because someone I trust sent it to me, I felt that there has to be some kind of a payoff here so I kept watching (social capital rules again).
The video's creators were trying to build suspense by the long wait for the payoff, and it actually made me more annoyed than curious until around 1 minute in, when I saw the shopping cart going down the ramp. That was the moment I was sold on waiting to see what happened. And the "Mouse Trap" execution was really very clever (mission #1 for a viral video to be effective) and (mission #2), you will associate the clip with the product--Coke. Many viral videos go out of their way to serve #1 and completely miss out on #2. So the video is definitely successful in that sense.
To me there is also a Mission #3—make it natural, seamless and as though I’m not being sold on a product (which may seem to contradict #2, but actually doesn’t). Yet, after watching this super-cool mouse trap, I didn’t leave happy. In other words, I didn’t come away feeling like I just watched an amazing viral video—I felt more like I just watched a forced, staged ad. In fact, the whole thing felt really phony—the audience was so over-the-top in their enthusiasm that it felt as if someone was holding up a sign to “scream loudly” and “don’t forget to keep cheering”. And the multiple quick cuts to the girl with the “OMG” look on her face smacked on disingenuous reality TV editing. So to me, the fakeness of it distracted from the otherwise cleverness of the clip.
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