Friday, March 25, 2005

Still buzzing

It was only after I blathered on about viral advertising that I saw this Adrant post. Why aren't more clients producing fun stuff? "[T]he answer is, bluntly, marketers can't help but fuck it up. Slapping a logo on a funny TV commercial does not pass as a viral ad. Sticking a 'Send to a Friend' button on a website doesn't really cut it either."

So marketing people -- because they're people -- don't always make good decisions. What else is new? "The only thing that will compel further distribution of a viral ad is its entertainment value....This is the one medium in which creativity should be given full reign [sic]." Agreed. But I also think you need to give clients more to go on, more reasons to hand over those reins. Like, is it right for their audience? (Will women really send each other email from the Brawny Man?) What's a reasonable expectation -- merely to create a happy-funtime impression? For some marketers, that's a good goal to have. Can it be measured? How can it be sustained? And finally, is that all?

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