Hardly Spontaneous And Not Viral
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Forgive us for once again being cynical but seriously;
Note To Saatchi & Saatchi, note to T-Mobile, it’s hardly viral (and hardly spontaneous either, see comments below) if you spend hundreds of thousands of pounds, hire dozens of actors to pretend to be the public, have a backdrop of 13,000 ‘volunteers’ hanging around in the background hoping to get in a sniff of the video, ask Pink to ‘surprisingly’ turn up and then get lots and lots of pre-coverage in the mainstream media.
The original T-Mobile ‘Dance’ advert at Liverpool Street was original and incredibly well done, it’s a shame that this is also being described as the ‘latest viral ad campaign for a mobile phone’.
May 1st, 2009 at 11:15 @510
Er, are you sure that it is S&S or T-M calling it a ‘viral’ and not just some journo?
Let’s be clear -this is not a “viral ad campaign”. Yesterday’s event is the kick-off to a very very big, fully integrated, through-the-line marketing campaign that will run in 7 markets.
Yes, people may watch it on YouTube, and they may post pics on Facebook, but there will be a two-minute TV ad breaking in ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ on Saturday night and a full ATL media schedule… not exactly underground.
And while I’m on my soapbox, let’s just clarify what “viral” means. To quote (digital planner extraordinaire) Faris Yakob, “viral is a thing that happens, not a thing that is”. Yes, the T-Mobile ‘Dance’ ad went hugely viral. But it was a TV ad first and foremost.
Full disclosure: I am the International Planning Director on the T-Mobile account at Saatchi & Saatchi. Feel free to drop me a line if you’d like a copy of the press release.
May 1st, 2009 at 13:14 @593
I really don’t like the t-mobile adverts. Thank you for being cynical, although I don’t think it’s cynical if its true. I wish they would stay away from making adverts in an effort to turn them viral. Fingers crossed this doesn’t become the norm.
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 @548
It gets even less “viral” when T-Mobile UK customers like myself get SMS texts days in advance of the “spontaneous” gathering, inviting them to attend and even asking them to confirm attendance by texting back.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:09 @548
I fear that you are confusing “Spontaneous” and “Flash Mob”. This was a “Flashmob” which tend to always be co-ordinated – the “spontaneous” aspect is meant to be the person who randomly joins in.
I have quite a few times bumped into “Flashmobs” doing anything from pillow fighting to offering “free hugs” – sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they’re annoying but they are always co-ordinated.
I think that the “Viral” nature – i.e. people forwarding it on / viewing it on YouTube is more of a tribute to T-Mobile’s marketing team and Saatchi then anything else.
If we disapprove then you don’t have to watch it – the fact that it got your attention means that half the job is done already. As Wilde said “The only thing worse then being talked about, is not being talked about”