Top 10 Viral Ads
Posted on | October 19, 2011 | No Comments
A mix of off- and online ads, this is a running list of the top 10 viral advertisements. For the most part, these ads are the result of innovative thought by top advertising professionals. While you can be the judge, we think they “get” viral marketing are are among it’s most accomplished practitioners.
1. Wario Land: “Shake It” – Still the leader with it’s off-the-board graphics. Only problem… it makes the page tough to navigate.
2. Gatorade: The ball girl - Can you spot the Gatorade in this viral video?
3. London Transport: Do The Test – Take the test + Be surprised + Think about the implications = Good Advertising. Put it online and it’s good viral advertising.
4. Nike: “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier” – Good music, emotive graphics, strong back story. A personal favorite this viral ad is really just a viral music video except Nike products appear throughout.
5. Cutwater / Rayban: Catch The Sunglasses – Down-home style, laid-back characters and subtle effects make these sunglass catches almost believable but definitely memorable.
6. Charles Stone III: Wassup 2008 – W/ tongue placed firmly in cheek, this ad makes visual the top stories of the day and links them directly to the fundamental message of change put forth by the Obama campaign. Like or dislike Obama, director Charles Stone has created a visual, concise and emotive political ad that took top honors.
7. Fallon / BMW Films: The Hire – Eight 8-minute feature-ette’s produced for BMW by Fallon in 2001/2. Star-studded, taught, suspenseful,… oh and with BMW’s.
8. John West Salmon – Funny, very funny ad pitting man against bear in a fight to the death over… salmon. Speaks well to the lengths John West Co. will go to get you your salmon.
9. Nike / Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold – 25M YouTube views for this Nike product placement. Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho works his magic including four direct, consecutive hits on the crossbar… from 50+ feet out…without the ball hitting the ground. It’s a bit long, but worth it.
10. Crispin Porter + Bogusky / Burger King: Subservient Chicken – While no longer the best, one of the first and still most innovative.
Honorable Mention
BBH / Lynx: Axe Bom Chicka Wah Wah – Dentist – While there are a LOT of these Axe fragrance ads out there, this one is a favorite. Brief and to the point.
Cloverfield – The 2008 new year started out with a bang. Several actually in the viral marketing for the alien / catastrophe film Cloverfield.
BlendTec: Will It Blend? – Like it or loathe it, YouTube took BlendTec’s product demos viral.
Tay Zonday / “Chocolate Rain” – While not initially produced as an ad, Tay’s music video and associated YouTube page has become an ad including solicitations to buy ringtones, visit websites, subscribe to Tay’s blog, follow him on twitter, etc. Originally posted in April, 2007, the song garnered over 30 million views as of October 2008. It was ranked as the hottest viral video of Summer 2007 by CTV.ca and as the number 2 viral video in the world by utalkmarketing.com. It even won the 2007 YouTube award in the Music category.
To be continued. Have you got an example? We’ll gladly bump one of these off and, who knows, you may take the top spot. Mike Doeff did!
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