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Written by asap
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Wednesday, 12 April 2006 |
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Is Chevrolet hipper than anyone thought?
The struggling automaker set up a Web site for people to make their own ads for the new Chevy Tahoe sport utility vehicle, supplying video clips, music tracks and helpful hints.
The results so far are a mockery. "Say hello to global warming," reads one entry, over a jaunty soundtrack and shots of an SUV driving through snow. "The hydrocarbons this baby pumps out contributes to glacier melt worldwide," intones another amid soaring music and a Chevrolet-supplied shot of three SUVs on an icy cliff.
These and other anti-Chevy ads are spreading like wildfire on video-sharing sites like YouTube.com. It’s viral marketing gone haywire. ... Or is it?
Is it just possible that Chevy knew this would happen?
"I’m sure that they did,” says James Archer, CEO of Forty Media in Phoenix, Ariz., who like the rest of the marketing world is sitting up and taking notice.
Chevrolet, for its part, says it’s not taking any critical ads down — unless they are crudely profane or insult groups of people. Its make-your-own-ad contest continues through Monday.
"We’ve been pleased with it,” says Chevrolet spokesman Mike Albano. "We definitely anticipated that some people would use this as an opportunity to state their opinion."
"When you enter into this viral world of the Internet ... it becomes a two-way conversation, and that’s fine."
Marketers say ads that spread "virally" — through word-of-mouth — can be more effective than traditional advertising because it seems more authentic, more cool.
But surely, being lampooned as a gas guzzler can’t be a good thing, can it? Let’s look at the evidence.
"They want to prove that the Tahoe is capable, responsible and refined," says one spoof ad. "It’s capable of polluting, responsible for global warming, and all that’s being refined is its oil."
All end with the tagline: "Tahoe. An American Revolution."
The Web site Adrants.com calls the campaign a success. "Chevy confirms it gets social media,” it says. “Rock on GM."
It explains: "Understanding and accepting opposing views does far more for a brand’s mojo than killing off divergent opinion."
Archer adds, "either this took them completely by surprise, or this is exactly what they were expecting."
Check out the spoofs at YouTube. | Only registered users can write comments.
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