Maybe you remember this 1972 TV commercial about Bounty paper towels:
It’s cute and memorable and might spark you to buy a roll.
Ditto for this Charmin ad on toilet paper that came out in recent years:
I don’t know the figures but I imagine both were costly to cast, film, produce, and distribute.
New media enables companies to lower overhead. Bounty realized the benefits of uploading a video to YouTube with the hopes it might go viral. With 798,983 views and counting, this March 2010 video is gaining popularity. I love it and I think you may, too.
1972 was then and 2010 is now. If you’re a company coming out with a new product, would you rather make a TV ad or a YouTube ad? Both have their advantages; but I can assure you as a consumer, I’d rather play something over and over, share it with my friends, and critique or praise it on blog posts — than the alternative of twiddling my thumbs until the television ad appears. You?
Oh yeah… wanna see an infomercial spoof on paper towels?
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I think that if a company is going to release a commercial on TV, they might as well put it up on YouTube as well (it’s free to do so). YouTube, the way I see it, is a great place to host and spread your content on a low budget, though I think that the reach of TV advertising is far more consistent that YouTube’s. That’s just based on my opinion, so feel free to prove me wrong.
I don’t think it ever comes down to one or the other, I think it’s a matter of one or the both.
Hey-
I really liked the Paper Towel Spoof video. I have to agree with the YouTube video verses the TV commercial thing. I would rather do the YouTube video and have it go viral. This is a great idea.
I think it’s best to do both. If I had to choose, I’d still say TV. A lot of ads cannot be avoided when they’re on television, especially if they’re on during a very popular ad. Most ads only become popular on YouTube once everyone’s spotted them on television.
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