Hot Girls, Hot Cars and Microcelebs Get Enlisted to Sell Luxury Car Rentals

The layman’s definition of “going viral” is “to spread quickly and attract attention,” and so as the viral video world has evolved, it’s been only logical for the advertising market to entwine itself with it, both as a way of spreading its message and a way of scouting potential new commercial talent.

When Facebook Gangsta, a well-produced salute to the social networking service’s ability to help guys get the scoop on hot girls at parties, dropped last May, we were big fans, and I personally had high hopes for its viral potential. But while the video never quite took off as we anticipated — at last check it was still shy of a million views — it did make it around enough for Rick Mullinax, an exec at the Los Angeles-based Midway Car Rentals, to get a glimpse.

And that’s how Facebook Gangsta creator Nick Miller found himself pitching the luxury car rental service two ideas for a potential viral video ad: a narrative about two average guys who have a wild night on the town thanks to their sweet rentals, and a straight-up viral experiment involving a helicopter racing a Ferrari. “[The exec] wanted to do something really cool and counterintuitive,” Miller said via email.

Because Mullinax wanted something unique, he gave the green light to the narrative idea. So armed with “a pretty tight budget,” Miller set to work creating Two Bears Race A Ferrari and an Audi R8. The actual video, directed by Ross Ching, is well produced and features some snappy cinematography, especially when it comes to showing the cars in action (which, you might argue, would be the most important part of the ad). According to Miller, when drivers are blasting down Wilshire Boulevard going 80 miles an hour at 3 a.m. in an Audi R8 and a Ferrari, “people tend to assume you’re pretty important, and leave you alone.”

But beyond the star power of the cars (and the wackiness of having them be driven by guys wearing bear suits), Miller decided to help nudge the video in a viral direction by bringing in some…well, by some standards I suppose, they’re celebrities. Julia Allison and Meghan Asha of Nonsociety and TMI Weekly appear as the two hot girls who invite the protagonists back to their house party; Justin “Bobby” Brescia of The Hills and former American Idol contestant Ashley Hartman also show up at the shindig, and wackiness ensues.

Miller called in some favors to enlist the cast as between travel expenses and appearance fees, the cameos did add to the budget. And watching the video, their roles in the narrative really are just that — cameos. Plus, so far none of those four have used their presences on Twitter or Facebook to help spread the video, which may be why as of writing, after two days online, Two bears race a Ferrari has yet to break 2,000 views.

There’s a lot about this video that’s well-done for boosting Midway’s online presence, especially callouts to Internet memes like the Three Wolf Moon t-shirt and Charlie bit my finger. But its emphasis on celebrating its C-list cast, some of whom could alienate as many viewers as they might attract, overly pads what could be a slightly shorter, equally entertaining viral ad. Your mileage may vary on that one, I suppose. I guess it depends on how badly you’d like to party with Justin Bobby and Julia Allison.

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