@ OMMA: In Creating Viral Video, You Can Only Earn Viewers With Ideas

Issues of how advertisers should pursue viral video and whether consumers would prefer that marketers label their video messages as was addressed at one of the mid-afternoon sessions at the OMMA Video conference. A number of video ads were shown being promoted on YouTube, including two entertaining examples of stop-motion animation. The first, a Ray Ban ad, showed a pair of the iconic sunglasses being “caught by a guy’s face.” A second one featured a “human skateboard,” which promoted Sneaux footware. In general, the feeling among panelists was that the rules are pretty loose when it comes to going viral:

Steve Coulson, chief creative officer, crayon: On the one hand, you don’t know that [the Ray Ban spot] is an ad. The product is being used by guys who are just showing off. As we go along, there will be genres, ways of presenting viral videos.

Christine Beardsell, interactive production lead, Digitas: Agencies shouldn’t think about creating a viral video, but should be thinking of a big idea related to content. That’s what will last more in people’s minds.

David Coats, VP, executive creative director, Slingshot: What really matters is how it gets out there and how it spreads. But you can’t really shoot for “viral.” You have to create engaging content, from there, it’s out of your hands.

Brian McCarthy, SVP, business development, Revver: Viral videos are a form of marketing. It’s a good question whether a video is still viral if it’s branded. I think that it very well can be. Even a TV spot can be viral, if it’s reached a point online where it’s being talked about by a significant amount of people. In the early days, you would get viral videos in an email. But that was a matter of format. Now, if we say something’s gone viral, it’s a success, because it meant individuals pursued it and pushed it out on their own.

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