Tagging the King
12 04 2006When is advertising cool? Geico and the Budweiser frogs come to mind as recent examples. How many times have people told you, “They just saved a bunch of money on car insurance with Geico?” Perhaps you know a group of guys who imitate the Budweiser commercial’s ‘what’s up’ commercials. Cool commercials create inside jokes. So much so, that even saying the products name causes an entire group of drunken buddies to relive the commercial, or a
Burger King is like the cool professor invited to the college party. New media is the party; here are five examples of the coolness. Every unsolicited user comment and reposted Burger King Viral Video represents the invitation to the party. Let’s turn on some music and bring in the keg:
You Tube Video Sharing:
There are over 316 video results for the tag Burger King on You Tube. Just the top ten results alone equal more than 90,000 impressions. Not only are people watching Burger King commercials online, they love them. Consider three comments as evidence:
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Cheftaishi says: “This is the best commercial ever. And I don’t say that about much.” Luckmanmono says: This has to be the best freakin’ commercial EVER. It is also a great tool for annoying my mother to her last nerve. AWESOME!!!!! Kellyoh1415 says, “HAHAH I LALALOVE THIS COMMERICAL!!! THANK YOU!!
Search any of the popular video sharing web sites for the tag Burger King. You will not only find current and vintage Burger King spots, you will also see many examples of people making their own Burger King commercials and parodies. True viral marketing. If you want a mind numbingly boring example, see this ten minute footage of a teenager playing with his Burger King toys in a painfully odd fast food opera. See: http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=6480 Burger King’s Myspace Presence is Legit You have to see their Myspace profile: http://www.myspace.com/burgerkingrocks. Three reasons why it’s solid: 1) The comments are real and strange. 2) BK’s top eight friend spots are occupied by other members of the Burger King family 3) Burger King actually leaves comments on other Myspace users pages: http://www.myspace.com/theartistv1. Nice job Crispin/PB. Burger King’s Micro Sites Aren’t Dull Check out: http://www.coqroq.com/. The atmosphere is similar to a hardcore metal band and the promotion is perfectly integrated onto the page. The call to action: an invitation to dial Burger King on the phone; hold the phone to the loud music playing on the web site and wait for Burger King to text message you the artist and song title. Perfectly slick guys, people wouldn’t even realize they were being marketed to, and if theydid, I don’t think they would care. Burger King Speaks the Language of New Media: Tags, Social Web, Viral Videos: It’s not forced. In fact, Burger King seems to belong to the communities that are deeply interested in them. It doesn’t feel like ‘cult’ marketing because unlike cult communities (i.e., Harley D, Jimmy B, Oprah W), Burger King isn’t at the center of the worship—it’s just the cool professor invited to the party. Since Burger King’s advertising, I have started eating their little mini hash browns every morning. Coincidence? I’ll have to ask the King. P.S. For an excellent analysis of Burger King’s marketing and business strategies, consult Slate Magazine and Business Week and Jaffee Juice. |
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