SMIRNOFF PUSHES YOUTUBE AD
Smirnoff’s “Tea Partay” rap video spoof on YouTube has the industry debating over whether it’s brilliant or less-than-perfect advertising.
While the spot features three preppy, loafer-wearing guys in pastel rapping on a tennis court, it’s actually an ad for Smirnoff’s new malted Raw Tea. Some of the lines include: “No one’s harder than a New England gangster,” and “we’re going to turn it out with our parents’ riches.” Dancing in the background are three blonde women sporting sweater vests and pearls.
You wouldn’t know it was an ad at first because the spot barely touches on Smirnoff’s new product. Except for a short reference in the beginning, “We'll serve Smirnoff Raw Tea and finger sandwiches," there isn’t much else. Although the characters are holding Raw Tea in some scenes, it’s hard to tell what the bottles actually are from far away.
Certainly a cheaper way to advertise and perhaps an even better way to generate buzz among consumers, Smirnoff seems to have hit the mark much like Anheuser-Busch did with Ted Ferguson, the Bud Light Daredevil. Cites like YouTube are changing the way companies do advertising, which can be a good or bad thing but certainly less-expensive. Bartle Bogle Hegarty, the New York firm that crafted the Smirnoff video, told the Wall Street Journal it spent less than $200,000 to create it — a typical TV spot costs an average of $150,000 more to make.
WSD thinks it’s a creative strategy. Consumers will likely appreciate the fact that the spot doesn’t include in-your-face advertising, allowing them to focus on the humor while generating buzz. Funny clips are always being passed through email, so why not use it to push advertising? As new forms of communication surface, so will new ways to advertise.
I’ll leave you with this final thought: “Where’s the love at the Tea Partay? But if you’re gonna show up RSVP always.”
While the spot features three preppy, loafer-wearing guys in pastel rapping on a tennis court, it’s actually an ad for Smirnoff’s new malted Raw Tea. Some of the lines include: “No one’s harder than a New England gangster,” and “we’re going to turn it out with our parents’ riches.” Dancing in the background are three blonde women sporting sweater vests and pearls.
You wouldn’t know it was an ad at first because the spot barely touches on Smirnoff’s new product. Except for a short reference in the beginning, “We'll serve Smirnoff Raw Tea and finger sandwiches," there isn’t much else. Although the characters are holding Raw Tea in some scenes, it’s hard to tell what the bottles actually are from far away.
Certainly a cheaper way to advertise and perhaps an even better way to generate buzz among consumers, Smirnoff seems to have hit the mark much like Anheuser-Busch did with Ted Ferguson, the Bud Light Daredevil. Cites like YouTube are changing the way companies do advertising, which can be a good or bad thing but certainly less-expensive. Bartle Bogle Hegarty, the New York firm that crafted the Smirnoff video, told the Wall Street Journal it spent less than $200,000 to create it — a typical TV spot costs an average of $150,000 more to make.
WSD thinks it’s a creative strategy. Consumers will likely appreciate the fact that the spot doesn’t include in-your-face advertising, allowing them to focus on the humor while generating buzz. Funny clips are always being passed through email, so why not use it to push advertising? As new forms of communication surface, so will new ways to advertise.
I’ll leave you with this final thought: “Where’s the love at the Tea Partay? But if you’re gonna show up RSVP always.”
posted at 1:56 PM
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