Media That Works: Chocolate Rain, Memes, Mashups and Spoofs

Media That Works

In lieu of my weekly “Advertising That Works,” this week I want to give examples of how media is becoming a democracy. Depending on your age and technical level, you may or may not be watching videos on YouTube. People young and old are creating videos that are informative, amusing or just plain ridiculous. But the interesting thing is, no matter how amateur they are, many are viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

Take Chocolate Rain. This video is ridiculous. The guy sings a song in a bellowing voice. No fancy special effects. No half naked bootie shaking dancers. And yet well over 4 million people have watched the video and passed it on to others to enjoy.

Many New Media players experiment by making their own videos. Watch this farmer doing his rendition of Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothin‘.” Plain silly. But amusing.

There are also spoofs of popular products, like this iPhone Shuffle video. The indirect benefit for Apple is that although this product makes fun of the iPhone and the Shuffle, it’s still creating awareness about Apple’s products.


People are turning off their televisions in favor of watching these unprofessional videos. So that tells you how marketing and media are shifting. People are choosing what they want to be exposed to, which makes the job harder for marketers to find advertising that engages and entertains its audience.

My challenge to you: make a YouTube video and post it. See how many people you can amuse!
-Susan
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