I'm a huge fan of horror movies and Halloween ranks as one of my all time favorites. I’m referring to the original Halloween…and not the next 5 or 6 that came out after… OK, Halloween 2 was decent, but like most films, there’s nothing like the original.
So I was shocked to see the commercial for a remake of the original, this one directed by Rob Zombie. At first, I was disappointed that someone would mess with the classic film by John Carpenter, but I must admit that the trailer had me glued to the television. I immediately went to my computer and Googled Halloween 2007 and found several links to the trailer, other movies sites, etc. but not the official website. Interesting. After some digging, I found the official Halloween 2007 site and just like the commercial did, the site had me glued to my dual displays!
Flash and Web Video Marketing Definitely check out the official website to see the trailer and TV spots. There’s some nice flash work on the site… Now, the search marketer in me cringes when I see all flash and no text content (Check out the Google cache for the site here), but we all know this site will get a million links in no time. :) You can navigate around the site via a large kitchen knife, like the one good old Michael Myers uses to kill his victims! Pretty cool…and of course you hear the classic Halloween music, which makes most people shake with fear.
The Rob Zombie Halloween MySpace Page Then there’s a link at the bottom of the website to the official Rob Zombie Halloween MySpace page, which holds a lot of interesting content about the movie. You can watch the trailer, learn more about the cast, view screenshots from the film, view the official soundtrack (which will be coming out on August 21st), etc. The Rob Zombie Halloween MySpace page already has over 82,000 friends. Not bad. :)
So Can it Compete? Well, do remakes ever compete with the original?? It definitely has a fresh feel, which I really like. I need to see and hear more, and the proof is in the pudding, but they are off to a great start marketing the film. Halloween fans will probably want to at least check it out and my guess is that many will pay to see it. That said, Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) can make or break the movie. If it doesn’t live up to the original, it could bomb…and if it brings a new view of a classic horror legend, it could make boat loads of money. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
The Mini Takes on Flash Video - How Mini Cooper is Using Amplified WOM to Drive Visitors
I am always on the lookout for interesting uses of flash video, especially for marketing purposes. So it was no surprise that the mini cooper amplified wom effort named Hammer and Coop caught my eye. Hammer, a fictional character reminiscent of Starksy and Hutch meets up with Coop, a mini cooper that ends up being his partner. Together, they take you on a whirlwind journey through six exciting webisodes where Hammer takes on criminals, ninjas, and anything else they could think up. It's quite entertaining.
First, Production Value The production value is through the roof on the site and webisodes. With lots of user generated video making news, you can see what production dollars and professional writers get you. (Not that I'm against user generated video, I love it, but check out this site to see what I mean!) The actors were excellent, the webisodes were well written, and the site worked extremely well.
Second, Video Value The site utilizes widescreen video at 575x325 and the compression was very clean. The controls were easy to identify and easy to use, including the volume control. The menu system was also easy to identify and provided some nice rollovers to identify the name of each webisode. Overall, the site provides a clean and professional interface with a focus on the video (which I would also aim to do, since I can only imagine the budget for this amplified wom campaign.) Overall, and for those of you focused on video production, your jaw will drop with some of the stunts that are part of the webisodes. As an added benefit, there is a music video you can access from the main menu to the song from Asia called Heat of the Moment. For those of you in your 30's or older, you know the song!
Third, the Marketing Value The goal of the site is to clearly generate buzz online and to send a lot of traffic to the ultra-entertaining site (at least the marketing team hopes so...) I actually think it will. And you know what, it should! I think they did a great job at incorporating the mini as a star in the actual webisodes, and with a personality no less! The car talks and has a witty english accent to boot! The site has some viral elements on it like a downloadable screensaver, wallpaper, and buddy icons. That's very smart, since people like passing elements like this around, which in turn, could bring more traffic to the site. In addition, there is an action hero name generator, which provides an interesting version of your name, but action-hero like! My name was Granite Grinder, which I may start using for my blog posts! ;-) A quick search on technorati for hammer and coop yielded 426 blog posts about it, so the word is getting out. Good luck to mini, and again, I applaud their efforts!
To check it out (and if you are a video production professional, you'll want to spend some time on the site), follow this link: http://www.hammerandcoop.com/
Reviewing the Best Super Bowl Commercials With The Help of Flash Video!
So which super bowl commercials did you like? I'm a TIVO fanatic, so during the Super Bowl is probably the only time that I won't whip through the commercials during a game! I thought the game had some great ads (mostly during the first quarter) and I wanted to mention them here, especially since AOL Sports did such as phenomenal job at creating their super bowl commercials site. Now that's a great interactive environment for viewing the video clips, commenting on each ad, rating your favorites, and then passing links around to your family and friends. To read more about aol sports and its flash video marketing, read my post on the Internet Marketing Driver (my blog about web marketing).
To the ads! 1. Doritos Crash I loved this commercial. First, it was user generated, so all of you big time creative directors should be calling Dale from NC! ;-) Why is this number 1 for me? I remembered the brand and product when the super bowl was over, which is a big challenge for many super bowl ads. Also, it left a positive memory, it was funny, and again, put Doritos front and center more than a few times during the 30 second spot. And did I already say that it was user generated??
2. Fedex Moon Office Great ad. For anyone who uses fedex, you know how incredible they are... The only time I thought they screwed up was when I screwed up!! Anyway, when watching the commercial, it hit me that if we ever advance to the point of having offices on the moon, fedex better be there! The fedex shuttle was great and the ending where the guy gets smoked by an asteroid was hilarious. Like Doritos, I remembered the ad and the brand.
3. Bud Light Face Slap OK, I had to add one really stupid commercial... but this one was hilarious! I laughed as everyone was slapping each other throughout the commercial, but what put me over the edge was the guy at the end who slapped his boss after a big meeting. The look on his boss' face was priceless! It almost looked like they really surprised him somehow. I guess you'd have to ask the director.
4. Sierra Mist Combover This goes out to anyone who's had a friend or family member with a combover. Come on people? Shave it off or keep it tight! It's not 1970 anymore... Anyway, it's a really funny commercial, but I have to say, I initially didn't remember the company or brand after the first run... That said, the web saves it for them, since I was able to see it over and over again on aol sports (or any of the other sites providing the clips...)
Overall, I'd give this year a 7 out of 10. The commercials definitely seem to be taking a hit and maybe, just maybe, it's due to the fact that billions of dollars per year in TV advertising is starting to flow elsewhere... like the web. :-) You've got to love your TIVO! But that's for another post...
Glenn Gabe focuses heavily on internet marketing and has been developing web applications using Flash for over 10 years. Glenn helps companies build online marketing campaigns that leverage the power of Rich Media, Word of Mouth, and Search Marketing.
About The Web Video Marketeer
And yes, it's marketeer, not marketer spelled incorrectly! I started this blog to cover the use of flash video and its impact on internet marketing campaigns.
I'm a huge fan of horror movies and Halloween ranks as one of my all time favorites. I’m referring to the original Halloween…and not the next 5 or 6 that came out after… OK, Halloween 2 was decent, but like most films, there’s nothing like the original.
