Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Autos Go Viral for Youth Marketing

Times sure have changed since I was in college. Back then living in your car ala Jewel was not something you'd shout from the rooftop (especially since the car roof is kinda small). But now, Chevy, Nissan and Ford are glorifying residing by the roadside in marketing campaigns aimed at 20-somethings, according to the Detroit News.

Chevy is promoting its micro Aveo with a contest where 7 teams live in their cars for a week, and the 2 most voted-for teams win a car. Nissan has been running TV spots and has a website about one guy who lived in his Sentra for a week, while Ford is sponsoring ex-Rocketboomer Amanda Congdon's travels across the country driving an Escape Hybrid.

These campaigns hope to catch some viral buzz by publicizing the young and wannaba famous through online video. But why oh why aren't they advertising these videos on YouTube?

Three makes a trend, and I can bet that some more marketing geniuses will find new ways to twist the concept and send it out as pre-roll or streaming video ads. While reality TV may be past its prime (thankfully), reality video online is just getting started.

By John Gartner at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)

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