Topping our list of trending branded ads this week is a stroke of viral marketing genius from a New Zealand based Brewery, who pranked an unsuspecting guy with a pretty epic beery treat.
The video is the brainchild of niche brewing company, Tui, which teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand to orchestrate an elaborate practical joke which involved sneaking into a man’s house and re-plumbing his entire system to replace water with beer. Yep, it’s every beer lover’s dream, even the shower pumped out foamy, hoppy goodness! The crew installed hidden cameras all over the man’s house to capture his reaction when he came home, which makes for some pretty amusing viewing and the campaign went viral overnight. Multiple versions of the stunt are available on YouTube, with 15, 60 and 90 second edits and the campaign has clocked up over 4 million views and counting.
Also trending this week is Abercrombie and Fitch’s tribute to the awesome pop sensation, ‘What Does the Fox Say?’The Norwegian comedy duo known as Ylvis shot to viral fame earlier this month with a bizarre animal dance mix which took the internet by storm. Much like with Gangnam style and The Harlem Shake, we were expecting to see a barrage of tributes from YouTubers and brands alike, but so far there’s been surprisingly little on our radar.That being said, A&F has been quick to follow on the success of the brand’s hugely successful rendition of Carly Rae's classic "Call Me Maybe" which went viral last summer. This latest video takes a similar format, predictably featuring more shirtless models strutting their perfect bodies along to a ridiculously catchy theme tune, all shot in black and white for added artistic appeal.Ok it’s not ground breaking stuff and Abercrombie and Fitch’s general marketing attitude still leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but kudos to the brand for being so quick off the mark with a pretty well choreographed response. Coming less than 3 weeks after the original song was posted it’s a smart example of viral meme jacking. Wa-pa-pappa-pa-pa-POW!
Over in the UGC listings, as iPhone mania sweeps across the world, the dark side of smart phones has become a bit of a theme. Top of the listings this week Grammy Award-winning comedian Louis C.K has clocked up nearly 5 million views in an interview with American talk show host, Conan, about exactly why he hates cell phones so much. And the insanity of the Apple fandom is highlighted in a somewhat disturbing look at the lengths people are willing to go to in order to get their hands on the latest device!
In our cute corner, the world's obsession with Miley Cyrus wrecking ball parodies continues... this time it's hedgehogs reducing the world to rubble!
