Posted on Jul 15, 2013

Do Silly Videos work?

Lots of silly videos are produced and posted on YouTube everyday, with the hope of going viral. But it’s actually quite difficult to make a “good” silly video that gets traction.

As a differentiating value, Silliness means absurdity; a ludicrous folly; giddiness; lacking seriousness. Samuel Johnson may have summed up this value best, when he stated: “Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble.”

Using silliness to promote a product or service requires a certain kind of creativity. Marketers must be willing to take risks. They must entertain the most absurd ideas.

The challenge in a corporate environment is that most people are too serious. And unless you have a cure for cancer, seriousness rarely captures consumer attention.

This is one of the main reasons for hiring an outside agency. Most ad agencies and creative consultants are not bound to the seriousness that traps their corporate clients. But even the best silly ideas often get watered down once serious executives get ahold of them.

Samsung – Evolutionary Husband?

In an effort to promote it’s new “Evolution Kit” Samsung produced a very silly video poking fun at the stereotypical idea of a lazy, crude, messy husband. The message is that if Samsung’s Evolution Kit can turn a Samsung TV into a smart TV, then maybe it’ll work on lazy husbands too…

The video portrays a wife’s dream of turning her lazy husband into an ideal husband who can multitask and do everything she desires, including being romantic. Then reality sets back in and the viewer is left with just wishful thinking.

Most viewers won’t likely understand what exactly the Evolution Kit does (I still don’t get it). But at least they’ll be left thinking it does something magical.

While this video was slammed in some social media outlets, it did achieve significant views (over 10 million in less than 2 months). If the purpose was to create awareness, then it appears this video was successful.

McLaren 12C Spider in a Snowboard Race

Why would someone take a $240,000 car to prove it can beat someone snowboarding down a hill? The folks at McLaren thought it made sense.

Rhys Millen, a top rally car driver and “drifter” competes against Chanelle Sladics, professional snowboarder and Winter Games Medalist to see who can make it down the treacherous Loveland Pass first.

Sports car against snowboard. Slippery roads vs. straight down the hill. Who do you think wins (duh!).

And just for added fun, Millen races the car down the mountain with the top down. Now that’s absurd.

Were the marketers at McLaren silly enough with this video? It doesn’t appear so.

The numbers do not seem to support a huge hit. Based on the fees likely paid to Millen and Sladics (maybe they were each given a car!), the return on investment is likely quite poor. But they do get points for trying….

[BTW #1: I was disappointed I couldn’t find more quality silly videos. Yes, lots of poor silly videos, but fewer good ones than I expected]

[BTW #2: I found a great silly video by Nissan showing their 2012 Frontier truck doing snowboard tricks, but was surprised to find the original video had been pulled. Makes me wonder why…]