Take That, iPhone: Verizon's 'Map for That' Ad Goes Viral
What People Watched the Week of Oct. 5, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The newest debut on the chart doesn't have the trappings of a typical viral spot. It isn't cute or cuddly, it's not an elaborate prank and it doesn't make you ask "How'd they do that?" But Verizon's "There's a Map for That" ad is a cheeky little send-up of another well-known campaign and was compelling enough to snare the No. 6 spot this week.
The campaign, which plays off Apple's ubiquitous "There's an App for That" iPhone ads, touts Verizon's coverage in an effort to exploit what has been iPhone users' most vocal complaint: that the taxed network of AT&T, which has the iPhone exclusive, often fails them. Matt Cutler, VP-marketing and analytics at Visible Measures, which compiles the data for the viral video chart, points out an interesting wrinkle: "The YouTube clip that has attracted the majority of the views for this campaign is a shaky hand-shot video of someone's TV airing the commercial, complete with tinny sound. Did Verizon/McCann miss a big opportunity here by not getting an 'official' professional version of this creative onto YouTube as soon as the campaign launched? Or does it somehow come off as more 'authentic' fan support this way?"
In other news of the chart, Frito-Lay came back with the latest installment in its "A Woman's World" campaign and Trend Micro's "Fearless Web" video jumped up 45% to the No. 2 spot. That makes it three straight weeks on the chart for the anti-virus software maker.
| Last Week | Brand | Campaign | Agency | Current Week Views* | % Change in Views** | Watch the Spot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Evian | Live Young | BETC Euro RSCG | 1,105,265 | -26% |  |
| 2 | 5 | Trend Micro | Fearless Web | Brief Attention Span, Alterseekers, Sharethrough | 845,377 | +48% |  |
| 3 | 4 | DC Shoes | Ken Block's Gymkhana Two Project | Mad Media | 525,857 | -2% |  |
| 4 | 2 | Microsoft Xbox | Project Natal | World Famous | 468,438 | -43% |  |
| 5 | Back on Chart | Frito-Lay | A Woman's World | OMD, Juniper Park, Jam Media | 346,828 | Back on Chart |  |
| 6 | New | Verizon Wireless | There's A Map For That | McCann Erickson | 291,224 | New |  |
| 7 | 8 | Inspired Bicycles | Danny MacAskill Trials | N/A | 254,813 | +11% |  |
| 8 | 6 | T-Mobile | T-Mobile Dance | Saatchi & Saatchi, MediaCom | 249,660 | 0% |  |
| 9 | Back on Chart | Microsoft | Megawoosh (Make It Possible) | MRM Worldwide, Germany | 203,357 | Back on Chart |  |
| 10 | 9 | Cadbury | Eyebrow Dance | Fallon | 200,221 | -10% |  |
Source: Visible Measures *The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a True Reach‚Ñ¢ basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures' paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please contact Visible Measures directly. |
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Yet somehow, little David Airbag has managed to slingshot past the Micro$oft's, the Frito-Lay's, the Verizon's, and even the T-Mobile's of the Chart... proof I guess that a clever, fearless little spot can still knock the big guys down and manage to get ahead in this viral video world.
Just my $.02, you don't have to agree with me.