18 Dec Top 5 Viral Marketing Campaigns of 2008

As you can probably imagine, we really love a well-executed viral marketing campaign in this office. And there is nary a viral video that goes unwatched, sometimes repeatedly, within the four walls of our headquarters. Just ask us about Shane Mercado and the “Single Ladies” video…

So here’s a quick round-up of my top 5 viral video marketing campaigns for a brand or product from 2008, in no particular order. If you’ve got some additional favorite to add, enlighten us in the comments.

“Will It Blend?” Campaign – Blendtec

Here’s a question: how do you increase sales on a somewhat pedestrian and boring product using social media? Well, clearly you make videos of it pulverizing stuff, if you’re Blendtec blenders, that is. It’s a genius way to engage people with an item that is generally met with indifference. As a matter of fact, we liked it so much that we decided to get in on the game. Apparently, sales on their blenders went up something like 800%. Now that is an ROI.

Elf Yourself – Office Max

Okay, I realize that this campaign isn’t new in 2008, but it’s worth mentioning because the “Elf Yourself” campaign was successful enough to sustain itself into its 3rd year. Last year, the site boasted 193 million page visits, making it one of the most successful viral campaigns ever. Which means that pretty much everyone you know got an email at work from their mother saying, “Look, I elf-ed the family!”

Yes We Can – Will.i.am & Barack Obama

I realize that technically Barack Obama is not a product, but social media did an excellent job of turning him into a marketable brand. Remember Obama Girl and her viral video? And, rather than taking a humorous angle, this video articulates the power of leveraging people’s deepest emotions concerning a concept like “hope.” I don’t care how many times I watch this thing, it still gives me goosebumps.

Guys Backflipping Into Jeans – Levi’s

This video gets major points in the “wow, that’s rad” department, which is a tactic that seems to consistently go over well with viral videos. Plus, Levi’s understood the importance of being understated in this video and not graffiting their logo all over it. Subtlety cannot be underestimated. People really dislike the shill.

Ball Girl Catch – Gatorade

Winning the stealth prize this year for viral video phenomena is Gatorade, hands down. It took awhile for people to even realize that this video was a campaign, but if you look closely at the end, you’ll see the ball girl sit down next to an almost empty bottle of Gatorade. And the word is that it wasn’t even meant to run, so props for an accidentally viral campaign.