Viral Advertising

What makes an advert work in the online age?

Carlsberg 

Adidas


Take one of the following viral adverts and analyse it. Or find your own.

Click here for the Adverts

How does the advert appeal to an audience?


Why has the advert gone viral?


Would this work as a traditional television advert?


Is the audience global or local?


Profile the target audience


Present back to the group.


Have you ever shared an advert?


What is the difference between online and televisual adverts?

In 2009 The UK has become the first major economy where advertisers spend more on internet advertising than on television advertising, with a record £1.75bn online spend in the first six months of the year.
The milestone marked a watershed for the embattled TV industry, the leading ad medium in the UK for almost half a century. It took the internet little more than a decade to become the biggest advertising sector in the UK.

Total UK advertising spend reached a new high of nearly £14bn in 2013, topping pre-financial crash levels.
Digital advertising now accounts for 50% several billion pounds this year 

This is driven by technology such as smart-phones and tablets.

However, traditional television and print advertising is still an important part of the industry and often complements the online advertising in a complete campaign.

Analyse the 'Compare the Market' campaigns as an example. This one is from 5 years ago

 And this one is a month old..

These television adverts work alongside a wider campaign.  However, it is the tv adverts that draw the audience in.

What tactics are used to appeal to an audience and sell a product?
Accents - slogans - repetition - use of technology, animation - cute animals - humour

Look online at the wider campaign to see what tactics have been used to further the campaign.

For example,
The relationship with Coronation Street, 
Appearance on This Morning

A viral offshoot of the bloopers

Examples of viral adverts selected by students

This 'Always' advert led to some interesting debate about representation of gender and the power of language

This 'Coke Zero' advert led to a discussion of online adverts as stunts or social experiments which were fun and associated the brand with certain emotions. In this one the active male is the audience as Diet Coke would be the female equivalent.  No women are featured in the challenge and Bond is seen to appeal mainly to a male audience.

Advert for 'Three' involves a series of adverts around the holiday theme.

This road safety advert was seen as particularly effective in getting the message across in a shocking way.

This advert from 2007 marks a shift from more traditional TV adverts to more abstract ways of selling a product. It has become an iconic advert. Meantime this Birmingham based company has been taken over by the American company KRAFT and even our dear old Creme Egg has been changed to a new recipe.

Superbowl adverts were explored as they are the most expensive slots in television. This one about Brotherhood suggests much about the audience which is much more traditional than those for many viral adverts. An audience of 55 million people saw this when it first aired.

We came back to the Carlsberg campaigns with this effective and engaging advert which poses the question, 'what would you do?'