A video that recreates the introduction to “The Simpsons” with live actors is spreading across the Internet faster than Homer can say “D’oh” — part of a viral marketing campaign by BSkyB. Painstakingly crafted by Sky and its ad agency Devilfish, the video was originally intended as an on-air promotion for the Sky One network.
The company decided to release it on the Internet as part of a word-of-mouth brand building exercise, tapping into the red-hot Web video sector. “If we had only showed it on air, you might turn to someone and say that was really cool,” said BSkyB communications director Matthew Anderson. “Putting it online, there’s a fantastic discussion between millions of people — it’s bringing the Simpsons to them instead of having them tune in.”
After less than a week, the video has been viewed millions of times at online video sites like YouTube. The move to create word-of-mouth “viral” content follows similar guerrilla marketing efforts from major advertisers such as Nike and Microsoft, and comes amid a concerted push by traditional media companies to expand their online businesses.
SOURCE: Reuters