Brand Name: Konami, American Idol
Agency/Campaign Creator: eROI & ANG
URL: www.musicineverydirection.com/americanidol

What is unusual and effective about the video campaign?
Have you always dreamed of being a rock star? Now is your chance. Game publisher Konami has partnered with American Idol to create a game called “Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol.” Together with online marketing agency ANG and web developer eROI, Konami launched an online community with video upload, rating and commenting at the core of MusicInEveryDirection.com. The original videos were actually captured offline in contests at U.S. malls across the nation. When the site went live, consumers were invited in to add their own, create profiles, add friends and vote on one another's performances. This brand new community site allows web users to upload videos of them belting out sweet melodies alongside the "Karaoke" game. Other online community members can rate the videos, give overly candid feedback via a comment board and ultimately win.

What sort of technology was used?
iFilm was selected as the video media partner to increase the reach of the user-generated media.

Did it live on the brand’s site, was it distributed through an online video network, viral or was there some other model?
This campaign micro-site has its own unique design and branding; however, it keeps a consistent brand in the game itself and is linked from Konami’s main site. Guerrilla PR is the online public relations specialist agency that was brought in to implement the grassroots strategies behind the video distribution.

Was there any user-generated component to this campaign? Did you empower viewers to comment, favorite,  download, mashup or do anything to the video?
User-generated video is what makes this community site so much more enticing than a static video site. We empower online viewers to search for videos or online community members, then rate, comment and ultimately mashup their own videos.

How does the video campaign fit into and complement the overall brand strategy for the company?
As you can imagine from a video game company, Konami’s target audience craves edgy design, flash and now video. However, each game has a different audience, and the audience for "Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol" wants fame, celebrity, drama and fun. The Music in Every Direction site clearly hits the mark from a brand perspective.

How would you improve the video campaign?
There needs to be more videos of people with embarrassing voices and eccentric stage presence. When I find a video of an awful performance and see the comments and ratings surrounding it, I find such comedic pleasure in that experience. Admit it, you do, too.

Brand Name: P&G TAG Body Spray
Agency/Campaign Creator: Unknown
URL: www.tagbodyspray.com 

What is unusual and effective about the video campaign?
I have to admit that I fought the “retro” urge to review Phillips’ Shave Everywhere and Proctor & Gamble’s Men With Cramps campaigns. Both of those video sites still bring tears to my eyes from laughing so hard each time I visit them. More importantly, they have continued to evolve and add content even though these sites are 6 months old. Proctor & Gamble launched a new site for its risky teen brand TAG Body Spray. True to form, the site pushes the envelope as far as revving up the hormone levels of teenage boys (and girls) all over the world. What still blows me away is that the company behind this campaign (and MenWithCramps.com) is Proctor & Gamble, one of the most cautious marketers in history. Thankfully, they have recently started to produce more entertaining sites and clearly TagBodySpray.com delivers entertainment and co-collaboration with consumers on this site. Web users are asked to upload their own video for the chance to win “the ultimate all-nighter with Maxim Hometown Hotties.” The six featured videos have engaging roll-over states to entice greater viewership of those videos. While I find the “sex sells” theme of the site too predictable, I think the teenage target audience clearly resonates with the site’s premise.

What sort of technology was used?
The site uses a custom-branded version of the technology called KickApps, which focuses on enabling user-generated video and social networking tools for viral video sites.

Did it live on the brand’s site, was it distributed through an online video network, viral or was there some other model?
This is a campaign micro-site that is separate from the primary TAG site. I am not sure of the video distribution strategy. I heard about it through KickApps' own website as well as from browsing on viral video sites on Adverblog.

Was there any user-generated component to this campaign? Did they empower viewers to comment, favorite, download, mashup or do anything to the video?
Yes, the user-generated toolset on this site is the true power behind the site. Users are actively commenting and rating videos. I especially like the “Recommended” videos on the site where you can sort by Latest, Top Rated or Most Viewed. Similar to YouTube, the KickApps video application allows you to copy and paste the embedded form element on your blog or website to further promote your user-generated video in hopes of winning the grand prize.

How does the video campaign fit into and complement the overall brand strategy for the company?
TAG’s brand has a simple premise: “sleep less, score more.” It clearly targets teenage boys and has a voice that fits that group well. This campaign site hits the mark for the horny teenage mindset.

How would you improve the video campaign?
There needs to be a “clever” factor to user-generated videos that is heavily weighted towards winning the main prize for the video you upload. Again, I’m not the target audience, but the subtle “Tips to win” link on the homepage could be a bit more prominent and encourage more creativity rather than simplistic plot lines. As a brand, there needs to be something slightly more inspirational to aspire to, other than soft porn for teenagers.