Clearly the "Dude" ads possess something that appeals to people -- a quality XLNTads' Neil Perry equates to transcendence. "When you look at the Bud Light campaign, people are waiting for the next Bud Light commercial to come out because the population, in general, has been very much enamored with the fun-ness of this guy, the humor of the writing and the way it transcends all sorts of occasions and opportunities,” Perry said.
It's the concept's wide appeal, according to Bud Light's Rick Leininger, that made consumer-generated takes such a natural next step. "The concept behind Bud Light's 'Dude' has such universal appeal that extending the campaign with a user-generated initiative was a natural evolution," he said. "We felt the XLNTads project provided an organic way to generate fresh takes and expand on the already successful 'Dude' message while tying it back to Bud Light.”
Dude? (Any concerns?)
Fresh takes are great, but what about the possibility that consumer-generated content could go too far, or not adequately represent the brand, or even water it down? Having control over which ads would ultimately be seen by the public helped alleviate any trepidation Bud Light may have had.
"We provided the creative elements, including the music and logos for consistency, and ultimately, we had final approval on all submissions," Leininger said.
As for any concerns Bud Light may have had regarding the quality of consumer-generated content, Perry explained that those concerns were quickly overcome as submissions rolled in.
"If you look at the current four Bud Light 'Dude' commercials that were produced by their agency, and compare them to our top 10 versions, I think you'll be remarkably surprised at how competitive ours are from a professionalism, acting, editing and sound point of view," Perry said.
Perry attributes the high quality of the "Dude" submissions to the fact that, unlike destination websites like YouTube, which are outlets for virtually any video produced, XLNTads.com is visited primarily by professional and semi-professional videographers actively seeking assignments. Which begs the question, are brands truly getting consumer-generated takes, or just more professionally produced content, albeit from smaller production houses?
"The assignments are open to anyone who wants to submit," Perry said. "Typically, what happens is someone who happens to like beer, or thinks Bud Light commercials are really cool -- they're the ones who would choose to work on that program. So it's very similar to consumer-generated content, which is to let the consumer do the ad. But we have a higher level of consumer, if you will. The quality of what we get is quite a bit different than what you'd see posted on YouTube."
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