Is viral marketing the right fit for Tipp-Ex?

Viral marketing uses pre-existing social media to spread a piece of advertising or marketing material. It usually sets out to generate brand awareness or other marketing objectives such as to increase sales or consumers viewing a website. While viral marketing can occur through word of mouth, it is the internet and the increasing interaction through social networking that allows viral marketing to occur so effectively.

I was recently shown a YouTube video titled “NSFW. A hunter shoots a bear!”.

This innovative video allows views to interact with the marketing media and as a result has revolutionized the world of advertising and how advertisers think about generating two way interaction between consumers and a brand or product. 

The interactive video was created by Buzzman, a French ad agency, on behalf of their client Tipp-Ex (a common brand of correction fluid) which is owned by BIC. In the video (which is shot in an amateur, home video style), while camping in a forest, a hunter discovers a bear. The hunter pulls out a gun to defend himself and is about to pull the trigger when he asks the viewer to help him make the decision. He reaches outside of the screen to a near by advertisement for Tip-Ex on the webpage sidebar and whites-out the word “shoots” and asks the viewer to type a new word. Many typed responses lead to other hilarious YouTube videos in which the hunter interacts with the bear in the way the viewer has written.

Obviously, extensive time was spent interacting with IT guys and YouTube to see if creating this piece of media was even possible. And then countless man hours would have been spent generating different words viewers would likely type (even slang and swear words were covered) and then filming the scenarios in humorous ways.

The video unsurprisingly became a viral sensation. According to BIC’s official website, in less than 5 days the video was viewed more than 4 million times in over 200 countries – currently the original version has over 17 million views and counting.

In addition, individuals reportedly spent on average 6 minutes interacting with the campaign as they made more than 15 keyword requests per visit.

This advertisement, while seeming successful, has been criticized for having no call to action. There are no links to drive website traffic to an information or sales page – other than the often ignored advertisement slot on the sidebar of the YouTube page. The brand Tipp-Ex is not included in the video title or mention by the actors in the clip. Many have argued that too much emphasis has been placed on the number of views the video has received and not on the more practical measures of success such as sales volume and increases in revenue.

In a product category such as corrective fluid, brand awareness can be difficult to generate. Tipp-Ex and other correction fluide brands have fallen into brand wasteland along with shower heads, cutlery and other often vital products sold through brands with little or no brand awareness. White-out has been the main success story in the correction fluid category in Australia as it has transformed from being the brand name of the product to the name of the product category – most people will say “pass me the white out” rather than “pass me the corrective fluid”.  Thus, in my opinion Tipp-Ex was clever to seek an unconventional way to increase the awareness of their brand.

A large segment of their market would been teenagers and young adults as high-school and university students and well as young professions tend to be the most dependent on corrective fluid during their studies and work.

This form of media works because it doesn’t force a brand down your throat – which is a desirable trait for Gen Y’s who are growing tired of being constantly bombarded by advertisements to the point that they have began avoiding and ignoring them. Research is finding that viewers, predominantly Gen Y’s, are in the habit of ignoring areas where advertisements are usually placed on websites and close pop-ups instantly or block them altogether. This advertisement draws the viewers attention to the otherwise ignored Tipp-Ex advertisement on the upper right hand side of the YouTube webpage. The individuality of the advertisement has lead to consumers seeking out the creator or purpose of the ad rather than switching off to and otherwise brand. And in general wanting to talk about it with and show it to others – the Holy Grail for viral marketing.  

In hindsight, Tipp-Ex may have benefited from including a few more links and references to their brand name however in my opinion this may have led to the media being seen as another money-hungry brand trying to annoy you through advertisements.

Does this form of advertising appeal to you? Will this style of marketing become common in the future or are most brand still stuck in traditional mind-sets and are avoiding creative styles of marketing in fear they will be a waste of money and time? How do you feel about the brand Tipp-Ex after viewing the video? Or did the brand seem irrelevant and you couldn’t even recall it if you wanted to?