He said...great balls of fury!

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving, and stuffed yourself silly – I know I did!

Since we happen to be in the media/advertisement business, Carly and I have promised to include industry happenings in our blog writings. So a few interesting advertisements came to my attention, and I thought it would make for an interesting write-up to commend these advertisements for their unique and interesting approach to their product.

The first ad (can you guess what its for?) features “Bruce Lee” pwning a professional ping pong player in table tennis…with his nunchuks!! Hahaha, how AWESOME is that?? The clip of the action is slightly drawn out at over a full minute of ping pong play, but the action is pretty awesome as he even takes on two players at once ‘cause hes just that good. Here it is:

Like I had previously mentioned, the length could have been shortened; many television spots are under a minute, while video ads in the digital space should generally be shorter due to the more content-crowded environment in which advertisers must draw in and captivate viewers’ attention more effectively. Research has shown that the average viewer will tune out an ad within 2 to 3 seconds. While this generally applies to banner advertising, it is probably in the advertiser’s best interest to make their video ads (however amusing or humorous) as short and sweet as possible.

But...

This ad for Nokia’s N96 made its rounds throughout the world through viral channels within a few days of its appearance. The ad was featured in China towards a Chinese audience, but its viral potential was high – the advertisement featured a legendary famous person/character engaged in a situation he would not normally be portrayed in, not to mention he was kicking serious ass. While Bruce Lee has nothing to do with Nokia or the N96 for that matter, advertisers increasingly find the viral effect a powerful one as their message gets sent quickly and through highly effective channels of communication: friends of friends of relatives of more friends. While it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway - one is much more likely to pay attention to an ad recommended to him/her than in any other normal situation.

-Chris