Credit to Poptart for tapping the two most-subscribed YouTube musicians: DaveDays and VenetianPrincess, and for taking over the homepage to promote the campaign (exhibit A). Let’s look objectively as possible at this campaign to see what worked and didn’t…
The homepage takeover caught my attention first, even though I’m subscribed to both of these musicians and enjoy their work. Had Poptart not included them in the homepage ad, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the ad and certainly wouldn’t have looked further.
While the YouTube pop-tart channel isn’t seeing loads of views or positive ratings (see exhibit B below)…
…VenetianPrincess and DaveDays are getting a more positive reaction on the videos they create and distribute on their channel.
For instance, here’s the score on DaveDays video seen more than 750,000 times. Nearly 80 percent gave this video a “thumb’s up,” which is just slightly lower than recent ratings of his non-promotional videos.
What worked:
- Kellogg did a great job tapping people who are already known on YouTube, and it certainly cost them less than getting stars.
- The videos, as evidenced by views and ratings, were better received than ads.
- The homepage takeover page helped drive views and brand engagement. It’s important to couple webstars with a media buy since neither alone is as effective.
What could it improve?
- The biggest problem this campaign faces is that it’s completely dependent on the talent and their musicians. The notion of a “battle on taste” is devoid of any humor, or “reason to engage” with the brand or its channel. These two are capable of far funnier musical parodies (check out Dave’s Miley videos or Jody’s song parodies for proof). So presumably they were not given great direction or creative freedom.
- I’m not sure the expense on the “play-by-play” transition videos was worthwhile, unless it cost a lot less to shoot than it appears. It might have been better to toss in another YouTuber, and have them figure out a more organic way to connect the videos and work in the branding. Those promotional videos got hosed on ratings and comments (see below):
What I’d like to know is how many people actually stuck with that video past the first 15 seconds after those two irritating Poptart humanoids starting yelling things. I know that I certainly didn’t. I much prefer Tay Zonday’s Cherry Chocolate rain thing to this hooplah.
The bipedal Poptarts look like they’re drawing inspiration from spazzy Japanese commercials and Teletubbies at the same time.
It works for the Japanese, 2 year-olds and Japanese 2 year-olds. For the rest of YouTubers… not so much.
Way too overtly promotional to catch on on YouTube.
Didn’t care for it, myself.
I stuck through the talking Pop-Tarts (something that took more energy than I thought it would) specifically because I was interested in how these videos played out. These were a fucking disaster.
OBVIOUSLY DD/VP did not write this stuff. Them chatting on laptops? Really? That is really the go-to for people who can’t figure out how to tap into the youngsters, isn’t it? A taste competition where the point of it was “there’s nothing that can beat Pop Tarts and I like them more than you?” Seriously?
DD/VP are both more clever than that. I’m more of a VP fan than a DD one, but I know both of their work enough to know that this was a total shitbomb. I’m not going to cry “sellout,” because that’s dumb. I am going to say that for me, this did not drive awareness or engagement. I am extremely aware of PopTarts already, they are synonymous with toaster pastries as Kleenex is to tissue.
The content, if I had not been interested in the overall situation (admittedly for my own business purposes), I would have turned off INSTANTLY. It rubbed me the wrong way, whether it was their own channel videos or the main PopTarts talking irritangles (that is irritating and rectangle combined, so you know).
I understand why their fans liked them. I do – it’s because it’s them. Their fans want them to be successful and this is great for them – at least short term. And I get a thumbs up, it’s support. But I guarantee that is the reason.
DD/VP are both creative forces that create videos for audiences that fit the content perfectly. This was SO far off from either of their audiences that I don’t see how this would accomplish what advertising is supposed to to anyone beyond the dumbest of viewers.
I will say on the other hand, I am extremely happy with what was ATTEMPTED here. It was a major brand taking YouTube personalities at least seriously enough to put confidence in them. Unfortunately, they weren’t taken seriously enough to be given either the support or the creative space necessary to make something proper for their audiences.
Yes, they’re musicians and they made songs. That means fuck all, though. I make songs about stalkers, marrying cousins, awful things and song parodies – if I made flat out corporate music and was not allowed to put my weird spin on it, it would not work. My audience would receive it if it was “Rapists Don’t Like PopTarts” (as the most basic, primal example I can come up with is using my own content).
This wasn’t customized for DD/VP. It was madlibs – insert video stars here and here. They could have done these with any of the big names. And that isn’t effective as it is noticeable. And if it was them who wrote this material, which I doubt, they need to do a little more thought as to what they would do with this kind of project.
I may just be being hard on it, but I would like to see these things happen and NOT be the most irritating thing I’ve ever seen/heard. I want these people (DD, VP, or anyone for that matter – we’re all in this together on this front and I’m not attempting to drag anyone through the mud on this) to be successful and I want companies taking online video folks seriously enough to approach us about promoting products.
I don’t see how this could possibly be as effective as it SHOULD be.
Gotta agree with Peter here; this was pretty awful. I couldn’t finish it either.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the Rhett & Link + MGM collab for McDonalds and Coke. Those guys seem to know what they’re doing.
Thanks, Peter. You said some things I felt/thought but censored. I should have asked you to do a guest blog post about it, but I’m feeling really insecure that you and Zack are in Annoying Orange… and I missed the eMail from Daneboe. Reubnick FTW with his biting phrase: “Poptart humanoids.”
Peter- also liked the madlibs, generic corporate, and irritangles. At least DD and VP did better than I did with the dehrhim countee video (sic).
Thanks Naltso. I have never been entrusted with a branded video, so I guess I can’t really speak too much. When people contact me, I usually go into this kind of a shpiel and people don’t want to hear it. They typically believe that if it doesn’t fit with all their other advertising, it’s going to flop for them.
It really sucks attempting to tell someone they are wrong without scaring them off (also, with me, it does not work). But I know my audience and they do not, plain and simple. I am not going to do something blatantly “for money.” I like money, don’t get me wrong, but until I have the pull to be taken seriously in that argument I probably won’t be getting much from sponsored videos.
I need an intern.