Viral Marketing can Backfire

When I checked my email this morning, there was a message that a user from YouTube sent me a video so I opened the link. It was titled "P Diddy. Unforgiveable" and it started off with a shot of a beautiful woman, hard to tell what race, in a business suit in an upscale bar . . . etc. etc etc . . . I had to ask myself while watching, "is P. Diddy one of those rap guys who's been shot to death in New York City?" since the footage was in and out of a club with shots of Times Square, in an apartment, he (is it P. Diddy?) kisses her . . . etc. etc. etc.

It was 2:48 long . . . and it was a montage of seductive, glamour shots even showing the woman in her really nice looking clothes that go under her business suit . . .

It ended with a mention of Seanjohn fragrances . . . aha!!! Viral Marketing!!!

I read the comments below the video. All were unfavorable such as "what the hell was that?" "It was unforgiveably bad" "P Diddy's a pompous ass". . . and those were the nice ones.

So you're the marketing guy or marketing gal for a fragrance company and you come up with a brilliant viral marketing idea. Use a rap star name like P. Diddy (is he alive?, pair him with a glamorous woman and edit together bunches of video clips. Maybe it's from one music video - maybe it's from a bunch. The fact is the comments showed there was no direction whatsoever to the video.

And other comments were quite aware that someone had sent them a viral marketing message with the comment they were going to block the user.

So here are my comments to the marketing guys and gals at seanjohn fragrances.

#1 Get an actual "storyline" happening - good grief, you took up nearly 3 minutes.

#2 Show the benefit to the user . . . she uses a fragrance and gets the guy or vice-versa . . .

#3 Don't try to be too cool for your own good . . .

#4 People are wise to "viral marketing" these days . . . just tell them it's from you.

#5 Maybe I'm not your demographic (okay, I'm in my late 40s and I don't know whether P. Diddy is alive or if he was shot dead in Times Square).

#6 Host a contest that people in your demographic can enter to shoot their own 1-minute advice on dating, marriage, etc. Sponsor that.

#7 Uh-oh . . . maybe your video worked. After all, I mentioned it on my blog!!!!

#8 Advertise on Hey, Don!


And for the rest of you, do you know of viral marketing ideas that have worked well recently? If so, I'd like to hear about them.