First there was Modernista, then that Skittles fiasco debacle thing, not to mention the Snkrz! kerfuffle. Now BooneOakley (a creative agency in Charlotte, North Carolina who do work for clients like HBO and MTV) has gone and replaced their website with a YouTube channel.
The execution is clever — homespun, unapologetic illustrations that seem to be the zeigeist of late — and they’ve gained a respectable 18K+ views in four days on their “home page” video. The male voiceover is a cross between soothing and sexy, which is something I personally find both problematic and highly attractive.
At first I was struggling to see the longevity in such a move. I was definitely enraptured for a solid ten minutes, clicking around and getting lost in the McDreamyness of the commentary and the Billy/homicide storyline. Plus, it’ll be an offbeat, obscure reference I can bring up in conversation to make me look smart (at least, for a few days anyhow). I like things that make me look smart.
I know that, if i wanted to engage with them, there’s the option to comment on the videos, and the relevant contact information is there. In that sense, it ticks all the boxes and says to me “Hey, we do cool s— and think outside of the box. Let’s have a chat.” In that sense, I’m a huge fan. the fact that I can subscribe to their videos, in a channel I use for both work and play, on a more than daily basis? That’s pretty dang smart.
What do you guys think?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I really like it, they have executed it well.
No cost for hosting & cheap production costs are massive winners.
However at the moment it’s still unique, if everyone jumped on board it would quickly become terrible.
It’s the perfect pitch on the perfect platform. The homespun thing is great for YouTube. They’ll grab some big accounts and then one of the big four will buy them for millions. And so the cycle continues
ah, Tip. you’re all blue sky and rainbows, all the time.
video and message is brilliant. what is a bit surprising is actually your words:
“I was struggling to see the longevity in such a move.”
Longevity? on the internet?
Bold move, no doubt. Effective? time will tell.
It is different enough to be noticed, and is easily shared so has the viral angle down.
The added bonus is that they can push out a new video and upload it and gain further repeat views later on.
I like how it is an out of the box solution. But now its done, how much is it going to get copied?
Love love love it!!
If the webvideo is pretty or ugly it doesn’t matter. They point is, they have created a new concept, and when you are the first doing something new or cool, you are going to have free advertisement for ever. 200K views in 10 days! It works!