Ad Age Viral Video Chart For Week Of Sept. 21

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Abbey Klaassen’s weekly chart lists the top 10 viral videos from last week, with number of views for the week and percentage change in views for videos that stayed on the chart.

Microsoft s weekly streak continues, this time to the company s chagrin perhaps.  Entering the chart is Microsoft’s Hosting Your Party, a video that was apparently never intended to be seen by anyone other than people signing up to host Windows 7 launch house parties.

The layered hilarity of the video is hard to describe, mostly rooted in poor production, horrible writing, and bad acting by a foursome painstakingly crafted to represent diversity.  There are people wondering if the whole thing isn’t crafted, and [a]list daily pointed out yesterday that it does fit the real or hoax tactic used intentionally by other successful viral videos.  But with purely bad publicity and Microsoft bashing giving the video momentum, one can only hope it was truly a mistake and not a misguided experiment in viral.  Not counting the less than complimentary mash-ups popping up, the original video has 545,000 views on Ad Age s weekly chart and 850,000 currently on YouTube.  At least the Xbox team at Microsoft can rejoice the video for Project Natal is still on the top 10 chart.

Check out the full list and watch the videos at Ad Age {link no longer active}.

Use Your Head, Drive A Prius

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Toyota is showing off the new heads up display for its hybrid car Prius through an interactive online ad.  The ad uses head tracking through a webcam to let people control point-of-view inside the Prius HUD.

In recreating the actual HUD, the ad s visuals are not entirely impressive (and for gamers could conjure up memories of Sega’s classic Thunder Blade ).  The neat part is the interactivity.  We should mention here the link is to a video

Watch it at Creativity Online.

‘The Twilight Zone’ Turns 50

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Today is the 50th anniversary of the classic sci-fi TV series, The Twilight Zone.   Falling on a Friday, [a]list daily thought you might have some time to spend with NY Times thoughtful commemoration of the anniversary.

The Times has posted four clips ranging from condensed episodes to full acts that define the formulas the series almost religiously followed.  Formulaic storytelling and dated production value aside, Rod Serling’s thought-provoking, sometimes mind-bending, socially conscious stories stand the test of time.  Happy anniversary, fifth dimension.

Watch the clips at NY Times.

Take A Trip With This Sony Ericsson Ad

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Sometimes all it takes to transform that dreary commute is a dose from your sweet music library.  Sony Ericsson takes that trip in this colorful ad for its headphones.

The spot uses a combination of simple cartoon animation and claymation (or really good looking digital clay ).  The premise is simple.  The ad starts in a drab and dreary commuter train where everything is black and white except for our product protagonist, a young kid.  As soon as the kid dons his presumably Sony Ericsson headphones, the train transforms.  Funkadelic sound and psychedelic colors fill the scene as previously somber passengers groove and inanimate objects come to life, all as if hearing his music.  It s a visually pleasing transformation, and the ad uses a nice plot cum product messaging device to reinforce it.  The kid is interrupted by a phone call, which he seamlessly answers with the same headphones, during which everything goes back to drab.   To make matters worse, a giant of a man enters the train and sits right next to him during the sequence.  What to do?   Put on the headphones, and everything goes back to normal.

Watch the spot at BrandFreak.

VIDEO: Norton Security’s Clever Spot Enlists The UFC

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Todd Wasserman sums up the impetus for Norton’s clever metaphor in this spot when he points out the challenge in visualizing software in TV ads. For Norton’s ad it starts with casting UFC fighter and King of the Web Brawlers Kimbo Slice to represent a cyber-criminal. Then they portray a caterpillar to represent user identity. It gets more surreal from there.
Check out the TV spot, and read Wasserman try to make sense of it all, at BrandFreak.