T-Mobile once again proves to be mastering the art of viral. The new advert spoofs the Royal Wedding and has already over 4 million views after only 2 days.
Update: we are disappointed… Nothing original about this video, it’s just the exact rip-off of the “JK wedding entrance dance” video which got over 64 million views last year. Shame on T-Mobile!
adidas advergame advergames advertainment advertising ambient marketing australia belgium best brazil coca-cola email marketing facebook fashion france germany google heineken ikea infographic italy japan marketing mobile content mobile marketing msn nike nokia online ads online advertising online campaign online marketing print advertising rich media samsung sms spain sweden tvc twitter uk video of the day viral marketing volkswagen wieden + kennedy
This is a blatant rip from the JK Wedding Dance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0. I wonder how T-Mobile think they get away with it?
I beg to differ.
I absolutely agree that Tmobile idea is totally a copy cat of the one you shared.
However:
1. via an introduction of royal background, it significantly enhance the appeal;
2. Via, the same, a royal background, it touches the recent social buzz of the real royal wedding;
I am thinking, the re-work of Tmobile gets more meaning and implications inside and be a smarter play.
The thing I am not fine with is that:
What on earth is the relationship between lifes for sharing, the communication theme, and the royal wedding?
Plus, Bishop is fine for its role over there?
I agree with Mark, it’s not a rip-off it’s a homage.
I think this shows an understanding of the digital landscape, and that people who had seen and loved the original would pass this on. It plays on the remix nature of youtube.
The skittles youtube thing was much more of a rip-off than this (see ze frank), as it just utilised the same mechanic for the same response.
I think you could argue that ‘Life is for sharing’ works here because the Royal wedding is such an exclusive event, it creates a nice juxtaposition… or maybe not.
I love T-Mobile’s viral videos. They’ve come up with some creative ideas. I also agree with Mark and Andrew. I think good advertising isn’t about being original, it’s about communicating. Imagine trying to talk to someone face to face in a language they’ve never learned. It would be extremely difficult. It’s sometimes more effective to communicate with people using concepts they’re already comfortable with. A good example is VW’s Superbowl Darth Vader ad. Who isn’t familiar with Star Wars and Darth Vader? Who isn’t familiar with pretending to play the role of Darth Vader as a child? That’s one of the reasons why the VW Darth Vader ad was so effective. It was playing on themes and concepts that people already understood. To me this T-mobile videos seems more like a playful take on the Youtube video. It’s much more of an homage to the video and to the remix nature of youtube than an overt copy.
Steal and innovate kids, steal and innovate.