One would expect better of Naked Communications, then to set up a very faux viral using YouTube. A You-Tube clip was recently posted by a pretty young woman in Sydeney who was looking for a man who left his jacket at a cafe. Apparently, it was love at first sight. That video had generated 160,000 hits in two weeks, along with video responses male viewers begging for the blonde’s attention. Still, YouTube users aren’t idiots. It began to leak that this woman was a faker – LonelyGirl with a corporate paycheck. At first, the Surry Hills office of Naked Communications and their client, Witchery Man, denied the stunt. As of this past Wednesday, they gave in. Naked posted their own video of the blonde admitting the whole thing was an advertising gimmick (see below). And this is where they fucked up again. The actress should have come totally clean and said, “I did it for the money. I did it because I want to be famous. Naked it did it because that’s there job and Witchery wanted you to see their new line.” Instead, the actress claims she did it because she was a romantic. Comments on the admission videos page include:
“You killed romance!”
“You did it for the money. And that clothes shop sucks.”
“GENIUS. So much PR… So little Dollars.”
“I think what Delta was trying to say is “how sweet would it be if something like this really did happen?”
As opposed to the depressing truth that it was all a hoax/marketing campaign. (Boo! Never going to set foot in that store again!)”
“That industry must be such a base and unfulfilling way to lead a life…they’re just making people more and more cynical. I cannot wait for the inevitable job layoffs and economic collapse if it means getting rid of these marketing idiots.”
The company garnered massive PR. Here I am, in the US, writing about it, but I don’t feel good about the brand at all. Consumers who believed in “true love,” feel cheated. The parody videos now being made are “anti-Witchery” not pro. This video went viral. If Naked was charged with getting people to only talk about the brand than bravo, to them. However, we all know that’s not the entirety of briefs expect of you. There’s ROI and brand love, too. Fuck with people’s emotions and get shat on. Golden rule, kiddos.
Rather than just pull a stunt like this, why couldn’t Naked tap a real person? Scout a man in a Witchery Jacket on the street. Spend a day with him. Tell him Witchery is interested in making them part of their upcoming “real men” campaign. Let this dude wander around and point out women he’s interested in all in the name of “campaign research”. Just as he’s going to talk to her, interrupt steal him away and offer him the chance to make the same video the chick did above. It’s scripting his life a bit and it’s a lot more work, but that’s what all of reality television is. He would be being authentic and that’s what matters. Get it? And as a brand, you have no idea if the girl will respond. The same 160,000 people who watched the first, would be interested in the outcome of the second and it could live on so much longer. Actual ROI initiatives could have been introduced. Tsk. Tsk. It’s a shame Naked went with the easy rush, instead of thinking this whole thing out.