Just the other day I was catching up on last week’s episode of Modern Family–how great was Jay slapping those chickens?–when I noticed that one of Hulu’s interspersed commercials was asking me to type in my name. I suppose that I’m a generally suggestible sort of guy, so I complied. The internet used this information to make a crowd of marching men address me before they began singing about the new breakfast menu at Burger King.
I can’t figure out how to embed the personalized version on this blog, but imagine that this merry gang of breakfast enthusiasts mentioned your name before breaking into a song that, believe you me, becomes increasingly catchy if you repeatedly watch it while researching the ad campaign for a blog post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=uTUac13I_PI&feature=related
This is a clever way to add a bit of interactivity to the thousands of commercials that are broadcast on Hulu, the internet’s main source for legally streaming TV. It’s not groundbreaking in any sense, but it is a step forward for an advertising medium that, for a long while, has ignored the need to personalize its content. And I’m seriously surprised by the lack of reaction to this campaign. Imagine that this type of advertisement appeared ten years ago: it would set the marketing world on fire. And now? Hardly a whimper of a response.
The lesson is clear: the marketing game has changed. Interactivity and personalization no longer constitute cause for celebration. They’re now expected parts of the equation. Burger King’s latest effort barely registered because it has become expected. Ever since Old Spice Guy shook up the online marketing world, it has become increasingly clear that if you ain’t personalizing, you ain’t trying.
How are you personalizing your marketing campaigns?
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