I love this vid from FunnyorDie.  This certainly has been a stressful time in our country with the healthcare debate raging out of control at times.  We’ve blogged about it here quite a bit over the last few months. 

This vid, staring Will Ferrell shines a spotlight on the real tragedy – the suffering insurance company executive.  Watch it and the message is clear:  “If my kid falls of his bike and breaks his leg, he should have to pay that money out of pocket! Out of his allowance.  How else is he going to learn?”

I found it very funny as did many others – the vid pulled almost 2.8MM views.  It also stirred up the debate even more with about 10 different “response” videos posted on YouTube.  Now the healthcare debate has really gone viral – every pun intended.

I’ve just reached a new level of lame!  Wow!

In December, new FTC regulations will begin in an attempt to govern what is said in blog / twitter land.  Historically, any blogger could talk about a product or service without any information pertaining to the relationship of the writer to the brand.  Is the writer really a brand fan or did they receive product for free?  Were they compensated to write on behalf of the brand?  Did you ever wonder why Paris Hilton tweets about every club she visits on the weekend?  How about why Kim Kardashian seems to post about products she “loves”.   What about the JT post below:

Does he really love that Callaway or was he paid by Callaway to tweet that message.  Honestly, I don’t really mind this type of marketing.  I am expecting celebrity endorsements when it comes to pushing products.  It has been a main stream marketing tactic forever.  Things get dicey when it comes to pharmaceutical marketing.  There are so many patient / caregiver blogs out there that discuss one pharmaceutical drug over another and I often wonder – what is the truth.  Why are these people REALLY blogging about the benefits of the drug?

While the FTC guidelines are a step in the right direction – they do have problems.  For one, the guidelines will be subject to interpretation – meaning the FTC will deal with violators on a case by case basis.  Not the best way to go as it leaves different implementation tactics open to debate.  Also, this only applies to bloggers / tweeters in the U.S.  By this point we know the word “community” means a “global community”.  There is no way to regulate those outside the U.S.

Our reco – play it safe while the new guidelines are launched.  If you are a blogger or a pay per tweeter – offer full disclosure.  By doing so, you have nothing to worry about.

Advertising Week has been really fun so far.  Best in show at the 2009 Mixx Awards went to Tourism Queensland “The Best Job in the World” social media program.  While many struggle to figure our the social media space, this program did an incredible job of engaging the target audience in a dialogue to connect the consumer with the main call to action.  Specific metrics from the effort are shown below:

• Global news coverage from CNN and BBC – estimated media value $200MM
• Over 34k one minute video job applications received from 197 different countries
• 6.8MM monthly unique visitors to the web site
• Billions of impressions served to promote the campaign through viral marketing and forward to a friend metrics

The first day shooting for our webisode project went very well. Visitors to the webisode studio included Saul, Petey (Saul’s adopted Empire penguin) and Obama, who we got a fantastic view of as he drove down 50th. Aside from the technical error with the microphone and a slightly wrinkled green screen, it was a very successful test run. These are a few snap shots from behind the scenes of last Thursday.

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This  may be the funniest stuff on the web never watched. The Webisode or the Wed Series hasn’t taken off (with few exceptions), but I must say there is a ton of really creative, high quality mini episode out there.  One of my all time favs is the LDR (Long Distance Relationship) series.  Watch a couple and you will see what I mean.  Totally funny, well-edited and some decent cheesy acting.

Viewership has been sketchy at best showing no ability to sustain viewership from episode to episode.  In total, there were 10 episodes produced.  Check out the digits below:

LDR Ep1     -  46,837 views

LDR Ep2     -  161,743 views

LDR Ep3     -  107,288 views

LDP Ep4     -  44,972 views

LDR Ep5     -  13,941 views

LDR Ep6     -  79,993 views

LDR Ep7     -  33,963 views

LDR Ep8     -  51,285 views

LDR Ep9     -  89,420 views

LDR Ep10  -  13,694 views

Considering the low production value and an audience that is watching intently, I would guess total audience (643K+) numbers are decent.  As a point of comparison (not really a fair comparison) Two And A Half Men, the 30 min sitcom airing on CBS recently pulled a viewership of 14,556,000.  

The LDR series is playing to a different audience.  Much shorter but very well done.  A greater attention to the marketing strategy prior to launch of a Web Series could be the key to driving consistent viewership.  The next big mystery, monetizing this type of format and driving scale.

If you watch only one, watch LDR Ep2.  TRUST ME.  There is a very good reason it was the highest viewed of all the LDRs produced.  Can you say OOOOHHHHHH YESSSSSS!!!!