When Nike unveiled a 30-second television ad featuring Tiger Woods and the ghostly voice of his late father, Earl Woods, on the eve of the Masters, it did so simultaneously online.
The ad was purposely scheduled to air on TV for less than 24 hours, but it quickly went viral, sparking an avalanche of criticism, discussion, spoofs -- and views -- online. According to Visible Measures, a company that measures online video campaigns, the spot was viewed 6,334,337 times during its first week online.
It was a perfect – if dangerous – example of trend that’s been around since the advent of YouTube: if you make a good enough ad, one with some sizzle, you don't need to spend a ton of money airing it on television anymore, since it gets so viral in a fractured, increasingly digital world.
"It was an execution that could live solely online," said Josh Warner, president of the Feed Company, who called it "quintessential watercooler video."
That is, “Tiger & Earl” had some sizzle.
“The reason that ad worked,” said Michael Learmonth, reporter and digital lead at Advertising Age, “was that it was newsworthy, it was Tiger, and it triggered responses.”
Those responses more or less ranged from swapping out the elder Woods’ voiceover with recognizable voices from Hollywood – like Christian Bale or Morgan Freeman. And, for at least a little while this week, those spoofs became more popular than the ad itself.
Early last week, the New York Times, citing Visible Measures statistics, said “derivative versions” of the Nike ad have been viewed more than four million times – at that point, a million more than the original.
In that sense, the spot, Learmonth said, “represents the pinnacle of the dark arts of attracting viewers.”
"Brands have recognized that if they give something of value to the consumer, the consumer will do a lot of the work," said Warner. "Online, someone tells you about an ad, you search, and it’s there, perfectly indexed. You can’t get that on TV."
Nike and Wieden + Kennedy declined to comment on their strategy for this article.
More than likely, however, Nike and Wieden chose to debut it both on the Web and TV to get the instant, newsy impact from both.
Other campaigns are content to build sizzle -- and views -- over time online before they even think about buying airtime. Evian, for example, debuted a campaign last year featuring rollerblading babies online.
According to Ad Age, the ads have racked up more than 100 million views and 500,000 Facebook fans over 10 months – and only now is the company behind them, Danone, said this week that the ads have started to run on TV in Los Angeles, with New York to follow this summer.
"While we are expanding into traditional media in order to broaden even further the reach of the 'Live Young' campaign, online remains a major pillar of our strategy," Jerome Goure, VP-marketing at Danone, told Ad Age.
