Don't be bummed when your viral video campaign doesn't sell laptops…

by Jonathan Marshall

While it is difficult to understand how any of these guys will ever get a girlfriend after this video- I am even more confused as to who MSI is going after with this one??? Which segment of their target market has been slipping, and how is this targeted to them? In addition to normal specs like speed and memory, clearly this skinny laptop’s best selling point is no carrying case necessary…. Sorry- out of the dozens of butt jokes that flooded to the front of my mind, that one made it in this post.

Anyway, down to the real business- does this kind of video work? For MSI, no. Their brand identity doesn’t have the bravado to be taken seriously with this stunt. Not that this interactive video was intended to be taken seriously, but there is a difference in how we as the audience laugh at this. For example, if Apple put this video on YouTube, we would still laugh and think it’s ridiculous, but ultimately we would most likely feel that it is clever. With MSI, people think “just another PC company,” – if they even think of them at all… I don’t. As a creative agency, if the previous work for the client wasn’t risky, humorous and ridiculous like this video is, the chances of this type of video working are slim-to-none. Changing the identity of a company can be a very challenging, if not impossible task after they have already established themselves as a completely different type of brand.

This just goes to show that even though the video was funny, if the message or even personality of the humor doesn’t match up with the company, not only is the attempt ineffective, it can work against you. Many of the comments below the video were disapproving at best, one saying “I didn’t even know who MSI is, but now that I do, I will always think of how stupid this video is…” Sorry to say, butt it looks like it’s time to head back to the drawing board guys.