True Blood: the perfect gift for almost everyone

Loving this ad by HBO promoting True Blood as the perfect gift for the holidays... except maybe for your grandmother.  The video has actually gone viral, with over 900,000 hits on YouTube since it was posted one month ago.  

Why did it go viral?

1) True Blood has a massive fanbase (of fang bangers - including myself)

*True Blood is also wildly adept in social media, with over 340,000 followers on Twitter, 9 million Facebook fans, 81,900 people 'talking about this' and super  timely content, apps and posts.

2) The video itself is facking hilarious! And it does a pretty good job of summing up the show.

HBO also promotes multiple True Blood hash tags under the video, encouraging people to keep sharing and talking about it! 

#GiftsGrandmaWontWant, #YouNeedTrueBlood, #GlamourYourFriends 

"...Sookie... she's a waitress and a fairy and a mindreader. Some people call her a fang banger but those people are religious freaks... No offence. Her best friend Tara lives with she demon who sometimes makes Tara's eyes go all black, and the whole town has a huge orgy.  Merry Christmas Grandma, I love you so much"

Orange "Words"

Orange has just launched a campaign, entitled "Words," for its broadband internet service.

The “Words” campaign, created by Publicis Conseil in Paris, "is based on a simple idea, which is expressed in a powerful and light-hearted way: one single word can be used to cover a number of situations, from everyday scenarios to highly emotional, intense moments. The way in which words can have several meanings in life has led us to reconsider what we mean by the term "Internet". And to understand that there is Internet, and there is Internet par Orange".

It's a nice video but very reminiscent two other current campaigns: HBO Imagine and HSBC Values.

HBO's Imagine campaign reinforces the brand's position as storytellers and centers around the notion that a change in perscpetive changes everything.  I've posted more about it here.

The HSBC Values campaign launched in October 2008 and was recently extended in July 2009.  The wildly successful communications illustrate HSBC's commitment to consider its consumers' different values and unique perspectives. View some of the print ads here.

Sooooo, thumbs up to Orange on the nice video, but eyebrows up at the distinct similarity to such a current and well-recognized global brand (HSBC).

HBO Imagine - your wife, the maid, and a clown...

HBO have just launched a new branding campaign called Imagine, which is their follow up to 2007's Voyeur campaign (that I've mentioned before).

These campaigns (created by BBDO New York) both comprise fantastic online and offline executions which expertly reinforce HBO's position as storytellers.  The website consists of over 40 pieces of content that make up a non-linear story that users are encouraged to piece together.  

The main point is that a change in perspective changes everything, which is illustrated in the trailer.  The videos on the site (complete with progress bar of how much content you've 'unlocked') all have toggle keys so that you can watch the clips from any perspective.

In "The Affair," for example, a husband comes home to what appears to be his (soon to be ex) wife engaged in some random threesome with the maid and an unidentified dude in red briefs...

Personally I won't sit through the hour of content to uncover the plot, but I'm sure there's tons of people who will.  In any case, a very nice campaign from HBO, as usual!

True Bloodtastic

Check out the teaser for the True Blood Season 2 finale! Airing September 13th, this show has become HBO's 2009 rockstar and I am totally addicted! 

With the recent mass success of Twilight and now True Blood, it seems like vampires + small town + sex = sticky to the max ... 

Song is Bob Dylan’s new single “Beyond Here Lies Nothin".

Check out True Blood Net for more info.