Dove's Viral Evolution Video

Posted on October 31, 2006

Advertising Age reports that Dove has received tons of views and media coverage for its Dove Evolution video. Ad Age also says the video has sent a traffic spike to Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty website that is three times bigger than the traffic Dove received from last year's Super Bowl commercial.

Ad Age says the video has great blog buzz even beating the amazing Aleksey Vayner and his video resume.

"Dove Evolution" also trounced another October darling of the blogosphere -- would-be investment banker Aleksey Vayner's self-promotional video -- for mentions on Nielsen BuzzMetrics' BlogPulse. And it ranked among the top 15 blog-linked videos last week on Technorati -- the only one, aside from a presentation by Apple's Steven Jobs, from a nonpolitician.

The problem for companies hoping to make a viral video is that most of them won't work and it is getting more and more difficult every day to find success with viral videos. Simple ideas like the Subservient Chicken won't work as well because everyone has already seen this idea used several times by now. The These Days blog explains viral marketing can be complex.

Nobody understands how online viral marketing really works. Worse: ever since big brands discovered its power, it's becoming harder every day to succesfully create some buzz online. It's true that a succesful "word of mouse" campaign is always cheaper to produce than, say, a street ad campaign. And yes, it's a perfect way to support a bigger ad campaign, or reach a different, more "webby" target group. But if a viral campaign is not handled right, it might hit you in the face, and sometimes even harm your brand. Or worse: be ignored completely, like the majority of them. All you can do is: avoid common mistakes, unleash the virus, wait and pray.

The Dove viral ad was unique because of its message and it was also raising money for a positive purpose, the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, a program that helps educate and inspire girls on a wider definition of beauty. This probably made it that much easier for the video to viral out.