Breaking news: Bridezilla is an ad for Sunsilk

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRNntNBEUF0]

I’m sure you’ve all seen the Bridezilla clip that’s been doing the rounds: Girl completely wigs out and cuts her hair an hour before her wedding.

I got an email from a friend today, Robbie McNamara who produced it. Here is the info he passed on:

The video was directed by John Griffith and shot in the Sheraton Four Points hotel on Lakeshore Boulevard in Toronto. Heather Fox did hair and makeup and Mark Binks was the coordinator. It was intended as a non-branded viral ad for Sunsilk hair products. The advertising agency behind it was Capitol C, here in Toronto.

With over 9 million views this might be the best value for money an advertising client ever got.

There is a good story with lots more details on this at Torontoist.

5 Comments

• 
  Ian February 13, 2007 at 12:40 pm

  I slightly disagree Pema. You can read my POV here: http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/techknow/archive/2007/02/02/7071.aspx
• 
  Pema February 13, 2007 at 1:17 pm

  That’s a nice post – thanks for pointing it out Ian.
  Here I was making a simple point about media exposure – lots of awareness for little money spent. Whether it’s good or bad exposure is a different matter.
  Over the last few days I’ve run into a couple of other elements from the Sunsilk marketing campaign – there was the TV ad (www.youtube.com/watch?v=WceQJ2RPivI) and some kids handing out samples at the cinema.

  Generally I think viral campaigns are a good thing, but honesty, relevance and follow through are critically important. Sunsilk obviously weren’t honest with people up front abut producing this film so the feelings of resentment from some are understandable. From a marketing point of view I think the relevance and follow through were poor. Seeding an expression used in an ad campaign (in this case “wigging out”) can make sense but it needs to tie strongly into the eventual mainstream marketing. For me, the connection with the advertising is weak and the feeling of the commercial just doesn’t fit with the reality style used in the Bridezilla clip. Something doesn’t sit right.

  One thing I would like to point out is that most of us enjoyed watching Bridezilla – that’s why it got the numbers of viewers it did. I believe marketing should always deliver value to the audience and regardless of what happened afterwards Sunsilk gave use something to laugh at for a day.
• 
  Ian February 13, 2007 at 2:12 pm

  Agree Pema, content is key (it was very entertaining) and the key message (in this case ‘wigging out’) needs to consistently tie all marketing elements together so the target audience can make the connection.

  Thanks for pointing out the TV ad. I’ll check it out.

  PS….glad to see you posting.
• 
  Mike Keliher April 15, 2008 at 4:15 pm

  I know I’m really, really late to this discussion, but I don’t think I could disagree more!

  “Best value for money”? “Lots of awareness for little money spent”?

  I’ve never even *heard* of Sunsilk, and I watched this video a dozen times. The company received no value, no awareness.

  Where’s the value?
• 
  Pema April 15, 2008 at 4:44 pm

  Thanks for stopping by Mike.

  Sunsilk is one of the bigger hair care brands in the world. It is owned by enormous FMCG company Unilever (http://www.unilever.com/). Take a stroll down the hair care isle in any supermarket and you’ll find it.

  As a result of this video millions of people were exposed to the Sunsilk brand. Some people watched the original clip and then read all of the blog chatter about it being an ad, but many more people watched shows like Good Morning America where they spoke about the clip and even invited the lead actress onto the show.

  Like I said in the original post… “this might be the best value for money an advertising client ever got”.

  In the comments Ian and I were debating if all of the exposure could be considered good exposure. Did it create a good feeling about the brand? I’m not sure it did.

  But my point was about the exposure – which I think was huge, especially considering the money they spent.