If you watch the Academy Awards Sunday night, keep an eye out for the Dove Cream Oil Body Wash commercial. The 30 second ad is a consumer creation, the winner of an online contest that generated some 1000 entries at DoveCreamOil.com. Go to the site and watch the three finalists. I did, and while I confess I wasn't blown away by any of them, I'm confident I know which will be the Oscar night pick. (Hint: it invloves air ... lots of air)
USAToday.com notes the price tag for a 30 second Oscar ad is $1.7 million, about a million less than a comparable Super Bowl slot. Several advertisers used the Bowl to showcase amateur spots (Doritos, Chevy, the NFL), knowing pre and post-game commercial buzz would be extra buzzy with a creative consumer angle. Dove isn't getting the same attention, but the Oscars, with an expected 40 million viewers, offers the second biggest TV ad platform.
The question has to be asked: what happens when the novelty of consumer created TV ads wears off? Content is still King, and there's plenty of great content out there, ready to bubble up from the creative minds of millions of savvy consumers. Hopefully, advertisers will look beyond the short term bonus buzz of this new marketing pipeline, realize the long-term potential, and start casting a wider net for great ideas and inspiration.
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