Category: Viral Marketing

In this final round of holiday etoys and activities, we’ve discovered a number of unusual activities. There also continue to be some incredible efforts around charitable giving. Instead of doing a crazy review like before .. here’s a list with links. Enjoy!

• Tattoo Santa from R/GA. Enough said.
• Remember Elf Yourself from Office Max (warning, site is down a LOT)? They’re back with a new group elf feature. And they have also created Scrooge Yourself (it’s down a lot too). And check out the riff on it … Gnome Yourself from Dunder Mifflin 🙂
• Pimp My Sleigh by Kwik-Fit Insurance – trick out the sleigh that you would ride in if you were Santa
• Snow globes are popular. Pepsi has one that supports their charitable donations to Second Harvest. And PETA also has a snow globe this year where you can give someone a shake who has been cruel to animals.
• 5 Gifts that Cost Nothing .. but could mean everything from Chris Penn at the Financial Aid Podcast. A poignant take on what would really make a difference in both your friends’ and family’s lives as well as your own.

One of my favourites (though technically not an ecard or viral video) is the 15 Below project from TAXI. Instead of giving staff and client gifts this year, TAXI has designed a coat that can be insulated with newspaper and can withstand temperatures up to -15 (the temperature that causes Cold Alerts to be put into effect). This coat will be distributed to homeless across North America on behalf of TAXI clients and staff. You can view the story of the coat and its design as well as a video of it being put to the test on their site www.15belowproject.org.

Photo Credit: James Jordan

We’ve gathered up a few more holiday cards/virals for your time-wasting pleasure research.  Most are Canadian though I have included one from the US because it is a great example of the integration of online and offline components, plus the use of a couple of social networking tools.  Enjoy!
mighty.ca’s Mighty Mistletoe Videocard
This is the offering from mighty.ca – a videocard featuring each of their staff and how they "pucker-up" under the mistletoe.  It’s a really simply idea, and I found it quite charming.  The enthusiasm and the individualism of each of their employees really shows through and makes me smile every time I choose a staff member.  I found about this through a Facebook link from one of my friends.

Citizens Bank’s Decorate a Gingerbread Card
Another brand that has combined charitable giving with an online holiday activity.  Citizens Bank has created a "decorate your own gingerbread cookie" card.  For every card that is sent, Citizens Bank will donate $1 to the Canadian Association of Food Banks.  I found out about this via a friend’s Facebook link.  I was interested to note that there is both a "share on Facebook" as well as a "bookmark this on del.icio.us" button on this page on Citizens Bank’s website.  Note: I’ve found that my browser doesn’t always resolve their URL for their holiday card.  This is a link to the page on their website that describes it in case the above link doesn’t work for you.

Chestnuts roasting on the open fire … eCards filling your cluttered inbox.  Facebook apps make your profile all aglow … Merry Christmas to you (apologies to Mel Tormé and Robert Wells).
Yup, it’s that time of year, when clients and agencies alike show off their creative chops and sometimes cheeky spirit with fun holiday messages.  Sometimes it’s an eCard, sometimes it’s a video, sometimes it’s a cool website … but the best Christmas gift would be it going viral.
We take a look at some of the promotions that we’ve been sent this year or discovered.  Part of what is interesting to me about these is how they came to my attention … only a few came through email, several came through Facebook or other social networking links.

Virgin Mobile Canada’s Go Jesus
Funky video from Virgin Mobile Canada showing how things *could* have gone down on Christmas Eve. 

I think it’s pretty funny and definitely fits in with Virgin’s brand.  Feels like it goes on a smidge too long .. but if you’re into this kind of dancing and music, you probably won’t notice.  This was sent to me directly via email.