The marketing buzz phrase du jour is “web 2.0″. What web 2.0 is exactly is open to some interpretation but for certain, it’s a concept that describes the use of multimedia video and audio on the web. Harmonizing your website with next generation web-sites such as wikipedia, MySpace, YouTube, Digg, Jumpcut, blogging and so on, makes for a richer, more interactive experience for your sites’ visitors.

For advertisers, it has become a means of generating more traffic and more publicity. This means more sales opportunity and increased brand identity. As a good example, it’s worth revisiting the recent, viral advertising initiative brought to the world of web 2.0 by Frito-Lay Inc.

During October/10 and December/04 of 2006, Frito-Lay sponsored an online competition for its’ Doritos brand of tortilla chips. The competition was billed as the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl Contest”. Entrants were invited to create their own Doritos video commercial and submit it to a website to be judged. There were over 1000 Doritos commercials submitted.

This is from the contest site’s “How It Works” information:

Five Finalists will be chosen by our judges based on the following criteria: Originality and Creativity - 40%, Adherence to Assignment and Regulations - 30%, Overall Appeal - 30%. America will choose the grand prize winner.

Prizes: Five (5) Finalist prizes: $10,000 US each and a trip to Miami for a private Super Bowl XLI viewing party. The Grand Prize winner’s submission will be aired during the Super Bowl XLI broadcast.

From concept to execution, the Doritos campaign ties in with our recent posts concerning “The Long Tail” and “What’s The Big Idea”. It’s a terrific example where the world of big brand advertising partners with the little guy empowered through the mechanisms of web 2.0.

The following video is the creation of Five Point Productions - the winning entrant. Their video is titled: “Live the Flavour” and it aired during the Super Bowl XLI television broadcast. How would that look on your resume?

This was Five Point Productions take on winning the contest:

Obviously, this is a true Cinderella story for us… WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

We’re hoping to break Super Bowl Ad records in the following ways:

-Smallest Budget (Total = $12.79)
-Smallest Crew (Cast/Crew = 5 people)
-Shortest Production Time (4 days… including concept development)
-Youngest Crew (age 22 and younger)

No pun intended but here’s some more (snack) food for thought;

Go ahead and watch all five finalist productions. To experience more of this campaigns’ creative interactivity go to snack strong productions. It may take a moment to load but it’s worth a peak.

To stimulate some fresh creativity for your own original productions check out this source of concept triggers from the thought provoking folks at AdCracker. Another interactive tool for Creative Directors, Copywriters, Art Directors - and all those who create, sell or teach persuasive communications. That should include you!