User-gen ad topped Superbowl audience faves

A few years back, when Marissa and I were pushing user-generated video as the saving grace for advertisers and programmers, we were considered to be dangerous radicals. Today, it's a foregone conclusion that "prosumers" are better at targeting themselves and one another than most agencies and networks; according to the USA Today Ad Meter Poll, the user-generated Doritos spot took first place among Superbowl viewers.

Ironically, however, this 30-second spot made by "two nobodies from nowhere" captures all the banality and vapidity of a genuine Madison Avenue production.

The people have finally spoken. And what we want, apparently, is more gags about people's testicles getting hurt. Maybe I need to rethink my schtick about the transformative nature of configurable culture.

Comments

[Chris]

I saw the two guys behind this commercial on Today or Good Morning America, one of the morning biggies. At first, they seemed refreshingly sincere for dudes that just produced a home run "big game" commercial.

But when asked how did you come up with the idea they responded along the lines of, "Well, we were near the top of the list for this contest last year. So we quit our jobs, buckled down, and looked at what made the winners winners. We spent a lot of time looking at numbers, what people liked, what they didn't. Then we put together this."

So much for heart and inspiration. They sounded less like amateurs and more like that guy from marketing who always uses my milk.

[Billy]

Um, ok, but a million dollar budget ain't quite UGC. I mean UGC is awesome because that's where stuff like South Park and the Jerky Boyz and Girl Talk comes from, but those are all idiot savants, the exception to the rule. Most UGC is always gonna be crapola.