Personalized Big Brand Mash-ups

Big brands are catching on... it's all about personalization on the web.

Combining the hands-on user-generated approach with in-your-face advertising, mash-ups are proving to be an effective marketing tool for the web-savvy public. From interactive games to making your own commercials and ad soundtracks, the concept of mash-ups taps into the creative streak of modern audiences.

‘Becoming an M&M’ allows users to put together their own little M&M character and watch him/her feature in a variety of movies and arcade games.

Similarly, Nikemashup.com promotes the ‘Second Coming’ campaign for the Nike AF25 Basketball trainer, in which people are given an array of clips, close-ups and a soundtrack to cut and splice together a unique version of the recent Wieden + Kennedy commercial, featuring 10 Nike-sponsored basketball players battling it out in an abandoned airbase hangar.

I've also seen a new online campaign for the Motorola RAZR phone, collaborating with Discovery TV show Miami Ink to produce an interactive site where visitors can design covers for the Motorola RAZR using a selection of tattoo designs. The prize for the best design is a RAZR phone decorated with your own creative etchings.




This "mash-up" concept has become so popular that an on-line agency called ViTrue has created an entire site dedicated to user generated commercials, acting as a platform to other video mash-ups sites. The site also hosts tools for editing your videos including AdMixer, a program for users to piece together their own TV commercials.

Very cool. We need to do some mash-ups with our artists!