Entertainment > Branded Entertainment
VIACOM VELOCITY, New York / SUBARU / 2015
Overview
Credits
CampaignDescription
No restrictions around branded content were applicable to this case in the U.S., but as a matter of safety protocol, any situation with someone driving a Subaru was required to wear a seat belt. Separately, any content submitted as part of this initiative could not be recorded as intentionally hurtful, malicious or life-threatening.
Effectiveness
Most people think that celebrities live such charmed lives that they’re surprised to learn that they are just like everyone else. So when Daniel Tosh, host of the popular Comedy Central viral clip show “Tosh.0” first proclaimed, “I drive a Subaru Outback, they go through anything,” the unprompted love for his Subaru Outback surprised many. His unconditional love for his Subaru Outback sparked the curiosity of his large group of male fans in their 20s.
It’s this love that compelled Tosh to feature his own three-year-old Subaru Outback at various times throughout the show – that is until he gave it away as part of our #NanaNanaSubaru challenge. After years of Tosh’s unofficial Subaru mentions and uses, we finally formalized a partnership on a show that notoriously refuses any brand integrations. Tosh.0 celebrates the “best” the internet has to offer, and its regular “Nana Nana Boo Boo, Stick Your Head in Doo-Doo” segment taunts and challenges viewers to send clips doing something that Tosh cannot (or simply will not). So with #NanaNanaSubaru, not only was the gauntlet thrown down, but the reward was a piece of Tosh himself – his personal ride.
Subaru took over 16 minutes of his 22 minute show, profiling a range of fan-submitted clips, from the guy who got a Tosh tattoo commemorating the #NanaNanaSubaru challenge on his backside to the woman who thought she could Hula Hoop better than him. Fans watched submissions either on his Comedy Central page or on YouTube. The winner of Tosh’s car? The guy who literally stuck his head in (dog) doo-doo was the epitome of Tosh’s challenge and walked away with a slightly used Subaru Outback!
Implementation
#NanaNanaSubaru started with an on-air challenge – Daniel asked fans to prove they’re better by submitting their challenge videos. Daniel’s posts and tweets amplified the challenge, supported by Comedy Central retweets.
For the next seven weeks across all Comedy Central platforms including call-to-action spots, web pre-rolls, weekly entry GIF’s, mashups of featured entries, tweets, posts, mobile ads, and a video wall home page on featured sites. Digital-only content was created for the Nana Nana Subaru hub and pushed out to Tosh and Comedy Central social feeds.
Outcome
Subaru has a loyal and growing collection of followers but that group didn’t overlap with Tosh’s male, twenty-something fans. The more that people see what Subaru stands for, the automaker will continue to see its fortunes grow.
While Tosh.0 and Comedy Central seemed like an odd fit, Subaru and the Outback, opinion increased 38% and 58% above normal, respectively. Purchase intent and recommendation for Subaru also increased by an astounding 115% and 93%, respectively.
Fan reaction to the campaign was immediate and overwhelming and on premiere night, #NanaNanaSubaru became a national trend on Twitter. In fact, the entire campaign saw over 6,500 fan video submissions, 47 million overall social impressions, and the whole on-air campaign garnered more than 17.8 million views. This campaign was a win for Tosh, for Subaru and the fans were ready to go to extremes to be a part of the show and experience.
Relevancy
Tosh.0, a popular viral video clip show on Comedy Central, had only one minor brand integration since it began in 2009. What changed for Subaru? Host Daniel Tosh’s love of his 2011 Subaru Outback is an ongoing part of the show and he wanted to show his fans why. The Subaru Outback’s reputation as a do-anything SUV was the perfect fit for a group of people that will do anything for a little bit of fame.
With Subaru already part of the show, we went about formalizing the relationship. The result was pure branded content: Subaru took over almost an entire episode of Tosh.0, resulting in brand integration for 16 minutes of a 22-minute show. With Tosh himself, we developed a concept that was true to his show and the car and created something that couldn’t be done in any other form of advertising.
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