To earn the Subway Restaurant interactive marketing account, Agency.com (along with a slew of other agencies) was asked to produce a five-minute video pitch. Agency.com played along, but added a twist. Instead of sending the video over to Subway HQ, they uploaded it to YouTube in hopes that it would go viral and prove to Subway how creative and interactive they truly are.
You can view the video here: Going to Work for Subway: Part 1.
There is tons of talk about whether this was a smart move… or not. You can read what Joseph Jaffe and his Jaffe Juice Heads have to say here: Beware Generic Brand Names, and let’s not forget AdRants: Agency.com Has Hipster Orgasm On YouTube.
What do I think?
It starts out as a big idea and it worked – it went viral. The challenge with everything viral is “now what?” Agency.com would have served this pitch best had it engaged in the conversation of why Subway works with everyday people like you and I, and how the interactive space can compliment their branding efforts.
As most Bloggers (and critics) are pointing out, it comes off way too much as what Agency.com thinks it is versus what they can do for Subway. But maybe that’s the point? Agency.com just launched a Blog where they are posting all feedback and extending the conversation. How long can they keep it up?
Two questions: does this add brand credibility to Agency.com or does this hurt them? And, if you were Subway Restaurants, what would you think about this whole posting it to YouTube move?