Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

I’m a big fan of merging advertising and entertainment online. In an uncharacteristically Microsoft move, Microsoft has done a good job of interjecting humor into their marketing. They’ve created a video and microsite for a parody talk show featuring a stiff host and bumbling ex-CEO-turned-author as the guest.  

www.StuOsbornShow.com

The piece features Fred Willard and Michael Hitchcock, who have stared in several Christopher Guest movies, including Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. According to the Wikipedia entry (yes, there is a corresponding Wikipedia entry for the campaign, but no MySpace profile), the piece was actually directed by Christopher Guest.

If you enjoy the Christopher Guest movies—which many of us do—you’re going to click the banner featuring these well known, funny actors. The microsite is high on entertainment, and low on the advertising. I think the intent of the campaign is to showcase a new MSN video sharing product called Soapbox, but that’s not at all apparent from the site. In any event, the site is quite amusing and definitely worth a click.

Jake Bennett