A new advertising campaign for Mercedes-Benz brought social media into play to create an interactive advert in which viewers could influence the action. In what was a world first, the you drive advertising campaign used Twitter to allow viewers to determine the outcome of the advert, which was shown in three parts during primetime weekend television.
The first instalment was shown during The X Factor on Saturday 6th October with a second showing later that evening, and the conclusion aired on Sunday 7th October. The advert featured a musician (played by an actor) in a new A-Class Mercedes, trying to evade police to make his way to a secret gig. Viewers were invited to vote for what would happen after each instalment by tweeting using the hashtag #youdrive.
It’s a phenomenon that’s known in the industry as ‘second screening,’ where people watching television may also be connected to another device such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone. This creates opportunities for them to interact with television shows and advertising in real time. Several shows now invite their audience to participate via a second screen to vote, join in a quiz or poll, or voice an opinion, but the potential for getting second screeners involved in advertising has yet to be fully exploited.
The aim of the Mercedes-Benz campaign was to bring the brand to a younger consumer, and it has certainly succeeded. In a bold move, Kane Robinson, aka Kano, was cast in the leading role in the advert. Kano is a London-born rapper who is well known on the grime scene, and his appearance in the advert certainly challenges the traditional image of Mercedes-Benz and has brought the brand to a fresh new audience.
The full version of the advert now has its own YouTube channel which has clocked up nearly 3.9 million views, and the Mercedes-Benz Facebook page has over 50,000 ‘likes’. The advertising campaign was backed up by a new A-Class competition where visitors to the YouTube channel could win a new A-Class for a year, and a second competition targeting Facebook users, who could upload their photos of the A-Class for a chance to win. With the UK having the highest number of second screeners in Europe, we are sure to see more of this type of innovative advertising in the not too distant future.
Also check the New A-Class post on the official Mercedes-Benz Blog.
