Last year Smith, while promoting a different movie on The Graham Norton Show, pulled a similar stunt – causing a viral video of Smith singing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air to hit Youtube. However, this time around, Smith pleased the crowd even more by pulling ‘Carlton’ (Alfonso Ribeiro) on stage with him.

This is a great PR move for Smith’s new movie. There are over 100,000 views on YouTube in the first week  it was posted. No doubt, countless more will see it before the movie finishes in theatres. Now this is how to make a viral video!

Check out one of his most popular videos, Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever, and see why we shouldn’t necessarily feel bad about needing all those glorious cups!

Bringing Product to its Target Market

YouTube is a haven for pretty much everyone who uses the internet. People are constantly posting a wide variety of videos from hair/makeup tutorials to product reviews/unboxings. So naturally, Nintendo decided to include YouTube in the marketing plan for the new Wii U console. The concept for the campaign is simple: Nintendo gave 50 Wii U’s to 50 well-known YouTubers, tasking them to create a video based on one of the games offered for the console. The videos must then get 10,000 views to be considered to advance to the top 12. The top 12 are flown to L.A. to compete. Four YouTubers will eventually be chosen to attend the Sundance Film Festival where their self made video will be shown. The winners will also be declared Nintendo Brand Ambassadors, providing Nintendo with on-going promotion.

Stealthy Marketing Tactics that Work

This marketing plan is a genius way to get Nintendo’s new product out into the minds of consumers. Who doesn’t spend far too much time on YouTube procrastinating daily? We all have YouTube channels we watch regularly and love to support, so helping them achieve something like screening at Sundance is engaging for both audiences and content creators. Additionally, by harnessing the creativity of 50 different people, Nintendo garners unprecedented creativity in appealing to potential buyers. Who better to communicate with teens, young adults and/or avid gamers than one of their own? It’s almost like a celebrity endorsement – but better because a YouTube celebrity is someone “just like us”. We know they actually used and enjoyed something if they make a video about it. They are a trustworthy source viewers are probably more inclined to listen to. The videos themselves are not presented as advertisements for the Wii U either, which is becomes even more appealing to the casual viewer. Who wants to watch an advertisement on purpose anyway? Here are some screencaps of video entries:

The cut off for views on the 50 entries is Friday, so it will be interesting to see the cumulative views vs. any correlations in sales for the Wii U. Overall, this marketing plan is a win for Nintendo – worldwide exposure for their product on the Internet for the cost of 50 units.

What other internet-based marketing plans have you noticed in 2012?

It seems like only yesterday when the original video of 9 year old, Caine Monroy took the internet by storm. Caine had invented a full arcade in his dad’s car shop which was spotted by a local LA filmmaker. Soon after Caine’s discovery, a short doc was made about his little arcade – and blew up across media outlets in Canada and the States. Following the media, hundreds started lining up to enjoy some of Caine’s cardboard creations.

Now, Caine is back with the Imagingation Foundation and his Global Cardboard Challenge, inviting anyone to build “something awesome out of cardboard and imagination.”

Participants will build until Oct. 6, the one-year anniversary of Caine’s original flashmob of customers. Not surprisingly, there’s over 100 events are scheduled in more than 25 countries. You can find the scheduled locations at the website, and here’s some instructions for anyone who wants to organize their own.