The WSJ has a great interview (sub req) with Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s executive creative director Kevin Roddy, talking about the company’s creation of the “Tea Partay” video for client Smirnoff. Nice work, folks. Amusing creative, if somewhat derivative of other YouTube hits like “Lazy Sunday” and its spin-offs. Great subtle integration of the product throughout, and excellent addition of the URL to the end of the piece.
But then, if you actually go to teapartay.com, what happens? Not a lot. The URL re-directs to the main Smirnoff site, where you have to put in your birth date. That’s fine. But even if you navigate in via teapartay.com, there’s only a small banner at the bottom of the page promising that the opportunity to “Join the Tea Partay” is “coming soon.” Subtle integration of the product into the original video is great, but once someone expresses real interest in the brew, go ahead and put it front and center. Don’t subtly tease it and urge people to come back later. What are the chances of that happening?
This may just be a sign of the continuing disconnect between the traditional agency creating the video (even if it’s distributed on the Web, it’s still pretty darned traditional) and whoever is handling the Web site. It’s also a reminder of the importance of bridging that gap. If you don’t, your results will fall way short of what they could be.