Creativity in Public Relations

A few days ago a video showed up on YouTube called “Bike Hero” and was posted by “madflux” and gave a shout out to “Lars and the Brierwood Vandals.”  The video is simply awesome and has gone “viral” with more than 1M views in less than a week.  The video is a unique take on the legendary videogame Guitar Hero, where you have to hit certain buttons at a certain time (different colors on the screen) to play a note, making it easy for people to rock out to their favourite rock songs.  This version has the game being played on a bike, as the kid on the bike rolls over colored marks on the sidewalk, street and everywhere in between and corresponding lights on his handle bar light up – just like the videogame.

Of course with most very cool videos the discussion quickly went to find out if the video was really authentic, meaning not a fancy bit of marketing from the makers of Guitar Hero, Activision.  Turns out the high-quality video was shot by Activisions’ PR company and I of course give them huge points for thinking of such a creative idea and implementing it flawlessly.  Its one of those videos you want to share with your friends and you want to play a few times to see if you can see any edits/cuts, just for the fun of it.  And there are some hilarious things along the way you have to look for, including that crazy rock guitar guy in the photo on this post – classic!

This is another growing marketing tool by brands primarily trying to reach a youth audience – hoping to develop a video so cool that it gets people talking and passing it around.  For many companies the production of the right video can be the only tool needed to drive awareness of their product.  So this will be another example I’ll gladly share to companies who say you need a big budget to make a big difference.  Now, who do I know at Activision that can help me grab a ride on that course and on that bike!