Lindsey’s Daily Deal

By Lindsey Campbell, Captains of Industry

Hey Captains’ Readers,

I hope you can read this through your Mexicoma-like hangover haze (you know who you are). Here’s your Thursday Deal:

1. Hallelujah for Viral Video

Nothing brings people together like great music. But with the countless meetings, practices, deadlines, and commitments that inundate everyone’s schedules these days, it can be difficult for any musical group to nail down a time to jam. However American composer, Eric Whitacre and 22-year old, Scott Haines not only found a way to make beautiful music together, but they got 185 people from 12 different countries to create “Lux Aurumqu,” a beautifully haunting hymn. Whitacre kicked off the project by sending out a video of himself conducting the piece. He then reached out to the online community and asked capable singers to download his sheet music and submit a web video of themselves singing a specific part. Once they received all the submissions, Haines complied them on Adobe After Effects and created the masterpiece by what is now being called the “Virtual Choir.”

Since the video’s debut on March 21st, there have been 732,064 views, hundreds of comments, and countless news reports of the Carnegie Hall-worthy performance. The video was even featured on this morning’s NBC Today Show. It just goes to show how far web videos can go, not just geographically, but to showcase your brand, business, or even your talent.

2. It’s going to be a scream

Did you know Cadbury makes ice cream? Well, they do. And in an effort to get the word out about Cadbury’s Flake 99, they had amusement park-goers who were boarding a very rowdy rollercoaster (loops, corkscrews, drops, the works) to enjoy a complimentary cone on Cadbury. The catch was, they had to eat it while riding the coaster. This web video shows that your web content doesn’t have to be like a commercial with a well thought-out meaning that exemplifies the key benefit of the product. It can just be fun to watch. Or outrageous. Or completely and ridiculously messy.

3. When is a conspiracy theory NOT a conspiracy theory?

In case you didn’t know, there have been accusations that “hardcore environmentalist wackos” purposefully blew up the Deep Horizon oil rig in the Gulf. Why? Well, to rebel against the cap and trade bill by heading off more oil drilling of course! This “theory” was cleverly introduced by Dana Perino, the former White House Press Secretary, when she said on a FOX News broadcast, “I’m not trying to introduce a conspiracy theory, but was this deliberate?” Uh, lady, what you did just there was called “introducing a conspiracy theory.” And now that the seed has been not-so-subtly planted, there have been countless reports and accusations from everyone like right-wing conservative Rush Limbaugh to the former Director of FEMA, Michael Brown. Although I have no doubt that this disaster was nothing more than an accident, I ask you, dear readers, to come to your own conclusions, but based on facts, not assumptions or bias. Do your homework. Look at information. Do some research. In fact, DEMAND an investigation. But please, don’t simply believe convenient theories created for either side of the political arena. Make your own informed decision. After all, picking a side and getting mixed up in messy political battles won’t get the oil out of the ocean, if you know what I mean.

4. So you want be an advertiser

While scouring AdRants, I came across a post about Stepan Mitaki, a 22-year old advertising hopeful from Murmansk, Russia. Like any junior trying to emerge into the ad world, Mitaki knows that the fight to get your first job is a tough one. But rather than just blanketing his portfolio in every city with an agency, Mitaki is going to record his job hunt with videos, blog posts, and tweets. Not only will Mitaki showcase himself and his work, but he’ll be able to demonstrate to his possible employer that he knows how to use the media that is needed in today’s advertising plans and more importantly, he’s got the cojones to use them for his own benefit. Check out his first video.

Until tomorrow,

Captain Lindsey