At the Viral Ideas webinar today, I tackled how presidential candidate Senator Manny Villar latest advertising campaign (Naging Mahirap) has gone viral.
Found more than 80 variations of his latest ad being spoofed, covered, re-interpreted, and commented on. I noticed that the various videos have:
- Parents showing off their kid(s) in singing the jingle.
- Groups of people (neighbors, students, friends) coming up with their own rendition.
- Commentary on the ad
- Reaction to the ad
Compared to other candidates, Villar ads was the only one so far able to catch such level of attention.
Although admittedly, how much impact will this have on elections is little as people vote more than just the basis of commercials. But if he will turn out as a winner this May 2010, the whole Villar campaign, especially the use of online social media, will be an interesting case study to learn from.
