The other day, during a casual conversation, a fellow music enthusiast-friend and I asked ourselves the last time we could remember watching an entire music video on TV. Our reminiscing then took us back to the good ol’ days of MTV, when the majority of its on-air slots didn’t consist of nonsense reality TV shows (“Teen Mom,” anyone?) and teenage girls like us would race home from school to catch the latest choreography and heartfelt lyrics from our favorite boy bands.
More than a decade later, music fans such as myself have had to seek out alternative resources for watching the latest music videos from our favorite artists. While many of us quickly point the finger at major networks for restructuring their offerings to accommodate baloney (but entertaining) shows like “Jersey Shore” and the “Real Housewives” empire, it’s no secret that music videos have been throttled by sites such as YouTube, thanks to the accessibility of the Internet.
An article today via Yahoo News has put the transformation of music videos into perspective and will certainly make the days of dancing in front of the TV to your favorite video seem pretty antiquated. In an effort to win over a “digitally-savvy” audience, Cheer detergent has rolled out an interactive music video on YouTube that viewers can click on for prizes and rewards.
The music video features indie band Strange Talk singing their most recent hit “Climbing Walls” among clickable colorful objects, like dresses and socks, which viewers can win. In addition, the Cheer music video also leads to a Facebook page, which viewers can register for the item they “dug.”
With the tagline, “We dig color” and a completely digital marketing budget, Cheer is attempting to appeal to customers who want to express their individuality. And, according to Jason Wiedemann, brand manager for the Procter & Gamble detergent brand, this is the first time a YouTube video has linked to a site outside YouTube.
Music and clickable objects that will score you some free socks? Count me in! It’s like a music video-video game, if that makes sense. Unfortunately, by the time I went to give this thing a whirl, I was told all the prizes had already been claimed for the day. At least it helped me discover a new band to start perusing on YouTube.
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Tammy Wolf is a TechZone360 web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Juliana Kenny
