Brand terrorism on the Internet: Parodied commercials

Many advertising agencies post their newly created ads on the sites, hoping that visitors will view the videos and e-mail them around. Crispin made longer cuts of commercials for Burger King that the agency posted only on YouTube and Google Video. But be careful: Your commercials could be parodied! For example, a fake Volkswagen commercial on YouTube that circulated on the Web last year showed a man detonate a car bomb in his Volkswagen in front of a busy sidewalk cafe — not exactly the image Volkswagen had in mind. “To a degree, it’s like brand terrorism on the Internet,” said Jeff Benjamin, the interactive creative director for Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the advertising agency that holds the Volkswagen account.

There is another reason that agencies should be worried about parodied commercials. Some of the ads on YouTube that parodied the Vonage commercials were good enough to make Mr. Lindley of Arnold consider his future employment prospects: “When they get better than the stuff I make, I’ll be out of a job.” according to The New York Times.