If you're like me, you've been hankering for more brand advertising in Second Life. More of that great brand sapping crap like a Nissan vending machine, a sure winner in the "look at me! My product is cheap and disposable" category.
And you've probably been as disappointed as I that there hasn't been a single central map that would help me ensure that my 2nd Life 'avatar', or virtual representation, could be exposed to as much of that advertising as possible.
Until now: thoughtful souls have created a Second Life map that points out many brand presences:
In the last few days, Coca-Cola has jumped into the fray with the launch of Coke+Alt+Refresh at virtualthirst.com (pictured below)
Please note: This is a brand briefing, people.
Beyond the fact it's Second Life, and the interface is crap, and the brand effect and value are debatable, this is an official briefing document. Welcome to the wonderful world of the agency/mass-collaborative -participatory-brand-experience.
Here's what Mashable.com had to say:
"Second Life has been established as the place to go for virtual marketing, and Coca Cola is the latest in a string of promos that have no less than taken over the virtual game world. The contest invites people to design a Coke dispensing machine for use in Second Life, meaning the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Participants won’t have to create it themselves; just provide the design. Submissions are being accepted directly through Coca Cola, as a YouTube video, and on their MySpace Virtual Thirst page (below), emphasizing the socially accessible side of Coca Cola marketing."
"The best thing about having this kind of contest in Second Life is that a design can be implemented within Second Life, though real life constrpaints would render it impossible. Not to mention, it would cost far less than creating a physical manifestation of a Coke machine, but still warrants all the branding and viral opportunities that marketing strategies aim for..."
And here's 'Millions of Us' priming the pump with their own video (which as of this moment has generated 13 plays):
The Kitty Cat Dance, in my opinion one of the greatest videos of all time, has generated over 1,000,000 plays...
Here's what Crayon's creative director (the agency that built the app for Coke) has to say for himself - painfully:
an inworld testimonial/endorsement from a virtual celeb:
and a user submission:
how do you know when you are really viral? check this out
Coke has cited the example is not ROI based, but an experiment in new forms of marketing...
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