Follow The Leader

Many attorneys remain skeptical about social media: Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter most prominent among them. I am a fan of the marketing power of three of those four. MySpace still seems to be mostly adolescent in its orientation and uses.

Still, for many of my clients, and the attorneys I talk with at conferences, it's hard for them to imagine that these methods can be truly effective. I know they can be, and have given my thinking on the subject before. But for those who like social proof, here's a big one from today's New York Times advertising section:

FedEx, an advertising bellwether, is unveiling its first Web-video advertising campaign, five three-minute comedy sketches...

FedEx’s spots — for the last 20 years by BBDO Worldwide, New York, part of the Omnicom Group — helped pioneer office humor in ads, and often had their premieres during the Super Bowl. So when the company announced that after 18 years it would forgo advertising during the last Super Bowl, because it could not justify the expense during the downturn, the news resonated.

“That hurt the Super Bowl much more than any other advertiser, because FedEx is a market leader,” said Jerry Della Femina, who is chief executive of Della Femina Rothschild Jeary & Partners and has worked on Madison Avenue since the early 1960s. “Look, you never bet against Federal Express, because they’re smart, and when they’re doing something, it’s well thought out.”

The company is certain to be watched closely Monday, then, as it unveils its first Web-video advertising campaign, five three-minute films that feature the actor Fred Willard. 

If YouTube is good enough for FedEx, maybe it's good enough for you?