Aside from the big game, Super Bowl also brings the latest and greatest to the commercial world where big name brands blow their brains out on hyper-inflated commercial spots to air their high priced ad agency productions.

Admittedly, this Darth Vader VW commercial brings a smile to my face every time I watch it.  On VW’s You Tube Channel it’s been viewed over 15 million times.

The tactic of using video or TV commercials is a great tactic when used properly…but you have to ask yourself.  What’s the overall strategy?  Branding?

Ask the CEO of VW if he gets paid for better branding and I’m sure his response would be NO.

Ultimately, if you are in business for PROFIT, marketing should be used to achieve one result….SALES!  I happen to be in the market for a car right now…does this commercial make me want to buy a VW Passat?  No  Does it put VW on my shopping list…Maybe.

I would love to hear your response on this.   Does this commercial do it’s job? or what do you think it was trying to achieve?

Create your own video slide show at animoto.com.

I stumbled upon this online Video Slide show preparation service called ANIMOTO.  Do want to create Jaw Dropping Video in 3 Easy Steps?  We are talking about Point and click simplicity…no programming, no editing….my 6 year old can do it!

Head on over to Animoto.

Click on the Blue Button to get Started.

Video Slide Show Step One

is to Upload your images from your computer.

Insert Text in the frames that you want to see text…they can be placed before and after picture or video frames. Note: the tabs along the bottom…allow you to add more pictures or video, text frames, highlight certain pictures, rotate pictures, and duplicate pictures, delete frames you don’t want…click “Done” when you’re finished.

Video Slide Show Step Two

is upload your music…or use music that is available from Animoto’s site.

Video Slide Show Step Three

This is where the magic begins.  Animoto uses the beat of the music that you use to time and sequence your video slide show…and the results are spectacular!  The result is a very professionally done video slide show presentation.  You can try it for FREE…but the FREE version is very limited in it’s use.

If you are a REALTOR or a BUSINESS….VIDEO is the way to go if you want to ENGAGE, inject EMOTION with your potential buyers.  To find out more.  Click on the applicable link for you!

Animoto Overview

Unlimited full-length videos, each licensed for commercial use with no Animoto branding. Takes just minutes to create one. Easily update it anytime. Hassle-free pre-licensed music. Embed it to your site or share it.

Animoto Features

Animoto for Business is loaded with features designed to support the unique needs of businesses. In addition to Animoto’s regular features, your account will be equipped with the following:

White label

• Remove all Animoto branding from your video when you sign up with Animoto for Business.
• Unlimited DVD-quality videos
• Create, download and burn as many DVD-quality videos as you like. Give these to clients as gifts or resell them for profit.

Call-to-action button

• Add a custom call-to-action button at the end of your videos. This optional feature turns an Animoto video from a passive viewing experience into an active marketing tool for lead generation. For example, create a button to “inquire about rates” that links to your appointments page, or “learn more” that links to your website.

Note: the “Call to Action” button works only with the Animoto embed code. It won’t appear in downloaded videos, and won’t link to your site if you export a video to YouTube.

Commercially licensed music library

• 1,000+ free-to-use songs licensed for commercial use. We did all the heavy lifting for you.

Speed control

• In addition to Animoto’s recommended speed, derived from the tempo of the selected song, you can choose half and double speeds. Half speed is ideal for displaying each image longer within your videos, while double speed can heighten the action in a more stylized video composition.

What People are saying:

Animoto continues to garner rave reviews. USA Today says of our vids, “They look nothing short of terrific.” Or from the LA Times: “As a video producer in a former life, I was honestly blown away at the quality of the video produced.” CNN calls our videos “very compelling”, and the NY Times calls them “vivid”. And what’s more, the awards just keep on coming.

Animoto Pricing

What you get

• No Animoto branding within videos!
• Unlimited DVD-quality videos
• 1,000+ free-to-use, commercially licensed songs
• Customizable call-to-action link in video player
• Continued feature development and support
• All videos licensed for commercial use

You can go month to month for $39.00 or $249 /year.  If you have ever edited video before you will know that this is a steal of a deal….the SIMPLICITY ALONE is worth it.  Buy Now!

Our good friends at Mashable published an interesting article on Viral Video Marketing.  Titled Ten Most Innovative Viral Video Ads of 2010.

Definitely some great work as evident by the number of views they get on YouTube.  While it’s great to have a video go viral, from a business stand point you have to ask yourself did these videos achieve the desired result?  I would say yes and no.  As a business person, sure branding is an important component for a business…ultimately, the question that should be asked is – did this marketing tactic help drive sales?

The videos produced all had a significant number of YouTube views but many in my opinion lacked strategy.  Take the first one for example, A Hunter Shoots a bear this is an ad for Tipp-Ex white-out tape.  It has all the hallmarks of a Viral Video Marketing campaign…unique, funny, engaging, interactive etc.  Is it going to get me to go out and buy Tipp-Ex white-out tape? Ah…No it won’t.  Will it even keep this product top of mind for me? No, again.

Second on the viral video marketing list was Embrace Life…a video meant to encourage the use of seats belts.  Great use of videography.  Will it get more people to wear seat belts?  Not sure, as my thoughts on seat belt use is related to habits…and you what they say about habits…good or bad they die hard.

Third on the list is the Levi Strauss commercial another great clip…am I going to buy Levi’s now…probably not.  Is the desired effect of the video supposed to make you feel nostalgic? Or bring back the emotions you felt in your travels in a pair of Levi’s…who knows.

One of the most memorable viral video marketing campaigns has to be the Old Spice commercials.  I’m still not an Old Spice Man but I’d be willing to bet that sales of Old Spice increased as a result of these commercials.

Lost in the translation for me is the Puma Commercial…I’m not a European Football fan so I can really comment.  To date is has achieved over 2 million views with over 2000 comments…if you some how tap into these passionate fans I’m sure you can find a way to benefit.  On a side note, I have a friend that is so passionate about his Chelsea Football Club that he bought a Samsung TV because they are a major sponsor of the club.  Imagine that, buying a TV just because they are a sponsor…no TV Buying Guide or recommendations required.

A great example of Viral Video Marketing is the Google Chrome Speed Test.  Now the Google Chrome Test did the trick for me…I’m going to try Chrome because of this video…the Video which you see below gets the point across…Google Chrome is fast!

Toyota – Swagger Wagon a pretty decent video aimed at making parents feel better about buying a van.  Can you own a van and still be COOL…this video says you can.  At over 7 million views I’m sure others will feel the same way too.

There’s a Soldier in All of Us is a cool video…it’s intent was to suggest that the video game Call of Duty Black Ops is a game anyone can play.  Being an on and off gamer myself and a fan of the Call of Duty series…I may just go out and buy this game.

Write the Future was a promotion for FIFA 2010 World Cup and Nike it has less than 300,000 views and it still made the top 10 list at Mashable – Josh Warner must be a soccer or Nike fan as I’m not sure why it made the list.

My favorite of the bunch coming at # 10 is titled Master of Business Card Throwing a video for the Samsung Digital Camcorder H205.  I don’t like it for it’s ability to educate or entice me to buy a Samsung Camcorder but this guy throws business cards like Ninja Stars…it’s a cool example on Viral Video Marketing but the end goal in my opinion was lost.

To see all of the The 10 Most Innovative Viral Video Ads of 1010 check out Mashable.

What do you think…are there better videos out there achieving their goals?