Another YouTube Video Makes it Big

Last Friday’s NYT tells the story of a YouTube video making it big (as in Sunday TV commercial big). If you feel like you have heard this story before it probably is because you have. Could advertisers be running out of ideas and need help from the common joe (or jane)?

Now the story is simple: Common Joe decides to make a video during their free time. They get some images from here and there (some might even go as far as doing some filming themselves). They post it on YouTube and then voila! they receive an email (or phone call, or a guy in a black suit at their doorstep). And then the video/ idea/ character makes it big.

The use of user generated content for commercials and show ideas has been growing. But how big is the trend? I can only imagine (and probably underestimate) the number of companies that are paying for people to watch YouTube videos all day.

The last I heard MTV was one of these companies. Oh the terrifying birth of Scarred.

Now I wish I could be as idealistic as Nick Haley who believes that this is a company’s way of making better advertisement: “That’s the whole point of advertising; it needs to get to the user… If you get the user to make the ads, who better?”

To some extent I agree but then I have to wonder if it’s just another company scheme to get creative rights over a great idea at a low cost.

It is safe to say that most people don’t post videos on YouTube to make money. So when they receive the email offering to fly them to L.A and then get offered some money (regardless of the amount) they must be ecstatic. After all, they didn’t think it could make any.

The amount of money offered by different companies is unknown, but I can say with certain conviction that most people whose ideas get snatched up by big companies probably give away their creative rights for less than they deserve.