You Tube, the instrument of big Oil?

Well could this be the end of the YouTube fascination, once the domain of the Oliver Stone wanna be generation, the ever popular internet website has now been discovered by the corporate world.

Petro Canada is using the video option (see add above and look for others here) to explain just why they charge you so much for your litre of gas (mind you they don’t explain why they’re always quick to be the ones to raise their prices first eh!).

Petro Can has posted all of their projects on their own corporate website, but perhaps they may have missed the boat on the You Tube generation and their placement there. If I have read the service correctly, You Tube is supposed to be uh, funny. Gas prices compared to cups of coffee, it's um shall we say, unfunny to say the least.

They do however, wish to hear from all of us voyeurs of the net, so fire off your very own critique!

The Globe and Mail had the following blurb on the sudden fascination of YouTube by Big Oil Canadian style and what it may mean for the little diversion we all enjoy lurking around.


Petrocan breaks ground with YouTube gas price ad
KEITH MCARTHUR
MARKETING REPORTER

TORONTO — Petro-Canada is going grassroots -- using the popular YouTube website to broadcast amateur-style videos of employees talking about gas prices.

YouTube was founded last year with a mission of giving amateur filmmakers a voice -- allowing them to broadcast videos shot on digital cameras or mobile phones. Now, large corporations, which have always had the means to get their messages out, are looking at YouTube as an alternative way to reach young consumers.

The site already broadcasts hundreds of commercials. Where Petrocan is breaking new ground is by using YouTube to broadcast videos that are more educational than entertaining, said Max Valiquette, president of Toronto marketing consulting firm Youthography.

"This is a press release in the form of a video, and I think we're going to see a lot more of that in the coming years," Mr. Valiquette said.

"Corporations say they should be doing more to engage consumers -- to talk to them on their terms -- and, execution aside, this is actually a really interesting example of Petro-Canada doing that."

In a series of videos, Petrocan spokeswoman Allyson Zarowny stands in front of a gas station and explains that gas prices rise and fall, just like coffee prices. But margins in the gas business are much slimmer than they are in the coffee business, she says. Separate video messages were recorded in French.

The videos can be viewed on Petrocan's website or at YouTube.com. Late yesterday afternoon, a week after being submitted to YouTube, one of the videos had been viewed more than 2,000 times.

Jon Hamilton, director of communications for Petrocan's retail operations, said the intent was to have Ms. Zarowny explain gas prices the way any employee would when grilled by a friend or family member at a barbecue or wedding. Petrocan already had information on its site explaining gas pricing, but it was overly technical, dry and not user-friendly, he said.

"We thought, they don't go to barbecues with power point presentations. They just answer the question straight up. And we said, maybe there's something we could learn from that."
Mr. Hamilton said Petrocan spent little on the campaign -- largely by design -- to give it an unpolished feel. It cost about $20,000, considerably less than a traditional advertising campaign, he said.

Petrocan isn't the only marketer to broadcast over YouTube. Coca-Cola's new advertising agency -- Wieden & Kennedy -- is releasing a series of Internet-only ads over YouTube in conjunction with its newest TV campaign.

And Mark Tutssel, worldwide creative director for Leo Burnett, recently called YouTube the advertising model of the future.

The videos that get watched most often on YouTube tend to be the most entertaining -- usually silly, sexy or outrageous.

Mr. Valiquette, whose firm did consulting work for Petrocan about four years ago, said the company's effort won't be one of the most popular videos on YouTube, but will get enough views to cover its meagre costs.

"People will watch anything," he said. "If it's up there, somebody's going to watch it. Somebody's going to be looking for 'gas' or 'pump' or 'Canada' and they're going to look at it."

But Steve Williams, creative director at Calgary-based ad agency Venture Communications, questioned whether Petrocan's effort will be worthwhile.

"It's the least funny thing I've ever seen on YouTube," he said.

Mr. Williams said that for a medium like YouTube, Petrocan would have been better off creating a funny video -- perhaps with a self-deprecating tone -- which would have been more likely to "go viral" and get passed around from user to user.

"I look at stuff like this and I just think 'Why do it?' I understand that people gripe about gas prices, but it's sort of like griping about the weather. You really know you can't do anything about it, but it's just good sport for griping."