YouTube Tuesday: Nokia, Obama, Canadian Paralympic Committee

1. Nokia Lumia 900 … A Funny (But Really Bad) Idea

I love this idea (in theory) … the idea that over the last few years all Apple and Google have been doing is messing around with silly, bad smartphones and now — with the Nokia Lumia 900 — the “the Beta Test is Over.”

It is a funny, attention-grabbing idea, for sure.

But whose going to believe it?

This is just way too bold )(and therefore non-resonant) a statement to make. Even if you believe Nokia really knows what it’s doing in the smartphone arena (and many don’t) it’s a big stretch to say Apple and Google don’t.

Using humor could have made a lot of sense for them — but I’d have suggested leaning much more toward the self-deprecating variety.

BTW… in a very beta (even alpha) move, Nokia launched the Lumia on Easter Sunday in the U.S. Most AT&T stores and resellers were closed! I guess they weren’t counting on the “show people standing in line for the awesome new device” PR strategy. On the bright side the phone did well on Amazon — which never closes.

The video is part of a larger campaign … including this microsite.

Obama 2012 … (Warning, NSFW. But wait a second, why am I saying that? The video only uses the word vagina.)

Now, this isn’t technically a product or service video … but it pushing an agenda/candidate so it counts to be included here. It is a marketing communications piece. It’s also not an official Obama 2012 ad but I still feel okay writing it up.  We’ll see more and more of these unofficial videos over the next months (remember Sarah Silverman’s superbrilliant The Great Schlep from last time around?). Whether they’re put by out campaigns, PACs or interested third parties, if they’re interesting I’m posting them.

It’s a great video. It’s funny and therefore grabs attention and is likely to be shared freely across the web. And it makes it’s point perfectly. What more could one ask for when trying to communicate? Click the picture to view the video over at Funny or Die.

3. Unstoppable. From the Canadian Paralympic Committee

Now for a change from the funny to the moving in other ways. This new video called “Unstoppable” — for the Canadian Paralympic Committee — shows an athlete running. He’s running around a track. And he’s running through his life and rehabilitation since an accident. It’s very powerful. And it’s been getting buzz online. I read about it on Mashable. But, and this is odd, there’s no reference to the video at the committee’s website. Unstoppable marketing does a much better job tying things together — like say this video to a donate button.