In a shocking display of media savvy and sound judgment, Paris Hilton today released this video announcing her candidacy for President of the United States. The video was issued in response to “wrinkly, white-haired guy” (a.k.a., John McCain’s) ad comparing her celebrity to that of Barack Obama.
What’s shocking of course is the fact that the video is brilliant. Not to mention a refreshing change from Paris’ usual attempts at shock value which typically include questionable choices in men and/or a conspicuous lack of undergarments. Hilton made lemonade from the proverbial lemons hurled at her by McCain, responding using the same medium, offering critical counterpoints and a even a feasible alternative to the energy policies currently being touted by both presumptive Presidential hopefuls.
The result? McCain looks sillier than ever, Paris looks smarter than ever and Obama has been completely dropped from the mudslinging equation.
Hilton’s video has already solicited a response from McCain spokesman, Tucker Bounds, who states:
“It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis — including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan.”
Regardless what candidate Hilton supports (reportedly it was McCain prior to the video melee) Paris Hilton is once again topping out “most popular search” lists across the internet, and her video has been viewed more than three million times as of this post.
So what made Paris’ video “viral”? I attribute the success to viral marketing design pattern #11: “Out-of-Character Celebrity,” which Coco mentioned in a post a couple of weeks back. While the opportunity to apply this particular design pattern to videos created on behalf of, say, a major technology company are few and far between that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from Ms. Hilton (did I really just say that?).
The lesson here is that rather than escalating attacks on your organization, product, or brand into a war of words, find the opportunity within that attack (whether via video, blog or message board post) to promote your own brand. This not likely result in a wildly popular video, a la Hilton, but it will mean the integrity of your organization will remain intact in cyberspace. If only Paris could say the same.