Who Knew You Have To Believe What You See On The Internet?

Several big players are shaking up their advertising game by investing in the Internet and it really doesn’t even seem to require that big an investment for a big return.

Truman Greene is the interestingly-named (or branded) character created by 360i for H&R Block. The goal is to show a quirky, funny young guy who who’s really excited about doing his taxes and it’s a really interesting viral campaign to watch. Only time will tell how this campaign pays off, but it definitely kills any notion of “the Block” – as he calls the company – being a stodgy old group of accountants.

Toyota is launching a viral campaign next week for their new Camry model, which again seems like another great example of an established brand taking humor to the Internet in order to draw customers. They have already been doing a great job of marketing offbeat television ads and running banners on sites like LifeHacker.com. Now that they find themselves within striking distance of GM’s hold on the world’s number one auto maker, it is tough not to root for their success if it comes online.

Does it work? Last summer, Mentos mints sponsored “Trevor the Mentos Intern” who took requests online to do pretty much anything. He was, like Truman is definitely intended to be (and often succeeds), energetic and funny. He would make dinner reservations, call grandmothers with excuses and even had a popular one-man re-enactment of a Civil War re-enactment he went to as a kid. According to BusinessWeek, “Mentos sales were up nearly 20% last year, the highest such increase in the company’s history.”

Did it work? It was credible. Trevor was real, funny and believable. He did not seem like the brain-child of a marketing organization and people went along for the ride. Truman seems a bit more manufactured, but the videos are at times funny and H&R Block really just needs to get awareness of their online tax filing out there. Beyond that, their easy-to-use product (which I personally like and use) is really what will sell users. It will be interesting to see the tact Toyota takes.

But yes, viral marketing can be successful as long as it is authentic.