• by Aaron Baar , May 19, 2010

JVC Mobile Entertainment wants consumers to remember that listening to music through a car radio while cruising with friends can be fun in the latest iteration of its three-year-old Turn Me On viral video campaign.

"We're trying to sell the 'entertainment'" of JVC Mobile products, Chad Vogelsong, general manager of JVC Mobile Entertainment, tells Marketing Daily. "At the end of the day, driving around with your car stereo on is just fun."

This year's campaign, which launches this week, features the All-American Rejects in a four-minute music video. The video depicts female fans of the band listening to the group on their radio (many in their cars, although some are on a fire escape), when a news update alerts them that the band has taken control of its tour van and is heading to a private show somewhere in Los Angeles. The fans use the car radios (and navigation systems within them) to find the band and the show.

"It's more than just product placement. The script is written so the radio is a character in the video," Vogelsong says. "It's a true collaboration with the band."

The All American Rejects video follows videos featuring Papa Roach and Buckcherry (in the first year's video) and relative unknowns Darling Stilettos and Charm City Devils (in the second year). While those two videos have amassed a combined 19 million impressions since the first one debuted in 2007, the company believed an established artist such as the All American Rejects would draw even larger audience even faster, Vogelsong says.

"This year, we've opened the gates, using the All American Rejects and their immense fan base," Vogelsong says. "I don't see any problem getting 20 million [impressions within a year] with the notoriety of this band."

The group's following will also help with international marketing, Vogelsong says. "We picked a band that's internationally friendly, and we're opening it up to international markets," he says. "Any content I've created here in the U.S. can be used in [12-15] worldwide markets."

To boost the video's viral reach, JVC has enlisted viral seeding company EgoTV to create a channel for the video, which will include a behind-the-scenes "making-of" video. Consumers will be able to embed codes and site links to promote the video, as well enter their email for more information and a site locator to find a JVC dealer.

JVC will also use the band's fan network to promote the video and will show a shorter, audio-free version of the video on a billboard in New York's Times Square.