• by Chris , September 16, 2010

One online campaign I remember vividly from last year was the Victoria’s Secret Colligate Pink Collection Contest. I am a guy and even remember voting everyday to try to get the first place prize (a Pink Nation Party on Campus). Why did this catch my eye and my interest? Besides the hot supermodels that would be at the party, I felt like I was showing my school spirit. Incredibly, Ball State ended up getting fourth in the contest through the help of about 600 students and a Facebook group.

Most ad campaigns do not reach me as a college student. The only way I stay connected with the world outside of the realm of Ball State is by email, Facebook, and the news I read online. The only time I catch stuff on TV is when I am eating lunch in the student center. I actually have not even hooked up the cable in my dorm room yet, even though it is free.

I am too busy with homework, extracurricular activities, and being with friends to watch TV. I know most of my friends are the same way. We would rather go to out to eat and talk rather than order in and watch a rerun of a TV show. Media surround us all day long and we find it as an escape to just relax and get away from it for a little while (I know that Facebook is media, but more on that in a later post) .

Now what does me not having a TV hooked up to cable in my room and the Victoria’s Secret ad campaign have in common? Well, the ad campaigns I am the most exposed to and remember are not the ones on TV. Instead, they are the ads on Facebook. I enjoyed the interactive campaign Victoria’s Secret created and I think it worked above and beyond expectations. It worked so well that people were starting their own Facebook groups to advertise to students to encourage them to vote.

Another aspect that was crucial to my liking of the ad campaign was it only took me 2 minutes to participate. I did not have to give my name or email, I just voted. I was with others in at my college who were all working toward a common goal; winning. I was a part of the team and I was going to do whatever I could to make sure we were going to win. Even to this day, I still see more Pink branded clothing than I ever did before I participated in the voting.

TV is gone as a way of advertising efficiently to the college crowd. I believe Facebook has grown into the advertising grounds of the future, and by future, I mean now. The companies that are already using interactive campaigns that utilize Facebook to advertise are ahead of the curve. It is now time for the rest of the advertising world to catch up.