• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 7, 2012

The media is cynical and sneering. As vigilant watchdogs protecting the American public, its members know all corporations are engaged in mercenary activity, willing to trample the little guy to keep profits flowing.

They laugh at supercilious press releases and believe a “no comment” means someone is hiding the next Watergate.

They won’t carry anyone’s water. They cannot be played.

They would never grease a stunt like the one Will Ferrell and Old Milwaukee pulled on Sunday.

They wouldn’t call it brilliant. They would leave it to evil consultants to suggest other marketers learn from it. They wouldn’t be impressed by how its veneer of authenticity served as a splendid antidote to ad meter competition.

Of course, they wouldn’t highlight how Ferrell and Old Milwaukee perfectly took advantage of the cycle where social media begets media coverage -- and media coverage begets social media.

There would not offer any details about what Ferrell and Old Milwaukee might have been up to. That would make them participants in something CMOs call earned media (free publicity).

And they would direct traffic to YouTube or FunnyOrDie.com, where people would watch an ad that Ferrell did for Old Milwaukee during the Super Bowl. They would join tweeters in helping the ad go viral.

Here’s what they clearly wouldn’t write:

Ferrell started doing some ads for Old Milwaukee -- the beer that dates back to 1890 -- locally in Davenport, Iowa and Terre Haute, Ind. last year. He commands $20 million a film. Yet, for now, go with Old Milwaukee pays him zip to do the spots since he loves the brew so much.

During the Super Bowl, Ferrell starred in an Old Milwaukee spot, where he walks through a corn field to triumphant music in shorts and a T-shirt. Then, he catches a can of Old Milwaukee tossed his way and just as he’s about to speak, the ad stops. It was coarsely produced, probably cost less than the chicken fried steak at Merricks Ranch House in North Platte, Neb. to make.

The ad ran only once, following a spot for Bill Summers Ford in North Platte -- the country’s second smallest market with about 15,000 TV homes.

Lewys Carlini, the general manger of KNOP, told his news team he “found it interesting and odd” that the spot would make its only appearance on his station with the goal to unleash a viral video. 

“Apparently it did,” he said.

By Tuesday, it had generated at least 550,000 views on YouTube -- that's the same amount of TV homes in Albany. The online viewing doesn’t come close to a lot of those $3.5 million or whatever national ads. But, the numbers top others by a lot that apparently include spots from Coke and Pepsi.

Is Ferrell, the star of "Old School" and "Talladega Nights," really an Old Milwaukee lover to the point he’s helping out the company gratis?

Adweek suggested in December there’s some myth-making going on. Then, Bloomberg Businessweek reported Monday Ferrell has a deal with Pabst Brewing, which owns Old Milwaukee, to produce some shorts and it was brokered by an agent at CAA.

On Monday, the Pabst owners told Bloomberg Businessweek the Ferrell spots are about “paying homage to great Old Milwaukee towns” and they are extremely popular, which just shows you don’t need to spend millions of dollars to make a big impression.”

No you don’t. You just need the media to play along. And, a $20 million man to take a pay cut.