• by Ross Fadner , October 31, 2004

A blog containing links to a series of online ads for Mazda's new M3 was recently pulled, on the heels of accusations of foul marketing tactics. Mazda USA declined to comment on whether it was responsible for the blog, but many bloggers not affiliated with the company are convinced the controversial blog was, in fact, a promotion for the new car.

The blog, "HalloweenM3," was posted on Google's blog-hosting service, Blogger.com, in mid-October. It was supposedly written by a 22-year-old photo assistant who calls himself Kid Halloween and whose personal profile contained a list of favorite movies that included lengthy car chase scenes. The blog's only two entries both linked to video featuring Mazda M3's commercials.

Following some 500 page views, and widespread criticism, the Kid Halloween blog was removed on Oct. 22. But, as of last week, a cached file of the blog could still be accessed at www.blogger.com/profile4992256.

Although Mazda declined to take credit for the blog, many signs point toward the company's responsibility. The same ads that were linked to on the blog also appear on the Web site of Sarkissian Mason, the agency used by Mazda for viral marketing. Sarkissian Mason declined to comment for this story. Doner, the Southfield, Mich.-based advertising agency that does most of Mazda's work, said it had nothing to do with the alleged viral marketing campaign.

On the blog Waxy.org, Andy Baio wrote: "With little effort, it's clear this was designed to promote the new Mazda3 model. The clues are obvious: links to videos featuring the Mazda, the HalloweenM3 username, and rich media hosted at Rackspace, an expensive dedicated hosting provider." Rackspace's customers include Bluetooth, J. Walter Thompson, and The Onion.

In one of the ads linked to on the Kid Halloween blog, a Mazda M3 is shown skateboarding; in another, the car is break dancing, and in the last, which has a "Clockwork Orange" sensibility, teenagers drive the Mazda M3 on Halloween night. On the blog, Kid Halloween claimed the video ads were culled from Manhattan's public access channel, the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). But an MNN spokesperson said ads could not have appeared on the network, because it does not sell advertising.

Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer of marketing services firm Intelliseek, and co-founder of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), in the past has referred to the blogging community as "copy cops" and "unabashed truth seekers," looking to out public relations firms and marketing departments for uncouth viral marketing practices.

"What happened to Mazda perfectly illustrates how bloggers are holding advertisers to much higher levels of accountability," he said, adding, "the net cost to Mazda is much greater than meets the eye, and Mazda now needs to deal with the ugly reality of this mishap resurrecting itself every time a consumer--or a media writer or a financial analyst--Googles the term 'Mazda blog.'"