Who knew that blooper outtakes from a local car dealer spot would be so popular?
Apparently, a bear mascot falling numerous times on an ice rink while shooting a TV spot has mass appeal — a blooper reel featuring the mascot taking multiple tumbles has been viewed an astounding 5-plus million times in the last week and a half since it was posted on sites including Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo.
The ad that generated the outtakes was created for White Bear Mitsubishi, a dealership in the Minneapolis area by Cuneo Advertising in October. Yes, you guessed it — the less-than-limber bear is the car dealer’s mascot.
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According to Ben Fruehauf, Cuneo’s recently hired executive creative director, the firm decided to put the blooper reel on the client’s site just to give visitors a little extra entertainment and a yuk or two. “We had no idea that it would take off like it did,” said Fruehauf, a veteran of BBDO, Campbell-Mithun and other shops. “Nobody plans for that but we’re not complaining.”
Apparently singer/actor Bette Midler lent a helping hand. Someone shared the clip with her and she posted it on her Facebook page Monday and views skyrocketed. Yesterday it was the top-viewed video on Reddit. By midday Thursday, Facebook views totaled 3.9 million, adding around 100,000 views per hour. YouTube had close to 1 million views by then.
The ad was set on an ice rink partly because the dealership sponsors the University of Minnesota hockey team. The much more sure-footed team mascot Goldy the Gopher was also featured in the ad.
In addition to the U.S., the blooper reel has been viewed in a number of international markets, particularly where hockey is popular. Numerous local TV outlets have also showcased the reel, along with Today and Good Morning America (yesterday and today respectively). Not a bad ROI for a spot that cost a couple of grand to put together and air locally.