Raphael, at Serious Eats, has just informed me that the word is out regarding who was behind the viral Cellphone Popcorn videos. The answer: Cardo Systems, who make BlueTooth headsets.
In my post speculating who was behind these videos, I wrote:
Perhaps this is a bizarre way to advertise for a new low-radiation cell phone?
While not 100% accurate, my guess (admittedly, one of several) was in the general ballpark….the ads were not for a low-radiation cell phone maker, but rather for Bluetooth headsets that claim to “reduce power output by 99%”
The operators of the YouTube account that posted these videos have updated the titles of the video to add the words “made by Cardo Systems.” Their website also now features a page with a new promo for their products and noting that their videos received over 4 million views.
Well played Cardo Systems, well played.
8 responses so far ↓
1 DCBlogs // Jun 12, 2008 at 1:15 pm
[...] Cellphone Popcorn Viral Video Creators Revealed Cardo Systems Bluetooth Headsets [...]
2 gastriques: Don't eat the tomatoes -- have the beef! // Jun 12, 2008 at 2:13 pm
[...] my dad died from brain cancer and I suspect the worst. Which is why every time I see someone’s head pulsing blue, I get queasy. Posted by Gastropoda at 1:17 PM Labels: ad scams, [...]
3 jessiejean: i think its time to consider a landline // Jun 12, 2008 at 3:35 pm
[...] cell phones gang!!(Reply to this)(Thread) Re: nevermind…. grotzoro 2008-06-12 07:03 pm UTC (link) http://www.sogoodblog.com/2008/06/12/cellphone-popcorn-viral-video-creators-revealed-cardo-systems-b…Oh that internet…(Reply to [...]
4 Sakopetra Greek Portal // Jun 12, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[...] ôï éíôåñíåô http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erlJHn9C-xE http://www.youtube.com/user/bobtel08 http://www.sogoodblog.com/2008/06/12/cellphone-popcorn-viral-video-creators-revealed-cardo-systems-b…_________________Äå öôáéù åãù ðïõ åéìáé ðñïóôõ÷ï êáé ÷õäáéï! åôóé ìå öôéáîáíå Ôåëåõôáéá Blog [...]
5 Hanan Cohen // Jun 13, 2008 at 10:00 am
Badly played, Cardo Systems!
I run the Israeli/Hebrew equivalent of snopes.com
Those videos had spread even to Israel. People are really scared and have asked me if this is true.
Cardo is building on the fact that people are scared from technology in general and specifically from cellphone radiation.
Marketing, even gonzo marketing, should be socially responsible.
The spreading if those videos will not stop even when the makers are known and someone have written somewhere this is a hoax.
6 Eick // Jun 13, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Yep, you raise a very valid point about the “scare message” in these ads. Well played in a viral “attract eyes to my product” sense, perhaps not in the socially responsible sense.
7 guzman.tierno's Bookmarks on Delicious // Nov 26, 2008 at 3:04 pm
[...] Cellphone Popcorn Viral Video Creators Revealed: Cardo Systems Bluetooth Headsets | So Good SAVE A maker of bluetooth headsets has been revealed as the creators of the cellphone popcorn viral videos [...]
8 Cardosystems - Can Cellphones Make Popcorn? « New Media and Brands // May 6, 2009 at 12:26 pm
[...] the perception caused by such marketing campaigns may differ depending on the culture. In this blog one of the readers claims, that the videos have scared many people in [...]
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