Attention Brands: This is how you get me to like you.

Some haters are all up on the comments section of this video on youtube:

They are calling it out as a viral ad campaign from Nike (which–I would say is pretty likely, considering the nicely cropped zoom in shot of the cool shoes with the swoosh logo about 40 seconds in), which apparantly means it has no value.

Seriously?  So would you rather watch :30 second advertisements that tell you why you should buy a product?  Come on…none of us like slick sales pitches (as our friend at Naked Religion pointed out this morning), and I for one enjoy watching cool videos online.  If those cool videos happen to have been created and paid for by a brand, that will actually make me like that brand more!

Another example is this video which is rumored to be a Gatorade ad:

In this case, it seems doubtful that it’s a Gatorade ad–I don’t see any branding, links, or anything else that would lead me to believe it’s from them.  But even if it is, I don’t care.  I don’t care if it’s an ad for Schlitz Malt Liquor–I still think it’s awesome!  And next time I’m in the mood for a beverage, I would be more likely to reach for the brand that made this video than the one that didn’t.  Seriously.  I would.

It’s dangerous (or stupid?) to open up to comments on a blog that no one reads, but what do you think?  Do me a favor and link to some of your favorite viral videos ever in the comments–and you get bonus points if you can prove they were sponsored by a brand.