Well, as far as producing entertaining, original content goes, it looks like Cadbury has provided the latest example in the video above. As Mitch Joel's own stream of conscious illustrates:

This is one of the first indications I've seen that Boliao is making its way into the English culture. If you're not clear on what Boliao is, check out my Blog posting on it here: Boliao - A New Movement In Digital Marketing. Doug was questioning the rationale of the creative, and whether or not anyone would be able to make the connection between the Phil Collins-esque gorilla back to Cadbury Dairy Milk. I would be lying if I didn't think the same thing... the first time I saw it.

Then, I put on my Marketing cap that doesn't have the decades of being jaded, and realized that Cadbury is pushing limits, changing the tempo and trying stuff. You know, stuff like having a gorilla playing the Phil Collins hit, 'In The Air Tonight'.

Like the the Dove Evolution and Tea Partay videos this Cadbury clip is using a familiar piece of pop-culture to help the audience identify with the brand behind its production. In the case of Dove, they revealed the process behind our culture's air-brush standard of beauty to schmooze consumers. Similarly, Smirnoff tried (and failed) to use the suburbanization of hip-hop culture to entertain college-aged kids and, thereby, coax them into identifying with their brand.

In the case of Cadbury, they have a much broader potential market to appeal to than Dove (beauty products) or Smirnoff (18-21 and over). Consequently, they've chosen two things to help just about any Western consumer identify with their brand: (1) an all-time-famous pop-music hit; and (2) a genetically related animal that is nothing short of endearing whenever it does anything even closely relating mundane human activity -- recall the cigar smoking, roller-skating chimps.

Now, Mitch seems to positing is that this kind of content is targeted at a group of people who are, literally, watching (and creating) nonsense. What's really happening, however, is that the MTV generations are coming of age. These are the first generations to have been exposed to fully multi-media marketing campaigns (radio, TV, billboard, and print) from day one. Like Mitch, we're jaded and desensitized from over-exposure to marketing campaigns, but accept them as a natural part of our cultural landscape.

Consequently, anything that marketers do that is remotely original is something that we revel in. After all, marketing is part of our culture, so in our eyes, original campaigns gimmicks are virtually on par with great works of art. When we see them, then, we can't help but want to share them -- and help them spread virally.

Interestingly enough, anything that can get pass our disenchantment with a multi-media consumer culture is considered original. If you entertain us, though, you soften us up and put us in a good mood. When you do that, we're less prone to feeling of bitterness and ennui. So when we find out that some little piece of entertainment was underwritten and produces by some brand, suddenly we feel enthusiastic about that brand. And like any piece of art that we feel enthusiastic about, we want to share it with other -- and so it goes viral.