Thu, 20 Jan 2005
42 Below One Of Three Finalists In First Global Viral Awards
The cheeky 'Story of 42' mpeg has just been announced as one of only three finalists in the first global viral awards.
"The Viral Awards is a new event designed to showcase the best 'viral' and 'buzz' advertising from around the world. The
type of advertising is principally defined by the way in which the viral advert or brand message succeeds at instilling
advocacy amongst it's target group and is passed around from person to person without the need for interruptive or
'paid-for' media" explains Alex West, founder of the awards.
The awards were announced at a ceremony in London last week and there will be a repeat ceremony in New York on February
15th. It is rumoured 42 BELOW will be poured in a specially concocted viral cocktail on the night.
42 BELOW made the mpeg in their early days when advertising budgets were practically nil. Geoff Ross, Chief Vodka Bloke
explains "We took our inspiration from Ernest Rutherford , who once said "We had no money, so we had to think". We are
very proud of where 42 BELOW is produced (NZ), it's integral to the name of the product, so we wanted to create
something unique (and cheap) that told the story of where we come from in an entertaining way. The story made us laugh
so we sent it out to a few friends of 42 BELOW and it has now travelled around the globe".
The mpeg was created by Darryl Parsons and Simon Chesterman and is responsible for thousands of hits to the 42 BELOW
website every month www.42below.com . The mpeg has been passed from inbox to inbox around the world and has been used in international markets to warm new
customers to the brand.
The second mpeg to come out of 42 BELOW, simply titled 'gay', has just been listed on a UK based site that announces the
most frequently distributed viral stuff on the web www.boreme.com , in the viral ads section. The gay mpeg was also passed around the NZ team during the Olympics in Greece in 2004.
Geoff Ross was not able to comment on why this was the case and can only assume "laughter is a good warm up to any kind
of activity".
For more information on the viral awards visit :
ENDS