This is partly, I suppose, because effective PR has ensured this online comedy series has reached critical mass in terms of its significance to media punditry, but more importantly, because to some degree it offers a glimpse into the future of advertising.
It is funny? Is it confusing? Is it contagious? You decide. The main thing for me is that it is. It's not on paper. It's not in a focus group. It's out there. And in the fullness of time I predict it will be seen as what most of us have been waiting for. Sure, there are many other examples of corporate content, but none as wholehearted as this and none from a company, with all due respect, as unsexy as Ford.
Whatever the creative and economic verdicts on Wherearethejoneses.com, its legacy will likely be that of a pioneer that helped us escape from the usual restrictions we place on ourselves and our thinking, based on years of knowledge of 'how things work'.
Does Ford have total confidence in this project? Probably not. Is it nervous about creating an ever-changing communications stream that transfers ownership and authorship to viewers? Almost certainly, but well done to it! That's the kind of forward-thinking, risk-taking client we all need more of.
Website: Imagination.
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