Brand: Sony, Elvis Presley
Execution: Online Viral
Target: Potential Buyers for “Elvis Presley Christmas Duets”
Rating: ****
Reviewer: David Vinjamuri

Description:
The Sony album “Elvis Presley Christmas Duets” pairs Elvis with Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood and others on some of his Christmas classics like “Blue Christmas.”   To promote the album release (which has already put Elvis on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the first time in a decade),  Sony is giving fans a chance to record a duet with Elvis and send it to friends and family as an e-card.  Sing With The King allows fans to either record their own voice or send the Martina McBride “Blue Christmas” duet with Elvis as a less painful alternative.

What Works:
Sing with the King is a clever extension of a time-honored holiday tradition of cute send-alongs (dancing elves, anyone?) by Sony.  From the brand manager’s perspective both this album and this promotion remind us of the enduring value of iconic brands like Elvis and how easy it is to renew them when it’s done with taste.  The promotion is simple and well-executed.  This advertising blog expects it to be among the top-10 virals this holiday season.

What Doesn’t:
Given our enduring fascination with YouTube and the success of American Idol, it is more than a little surprising that Sony hasn’t launched a “Sing with the King” contest or challenge.  As with Idol, the losers would undoubtedly be more appealing than the winners.

Branding Bottom Line:
The holiday is with us for just a moment, but The King lives on …

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 10:54 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.