T-Mobile is on a roll. The cellular-network company that gave us the most-watched flashmob YouTube video ever (the dance at Liverpool Street Station) and the brilliant “welcome back” follow-up at London’s Heathrow airport now delivers this — giant, three-dimensional Angry Birds.
The targeted-for-viralness vids are the sharp tools for the company’s “Life is for Sharing” marketing strategy. And even if the campaign hasn’t vaulted T-Mobile to the top of the cellular-service heap, it’s certainly generated plenty of buzz.
This latest video was set up in early May in Barcelona. There’s no flashmob this time. Instead, a contraption mimicking the popular cellphone game is set up in a public square. A few curious folks weigh in and, via the magic of extensive editing and a brass band that appears out of nowhere, we soon have a rollicking crowd watching the beachball-like fowl crash into exploding pigs.
(The giant scale and light whimsy of the Angry Birds setup is a big improvement over a similar marketing gimmick, the Coca-Cola Happiness Machines, which we found to be more than a little creepy.)
And notice that in this video, along with its predecessors, people are seen taking photos and video with their cameras. T-Mobile lets us enjoy the show, but makes sure the point is driven home.