YouTube Fan Creates New iPod Touch Commercial

Thank goodness for DVRs because most commercials today are boring. Traditional advertising firms tend to follow the same model over and over until someone takes a risk, and turns the advertising world upside down. Then eventually, the new method gets played out and we're back to zapping through commercials. We even hack our TiVo to fast-forward through them faster.

So what will it take to get consumers to watch TV ads? The good news is marketing firms are thinking outside the box, and scouting places like YouTube for new talent. Not just on-camera talent, but video producing talent. Last year, GM sponsored the Chevrolet Super Bowl College Ad Challenge, and enlisted help from the YouTube generation to create this year's mega-expensive Super Bowl ads. I watched the ads, and although they were exciting, they really didn't have the "wow" factor. That's just my opinion.

One ad that definitely has the "wow" factor was created by a young YouTube fan and Apple devotee named Nick Haley. Haley is an 18-year-old English student who produced his own iPod Touch video for fun, loaded it up to YouTube, then got a call from the big wigs at Apple who liked what they saw. Apple's advertising agency TBWA contacted Nick, and both immediately got to work on a more polished high-definition version.

Haley tells the New York Times he was inspired to make the video by a lyric in the catchy song "Music is My Hot, Hot Sex" by Brazilian band CSS. The rest is history, really. The new commercial will begin to air this Sunday afternoon during the football games and "Desperate Housewives."

You know, this all reminds me of the conversation I had with actor/video producer A.J. Buckley who had this advice for young video producers: "Go for it. Don't be afraid. The greatest thing about young and up-and-coming producers and filmmakers, is you're the studio." Really kids, it's your generation, and for the first time you get to decide what you want to see on the screen. Truly amazing.

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