Nissan YouTube Slam Dunk Contest

I've just been exploring the YouTube Slam Dunk Contest. It's one of the many YouTube placement driven campaigns I've seen lately. And an example of the "go big" online ads that Ashley was discussing. You can't help but notice these things when they're plastered across YouTube. I don't wanna rag on Nissan. The dunks are certainly cool. And sometimes there's a place for sponsored content - pure and simple. But when I heard "YouTube Slam Dunk Contest" I got excited. Perfect opportunity for harvesting all that negative YouTube comment energy and turning it to something good. Maybe an online 'Yo Mama' taunting contest? Or experimenting with some interactive video perhaps? But, no. Nissan has thrown a totally unrelated TV spot and banner ad up on the page, found a "grunge" typeface from DaFont.com, and are now waiting for user views and the car industry resurgence to roll in. I'm not exactly sure where the Nissan Z sits compared to other models in terms of demographic. But wouldn't AND1, or Red Bull or something be more appropriate for this? There's not even a tenuous slam dunk related pun used in any of the language. Here's the TV ad from the YouTube Channel. It seems like they've tried to find the most irrelevant spot they had on file and upload it as part of the campaign. AND they've disallowed comments. Why "do" social media if you're not willing to hear what people say? Out of all the videos on the campaign channel, it has the least amount of views (3000). I don't know what the benchmarks are, but if the main ad on your SPONSORED YouTube channel is pulling only that many viewers, then you're doing it wrong. Just to give it some comparison, this video of a cat falling over has more than twice as many views as the Nissan spot: So, what's the deal Nissan? No wonder the auto industry is in the crapper. YOU'RE NOT EVEN GIVING AWAY A NISSAN TO THE WINNER. You're offering them the dubious title of : Which sounds more like an awesome playground taunt than anything young dunkers would want to lay claim to. This seems like a perfect example of where a more experimental approach to online would've worked better. Lots of little, diverse digital efforts spread out over the year. Rather than spending one big chunk on a single crappy media buy. Lame. I want my click back Nissan.