Diary: Agency.com's debut on YouTube is 'inspirational'

Campaign 11-Aug-06

In a bid to show how cutting-edge it is, the US arm of the interactive agency Agency.com has made a video of its pitch for the Subway account and posted it on YouTube (youtube.com/watch?v=d8eV6O uC8Oo).

The result is nine minutes and 22 seconds long. There are some good
bits: the business development director's face as he explains he's "a
bit worried about seeding a viral video before our clients even see it"

is a classic. But for the most part, it's toe-curling.

On the plus side, the agency has at least achieved its aim of creating
something truly viral - on one day last week, Diary received no fewer
than seven e-mails about the video.

And it has even moved a few YouTubers to respond. The best of a series
of "remixes" on the site is a minute-long video called Douchebag
Mountain - a set of clips from the original, featuring men from the
agency slapping each other on the back, plus artistic shots of Subway
rolls being made, to the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack.

But the best of the take-offs comes from an agency called Coudal
Partners (www.coudal.com/unsolicited.php). This is a pseudo-serious
attempt by Jim Coudal, the agency's executive creative director, to get
on the pitchlist. However, the video ends when he samples some
sandwiches. "This fucking sucks," he says. "People buy this stuff? The
bread is like sawdust. Errgh, Jesus."