Branding

Consumers take control of brands on social media with ‘mutant ads’

Sites such as YouTube host videos that often reveal public perception — good or bad

By LAURA KANE
Vancouver Sun May 12, 2011

The commercial is a fake, part of a growing trend of “mutant ads,” or mock ads created by consumers and posted on social media channels, according to a recent Simon Fraser University study.

An international group of researchers, including Leyland Pitt and Michael Parent of SFU’s Beedie School of Business, examined four examples of mutant ads posted on YouTube to determine how consumers are transforming brands — whether companies like it or not.

Consumers+take+control+brands+social+media+with+mutant/4767854/story.html#ixzz1MLdZwFyP
sample videos here also