-By Brian MorrisseyNEW YORK Sanyo Fisher is promoting its new digital camera by hiring the crème de la crème of YouTube video creators.Eight top YouTube creators made videos with the help of branded content firm Madison Road Entertainment. Each video was shot using -- and also features -- the Sanyo Dual Camera Xacti and shows off some of the high-definition device's attributes.
For example, iJustine sings tips for becoming a video blogger. She holds up a Sanyo camera throughout much of the nearly two-minute clip. The vignette uses both still images and video, one of the Xacti's selling points. The video ends with a message that a Sanyo Xacti HD was used.
Lisa Nova, in "Affirmation Girl: Fantasy Pool Date," goes over the features of the camera, including its zooming capabilities, in a comedic sketch. A fantasy sequence shows how the camera can record underwater. YouTube duo Rhett and Link also hit on this product feature in a video yet to be released, gathering a group of fellow YouTube stars for a pool party in "Phat Dipping."
"These cameras allow people to be more creative," said Tom Van Voy, vp of audio visual products sales of Sanyo. "We're reaching a part of the community that can fully utilize the capabilities the camera can offer."
Sanyo is pairing the video promotions with a YouTube overly ad campaign that alerts viewers that the Xacti was used in the videos.
Sanyo hopes the campaign will reach a new category in the camera market: young consumers with a creative bent. Video cameras, once the preserve of families documenting special events, have gotten into the hands of many more consumers, who are using them for different purposes, said Van Voy.
"The community we're serving is changing and evolving," he said. Sanyo is not the first advertiser to tap YouTube stars. Tay Zonday, the creator of the viral hit "Chocolate Rain," sang in a Dr Pepper ad. He also makes an appearance in the Rhett and Link video.
Such moves could prompt accusations the YouTube stars are "selling out." A few commenters on iJustine's YouTube page made that argument, although they remained an overwhelming minority among the 1,700-plus opinions. Since releasing "How to be a video blogger" last Tuesday, the clip has been viewed nearly 200,000 times. Lisa Nova's video has been viewed 1.3 million times in less than a week. It has also drawn only a smattering of negative comments for the integration.
"There always needs to be a balance," said Van Voy. "I think [the YouTube artists] do a good job in a clever way."
Other YouTube stars participating in the campaign include Barack Obama impersonator AlphaCat, Mr. Safety, Brandon Hardesty and ApprenticeA. Sanyo gathered the artists in Los Angeles for instruction from Madison Road and to shoot a joint underwater video that will be released on YouTube.
The campaign includes a "Fifteen Seconds of Fame" contest for viewers to submit their own videos. The YouTube stars will be paid, in part, based on how many views their clips get on video-sharing site. The participating artists are promoting the contest on their YouTube channels.
Integrations are only as valuable as the number of people who see them, said Jak Severson, managing partner of Madison Road. "We've contracted with artists to give them every incentive [to make sure] the numbers are big. These artists are masters of promotion," he said.
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