Discovery Channel’s infamous Shark Week is in its 26th season and taking a serious bite out of ratings. To kick things off, “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives” opened the new season and drew in an estimated 4.8 million viewers. Though this particular program received a heated response from viewers, the buzz around this season’s Shark Week has been bigger than ever.
Who’s benefiting from all the buzz? Discovery Channel and its many advertisers, that’s who. Here’s a look at some of the best “Shark Week” ads from this season:
Discovery Channel’s own “Snuffy the Seal” promotional commercial raised some brows. Many found the commercial insensitive, the rest of us just think it’s downright funny.
Volkswagen was the presenting sponsor for the second year in row and opted for a creative Vine video to promote their Beetle Convertible. We like the cartoonish appeal and humorous sound effects.
Tide also captured a lot of attention with their viral Vine video and memorable caption “We get out blood, too.” We have to hand it to all of these major brands taking full advantage of the power of social media and video, they’re speaking our language.
Given that Shark Week is truly about ocean and marine species conservation, let’s not forget about the contributions of popular footwear giant TOMS. They developed their own special edition line that donates $5 per purchase to Oceana, an ocean conservation organization.
What do you think of this season’s “Shark Week” ads? Worth the buzz or not?
Image courtesy of pixbox77 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
