Companies Should Enlist Creators of Ad Parodies

This YouTube parody (left) of a Ringo SkyPlayers ad for the Goal candy bar has had 215 views since it was uploaded by its 27 year-old creator this morning. It's excellent example of customer-created content that has fast become an online staple.

The original (right) is much more slick, but that's not the point.

Companies should be embracing the customer evangelists who spend their time and talent on parodies like these.

And above all else, companies should be monitoring what's being run about them and their products on YouTube, MetaCafe, MySpace and all the other channels open to their customers. Ignore them at your own peril

UPDATE: Steve Hall at adrants has an example of Paramount Pictures stupidly crushing bloggers' enthusiasm for an upcoming film, which I will not name because it doesn't deserve free publicity. Hall says:

"Clearly Paramount is living in a world long past and does not appreciate the tremendous benefit and free publicity the distributor can garner through blogs and social media."