YouTube Annotations. Last year I said agencies & brands would really take advantage of them in 2010 and Mattel is the first big brand to utilise YouTube’s annotations technology in a major digital campaign this year. And this from Mattel hasn’t disappointed.
It’s the Hot Wheels Custom Motors Cup Challenge Campaign and it allows you to become the pit crew chief and race your car across 3 tracks to victory if you can customise your car with the right gear for the right track. It’s a pretty cool digital experience, and would be even better for kids, who I could see playing it again and again.
Although I would love to have seen a little more depth in the game (then again, it all comes down to budget!), this is a great example of digital brand engagement and with over 200,000 games played in the first few weeks since launch, it’s ontrack to be very successful and something I’m sure, will be used as a case study for other brands to follow this year.
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March 11th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Hi Aden,
we at Holler Sydney have used the YouTube overlays as a way to choose a path through an “Interactive Adventure” for Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds late last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3xfIMyaAnM
and also last year our brothers and sisters from Holler London launched the interactive tournament of Red Bull X fighters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNWdEou3JZ4
The latter was not scripted/shot for this purpose like the “Up The Trees” but putting a layer of interactivity on an existing amount of footage.
March 11th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Great, my son just saw what I was reading, now I’ll have a 7 year old nag fest until I give up my beloved laptop so he can scratch the hotwheels itch. I just cured him of his online lego building addiction!! On a serious note, we have used youtube for promotion videos for not only our branding, but also for attracting afiliates. Very powerful tool if used properly.
March 13th, 2010 at 12:59 am
A great little budget campaign.