There were no restrictions or regulations on brand integration in this video; rather, we ourselves purposely limited the branding in order to perpetuate its viral nature. If people knew, it was from Gillette they wouldn’t pay attention. However, without branding, the debate began as to whether it was real or not - the currency of the Internet. Ultimately, there were enough clues that Gillette got credit in spades - the featured baseball player, Evan Longoria, was a Gillette spokesperson, subtle signage in the ballpark, word of mouth, etc. Rather than ignoring the brand’s role, people spread the word that Gillette was behind it, which ultimately fuelled its viral nature.

Gillette wanted to honor its prominent U.S. athlete/spokesperson, baseball Legend Derek Jeter, on achieving his historic 3,000th hit (the first New York Yankee player ever to do so). And, at the same time, Gillette wanted to reward its customers (and increase their Facebook friends) by giving them an opportunity to personally congratulate Derek themselves.Gillette wanted to do something big, so they created a huge congratulatory card in New York’s Grand Central Train Station for thousands to sign. At the same time, fans all over the world were able to go to Gillette’s Facebook page and write personal messages in their own handwriting on their iPhones, iPads and computers. They were then able to watch their messages go up on the card.

Huge response online: 8½m hits on YouTube; 11,000 ‘likes’; loads of consumer video responses; coverage in BuzzFeed, Mashable, Huffington, Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports. There was also traditional media coverage on Good Morning America, The Today Show, ESPN, Fox News, YES, NBC News, and even Comedy Central - tens of millions of impressions for almost no cost. In addition, each time Gillette got credit without ever asking for it.