This industry has come so far so fast… There was a time when agencies were hired to make corporate videos–thankless yet important rah-rah efforts to be played at conventions and sales meetings. But with broadband, those videos gained a new distribution platform and the potential for remarkable brand content exploded.

Two years ago, Corning and their agency Doremus took advantage of that when they invested real imagination and considerable production dollars in a five and a half minute piece called “A Day Made of Glass.” Their premise was simple; what could the world look like if pretty much everything were made of touch screens featuring their proprietary Gorilla Glass?

Check view count  on that page: over twenty two million. Without slapstick. Or celebrity. Or exploding squirrels. This calm, hypnotic vision of a future world earned extensive media coverage from key outlets like Wired, Gizmodo, and the Huffington Post when it was released. In it’s first month, it registered 7.4 million views.

Since then, Corning released a follow up, the none-too-imaginatively-named “A Day Made of Glass 2.”  At 3.7 million hits, it hasn’t had the impact of the first piece, but those are still respectable numbers, particularly for a piece built around photovoltaic glass. Arguably, those watching this piece are more engaged, having seen the first and choosing to watch and learn more.

So far, there’s been no “A Day Made of Glass 3” in 2013, but with 109 videos posted to their corporate YouTube pages, Corning is committed to this platform. Any manufacturer can flood the market with cheap, low cost videos. It’s reassuring to see one committed to the power of ideas to spark imaginations and build brand affinity.

 
By Dennis Ryan, CCO, Olson

PS:  These would make such a great co-branding opportunity for Windex.