Hasta La Creative!

A lot of brands have Webisode envy these days. I can understand why: Web videos can be way longer than those 15- or 30-second spots. I mean, with TV, people barely get a taste of your logo, and it’s over. Which is why companies like Johnson & Johnson and Holiday Inn Express have taken the plunge into longer-form storytelling. But do Webisodes really enhance a brand? Not always. Case in point: Ikea, a brand whose quirky persona has long appealed to twentysomethings in transition, is releasing its own mildly star-studded Web series titled “Easy to Assemble” on Sept. 22. Metacafe is previewing the show with some training videos. Since I am cursed with the ADHD endemic to the target market, I had a hard time making it through the first one, which has now been taken down (the basic premise was that Sweden is depressing). The current teaser shows Kevin Pollack greeting Ikea customers. I hope the Webisodes themselves are funnier—and not too long. It really is true: It’s not the length of your spot that matters, it’s how you use it.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers