Newsweek: Marketing: Flogging on a Blog

Marketers at Dr Pepper see the movement as the perfect launch point for a ìgrass rootsî campaign for a new ìmilk-based product with an attitude,î Raging Cow. The first step is an in-house blog (ragingcow.com); it tells the fictional backstory of the drink, which rolls out in April in flavors like Chocolate Insanity and Pina Colada Chaos.

Next comes a blog-related twist on viral marketingórecruiting ìkey influence bloggersî to promote Raging Cow by sharing their enthusiasm, linking to the site and distributing special screensavers, banners and skins. Beginning with an initial group of six people in their late teens and early 20sóflown to Dallas with their parents for an induction sessionóDr Pepper hopes to develop a ìblogging networkî to hype Raging Cow and ìbe part of the ëin the knowí crowd.'

Yawn! Aging in-house marketing teams should be banned from trying to be hip. This is a clueless campaign for so many reasons. Worse, it is generations behind the latest thinking in buzz marketing.

Update: A detailed explanation to what and who are behind this stunt.

Update: Faux-rilla Media (Glen Reynolds laughing at the idea)

This isn't a case of conniving corporate criminality. It's a case of crude corporate cluelessness.