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July 9, 2008 4:59:20 AM CDT

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Laughing Tots Make TV Debut

Posted Dec 31, 07 5:34 PM CST in Business,  Technology,  Arts & Living    Editor's Choice

(Newser) – Babies with belly-laughs are the darlings of YouTube—one video has been seen by more than 35 million viewers—and now AIG is deploying them to sell financial instruments. Slate finds the AIG giggling-baby campaign instructive of what works and what doesn't in adapting YouTube videos to TV. For one thing, the ad co-opts a whole genre, not a single beloved video—which risks backlash.

And the low-key spot's message isn't  gratuitous: “Laughter can add 8 years to your life. So live longer, retire stronger." Other videos that haven't fared so well include BMW’s ad showing two kids freaking out about their new Nintendo 64; because the video had climbed YouTube's most-viewed list before BMW bought it, "the clip was already such a prominent brand that the commercial couldn't override it."

Source Slate

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Videos of laughing babies are attracting millions of viewers on YouTube, and ad executives are taking notice.   (Shutter Stock)
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play
haha baby   (pioneer0106 (YouTube))
AIG Laughing Baby Jack Commercial   (kklein22 (YouTube))
Kids in BMW Holiday Commercial   (N64kids (YouTube))

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