Swear Jars Edit
Budweiser Viral Banned from TV, Flourishing on Web

Budweiser’s “Swear Jar” ads were so inappropriate, they never made the cut for TV. On the web, however, the ads flourished. Even thought Anheuser Busch brand was barely mentioned, neither visually nor verbally, the video spot created such commotion everyone remember who was behind it.

At time of posting, the video, which is full of beeped out swears, had 2,878,303 views since it was uploaded on May 31, 2007. It was favorited 16,441 times and received 1,802 comments.

What’s interested is that it’s already been a year since it officially launched, yet the Swear Jar ads are firing up buzz in news yet again, resurfacing as ad agencies examine the keys to a successful viral marketing campaign.

As soon as those secrets are unlocked, the internet is a marketer’s oyster. Airing a video on YouTube costs nothing compared to the multi-millions companies like Budweiser spend on TV commercials, and if the ad sparks the right type of curiosity, it can draw in a much larger audience. Not only that, the ads continue to circulate months, even years after, as demonstrated by the Swear Jar ads, compared to TV spots that only run for a short time.