Digging in the Cache is a series where we go back in time to look at fun tidbits of Internet and computer history. Will It Blend? is up this week. If you’ve ever doubted that word of mouth marketing (viral marketing) could work for boring products like a blender, then Will It Blend? is proof that clever marketing can work for just about any product. Will It Blend? is a series of videos demonstrating a Blendtec blender attempting to blend various unusual items (iphones, glow sticks, golf balls, marbles, etc.) in order to show off the power of the blender. While the videos are fun and campy, they ultimately prove the strength of the blender (which is more expensive than many blenders you’d find at retail stores).
The videos are produced like a 1970’s era game show, complete with cheesy graphics, music and over-acting. At some point in the video, a subtitle appears letting viewers know whether blending this particular item at home is safe (videos on the site are divided in this manner as well). As the item is blending, host and Blendtec founder, Tom Dickson, smiles and waits for the process to finish, which often shows the blending action in slow-motion.
These videos, which started in 2006, quickly became popular with fans requesting more and more outrageous items to be blended. There also have been episodes which coincide with events like Super Bowls, or other Internet memes, like a recent episode parody of the Old Spice Man.
From a historical marketing perspective, the Will It Blend? videos really showed the power of word of mouth online, as well as how simple a video campaign can be.
Have you seen the Will It Blend? videos? Which one is your favorite?
If you have historical tidbits related to the Internet or computing that you’d like me to share in Digging in the Cache, please let me know.