At last month's Boards Summit, there was a lot of talk about how to utilize new media to get clients' messages across - particularly of how YouTube and its strength as a distribution channel has changed the rules of engagement.

Funny then, that at the same time as some of the industry's top minds were collected in the same space, PhilTube was quietly but rapidly growing into a perfect embodiment of what everyone was talking about.

PhilTube, for those who missed it, is a parody of YouTube and all of its clichéd trappings. Site star Phil McIntyre is seen in various video clips spitting out hackneyed phrases such as "content is king", "this is hot, let's get it on the site" and "hold all my calls, I'm too busy blogging". He also gives a wink and a nod to YouTube sensations lonelygirl15 and the Star Wars kid. In fact, Boards even gets a couple of namedrops, and we like that. Dripping with dry humor, knowing irony and some of the funniest fake hair this side of Halloween, the site captures the zeitgeist of the current online climate.

We love spoofs, but rarely does a spoof actually transcend its send-up stature to become its own bona fide success.

Created by digital agency Hart+Larsson for McIntyre's PGM Artists as a part of the company's sponsorship of the Boards Summit, philtube.com was intended to increase the presence of PGM and the companies it reps to a captive audience: Summit attendees. Instead, it's caught mainstream attention, garnering over 35,000 hits in the weeks following the Summit as well as media attention from sites like The Huffington Post. McIntyre also reports that he's been approached to expound on his tongue-in-cheek antics and create an online series based on the characters, and, he adds with some pride, "Apparently it's big in Germany". Indeed, a true sign of success.

All joking aside, PhilTube is a great example, albeit a small one, of how savvy clients and their agencies can capitalize on the interplay between traditional and emerging media, and how free and consumer-controlled online avenues can bring ideas to new levels.

You see, in the grand scheme of things, Phil spent very little on a traditional media buy: a sponsorship package at the Summit that gave him plasma screen presence, branded lanyards and a series of small print ads in our delegate book. From there, he worked with his client Hart+Larsson (who he credits with coming up with the entire idea) to create content to support that media buy and then he just let the netizens do the rest. He was able to reach his target and captive audience, and now is reaping the benefits of a whole new set of viewers.

In reality, it's hard to say whether this PhilTube thing will have legs beyond the current flash-in-the-pan excitement - the YouTube generation seems to have the attention span of a gnat and much of its content is very insider-y (while hilarious to those in the know, the humor of Phil turning down calls from Regina Ebel, Steve Humble, Diane Jackson and Donny Deutsch because he's too busy blogging is no doubt lost on the general populace).

Still, when sitting with Phil at the Summit, who'd have ever thought it would have grown to such engaging proportions when he turned to me and said, "Hey, have you seen my new site yet?"

Cheers,
Rae Ann Fera
Editor

P.S. - In the hectic lead up to the Summit, I failed to make a very important announcement last month. I'm pleased to write that after two years of hard work, immeasurable creativity and great friendship, Mark Pytlik has been promoted to Associate Editor. Congratulations Mark!