3 PR and marketing lessons from CarMax’s answer to viral video
The used-car retailer recently used YouTube to grab its the spotlight after a filmmaker’s humorous attempt to sell his partner’s car made waves online.
What started as an idea to satirically advertise his girlfriend’s car turned into marketing gold.
On Nov. 2, Max Lanman posted a YouTube video advertising the 1996 Honda Accord that his then-girlfriend (now fiancée), Carrie Hollenbeck owned. Lanman used car commercials’ serious tone for his mock ad’s inspiration, and the video has racked up more than 5.95 million views:
A week later, CarMax responded with its own YouTube video, offering Hollenbeck $20,000 for her car—along with a few other items featured in the video:
Lanman reported that Hollenbeck took CarMax’s offer:
THANK YOU, INTERNET! After a wild couple of weeks, Carrie finally said her goodbyes to her beloved Greenie, the used 1996 Honda Accord. We had a small get-together with the team who put her on the map to celebrate the commercial and to send Greenie off in style. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/GU0hnEbgLv
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