Mr. Griffin’s GoPro blunder

Classic ‘Dad’ moment or smart marketing move?

So, you get back from your dream holiday, looking forward to watching your video footage to relive your once in a lifetime trip. Then you realise your camera was pointing the wrong way. The whole time. Oh. This is what happened to Mr.Griffin on his holiday to Las Vegas.

But fear not, what could have been an average holiday video has now become a hilarious Internet hit – it’s only bloody ‘gone viral’ Mr.Griffin…or is that Mr.GoPro?! You see there is some doubt as to whether this is a genuine mistake or a well-orchestrated hoax. In a similar way that Ellen’s Oscars selfie was actually a plug for Samsung, could this have been dreamt up by GoPro’s digital marketing team to PR their products?

There is healthy debate on petapixel.com, with some calling out the brand on their plan to ‘pretend to do something wrong & funny & it goes viral’. The source of much speculation is that on most GoPro models there would either be a very obvious screen or a totally blank panel where Mr.Griffin was supposed to have thought there was a lens.

But what’s in it for GoPro? Plenty when you think about it.

Because although Mr.Griffin has misunderstood the technology, he still proves it is lightweight, delivers great quality images and sound and that you’re never too old to use a GoPro. Plus there’s the fact that ‘GoPro’ was trending and being searched for all over Google and YouTube. Add to that the follow up campaign about making sure you’re the star of your GoPro adventures and also new improved merchandise and kit to flog. Even other brands have seen the potential, with Specsavers referencing the video alongside their well-known campaign:

 

Whatever the reality, deep down we don’t want to be cynics. Deep down we so so want it to be a real blunder, not so that Mr.Griffin is a laughing stock, but because we all have our digital ‘moments’ too.