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Major Marketers Love YouTube

Nike, Warner Bros., MTV2 and Dimension Films are just a few of the big-name marketers that have begun to advertise on YouTube.com, the hot new property that allows people to post and share their homemade videos, USA Today writes. Those advertisers can easily upload short commercial clips, such one of a major soccer star wearing a pair of new Nikes.

The Nike clip garnered a nice bit of word-of-mouth, and consumers began emailing the video to friends and embedding it in their profiles on social network sites. To date, it has been viewed more than 3 million times. And, the only cost to the advertiser was that of making the digital video. Uploading it was free.

But some advertisers are seeking more formal arrangements, hoping for featured content. E Networks and YouTube, for example, have struck a deal for YouTube to feature certain E program clips.

When YouTube formally launched in December, users watched 3 million videos daily. Today that number stands at about 40 million.

JibJab, however - which has just launched a site called JokeBox, allowing users to upload jokes, photos and videos - is poised to make its mark on the social networking world and perhaps to make a run at YouTube. JibJab has had a web presence since 1999 and has established credentials in satirical animated shorts such as “This Land,” which landed 70 million clicks during the 2004 presidential election, according to Mediapost.