Freeinternet.com “Bob” Campaign

            One of the first campaigns we created at Siltanen & Partners was for a free internet service provider called Freeinternet.com.  Our objective was to get as many people as possible to visit their website and sign up for their service.  But there were many competitors in the space and most had much heftier ad budgets.    
            We helped the client break through the clutter and gain immediate popularity by creating “Bob”—an amazingly gifted talking baby who served as a captivating spokesman for the company.  We used Bob in television commercials to drive people to the website then we produced further buzz by creating exclusive creative content on the site that included five-minute celebrity interviews conducted by Bob.  This utilization of the internet for extended creative content was the first of its kind and it came nearly two years before the highly touted BMW Films campaign. 
            The Bob campaign became such a hit that Freeinternet.com got nearly 20,000 new subscribers per day and millions of dollars in free publicity from television shows wanting to know how the commercials were made.  In fact, Bob became so popular he became a show himself.  In 2002, CBS created a prime-time sitcom based on the character called “Baby Bob”.  The show finished the year as one of the highest rated shows in America—ahead of The Simpsons, The Drew Carey Show and NYPD Blue.
(To play commercial, click on image)