Gillette released this video on YouTube and it had over a million views within a month:

Li’l old micro biz owner ME did a similar (playful) experiment last year: a cheeky, sexy video combining pin-ups with a pitch for my flavored agave nectar Brand AGASWEET and the website address. Without any promo whatsoever, my video garnered over a quarter-million views to this date:

How To Shave Your Groin. Or, How To Sweeten Healthfully. Sex Sells?

Of course, no sales came from this clip. My visitors were attracted to the cleavage and couldn’t care less about my fabulously healthy, natural sweetener. It didn’t matter to me – I just wanted to play.

My budget for this project? 30 minutes of my time.

I’m wondering about Gillette’s strategy. How do they figure their ROI from this costly campaign? Is it all about initial brand recognition and info on the existence of their product? Do people run out and buy after seeing this cute video? What percentage of this clip’s viewers represents potential customers?

I’m really curious about this because I’m sure Gillette employs smart Marketing folks.

Do you have any insights?