Starburst advertises through series of YouTube episodes

MCLEAN, Va. Starburst has taken online advertising to a whole new level with its animated, YouTube “Nite Fite” series. The candy company released Tuesday an election-themed episode that was placed in the top upper right hand ad position on the YouTube site.

“Nite Fite” portrays two, animated, middle-aged men named Penalty and Lloyd who debate a different—usually comical and insignificant—issue each episode and relay a promotional Starburst message. Starburst purchased the campaign from Web video production firm Next New Networks. The election night release marked the 17th episode to be distributed on YouTube, and the series boasts 2.5 million views.

Though “Nite Fite” is also available through AOL, Veoh, iTunes and other Web video outlets, YouTube is responsible for 50 percent of each episode’s views. The Oct. 6 episode, “TV is Crap!,” generated 500,000 views and made No.1 on YouTube’s daily list of the most popular videos.