Yahoo announced today [Oct. 13] it has launched a global online yodel search as part of its global $100 million “It’s Y!ou” brand campaign that debuted last month. Yahoo EVP and CMO Elisa Steele said, in a statement, “It’s essentially a unique form of user generated content that honors the millions of people who visit Yahoo every day.”
Between now and November 8, people can create and submit their own yodel at http://yodelstudio.yahoo.com. Yahoo is also hosting live recording events today in NY and London, and tomorrow in Mumbai with celebrities and musicians on hand to coach would-be yodelers.
Here in New York, Times Square’s Military Island will be turned into a makeshift recording studio, with record-your-own yodel kiosks peppered throughout Times Square.
The winning yodelers will be featured in Yahoo’s new global ad campaign and on the Yahoo home page. Based on the number of times an entry is viewed, top yodels will go gold and one submission each will go platinum in the US, UK and India. Social media tools will enable yodelers to generate awareness for their yodels.
Winners will be named the week of November 16.
It isn’t clear from the corporate announcement whether the original Yahoo yodeler, Wylie Gustafson, will be on hand for coaching, but there’s plenty of YouTube instruction on how to yodel for aspiring contestants, including a 2-minute video of the man himself teaching the basics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r9db9vr94g.
