One of my favorite things about the holiday season (which even I admit is obnoxiously upon us earlier than usual this year) is all of the fun viral computer holiday activity. Not since Elf Bowling in 1999 have I had as much fun with ANYTHING holiday related as I had last year with OfficeMax’s ElfYourself.
The concept behind ElfYourself is simple- last year you were given 4 elfs… you then uploaded 4 photos of your family onto the elf faces, wherein you “Elfed Yourselves” and watched your family and friends dance around like silly elf fools. Most then sent the dancing elves to their friends and families and it had a downright viral effect. In fact, According to TechCrunch, ElfYourself had just as much traffic last Christmas as Facebook!!!
I took a spin on the newly released site this morning and elfed myself anew for 2008 (as you can see above), and noted a few awesome things.
- OfficeMax has partnered with JibJab.com. For those not familiar with JibJab, they started with amazing interactive political satire animations such as “presidential raps” (Capital Ill) and the Happy Birthday “Fart Waffle.“ I have been a fan of JibJab for years now. As the immature person I am, the Happy Birthday Fart Waffle kept me coming back for more, and I assume ElfYourself will have the same effect on many more.
- ElfYourself is improved this year! JibJab has added:
- Three new dances!
- An extra elf!
- The ability to embed your video onto your blog!
- And of course, purchasing power. I know I want my elfish face on a mug. Don’t you?
We’ll see if ElfYourself can have the same viral effect two years in a row. But one thing is for certain: The holidays are upon us early, like it or not. And I plan on embracing the viral zaniness that comes with the season.
(Feel free to share your elf-ed selves via the comments, or with your friends!)
nooooooo…..the elf yourself is back!!!
Read your article. Here’s another cool one
http://www.madeupmemories.com/?mId=29040822
also free
I created an elfyourself video and gave the required information to pay. $4.99 was deducted from my account but I never received the video in my e-mail. Conf. # 245625. Who can assist me with either having my account credited or sending me my video. I’ve tried so many sited but can’t seem to get help.
Georgeanne: I am not affiliated with JibJab or Office Max, so I can’t assist you. I do know that I was never asked for payment information of any kind, so this whole transaction seems odd to me.
Good luck to you!