Dear VICE, you’re doing it right

We’re domain nerds. We say that affectionately but it’s true. We always do a double take when we discover domains in the wild and then pass it along with mild commentary.

Here’s an example from our Instagram account.

Look at that beautiful domain name just doing its thing.

This gets a thumbs up. It’s a solid way for Burgermeister to educate their customers about their website’s .BERLIN domain ending without being overly intrusive. It’s really fun when we see companies taking advantage of New Domains in their marketing efforts, particularly when printed offline.

Here’s another example of domain name usage from an airline magazine—but it looks like they could take a page from Burgermeister’s book. When we see this we facepalm and ask, why? Why would you spend huge amounts of money on a print ad only to list a domain name that only someone with a photographic memory would be able to recall down the line?

The answer is no. No I will not write this down, no I will not remember it, and no I will not visit the online listing.

It’s true that we get jazzed when seeing sexy domain names in the wild, but what really makes us happy is when we see stellar new domain usage. Domains are constantly overlooked and rarely celebrated for all their glory and functionality. So when we see beautifully executed campaigns that use domains to their full potential, like the one below via VICE, it nearly brings us to tears.

Imagine, you’re sitting on an airplane and you see this commercial during the in-air entertainment:

What is this guy eating? What is up with his teeth? Is he high? Am I high? What is Munchies? So naturally I visit munchies.tv. That, I can remember. I know there’s probably going to be a video, what with the .TV tacked on at the end, so I’m interested. When I type in “munchies.tv” something magical happens—I am redirected to http://munchies.vice.com/en/.

Would I have ever remembered “munchies.vice.com/en”? No.

This ad did precisely what VICE set out to do. It sparked my curiosity and gave me just the right amount of information needed to get me to where they wanted me to go: A subcategory of their main site where I’m obviously scrolling through and getting sucked in by other articles like this one.

‘Atta girl.

You’ve won me over, VICE. I am engaging with your content. Ad well done.

#domainsarecool #whydontpeoplegetit #ihavethemunchies