HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

When I was considering a college for the first time, the procedure involved receiving glossing brochures, and if I had further interest, I would receive a catalog worthy of a door stopper. Alternately, I was sent a video of a mythical school where all the students sat on the lawn in groups of 3-5 at all times during the day while the camera panned around the campus. Of course, no one had their back to the camera ever.

Nowadays, Kettering University has its finger on the pulse of the social networking world and the Youtube generation by releasing the Stickman videos onto the web, where they are spreading virally. With the simple, yet hip animation, the videos are a clever hook to entice students to consider traveling to Flint, Michigan of all places. (I can joke about Flint as a native Michiganian or Michigander, whichever term you prefer.)

Little may one know when the webisodes first catch their eye, that Kettering was ranked #1 in US News Best Colleges for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. If the videos raise an eyebrow, the hard facts close the deal.

This Stickman and Stickchick episode caught my attention. The nod to playing “Star Wars” as a kid, plus many memories of using my mitten to explain where in Michigan I used to live put me in a nostalgic mood.

I have a feeling that Stickman is not just a gimmick or fad. I remember when a particular Auto Maker that I worked for at the time sent colorful brochures of trucks to children to start imprinting them with brand awareness at an early age. After all, kids like dump trucks. I bet that there will be eight year old out there who will get Kettering stuck somewhere in their mind upon seeing the cartoon and will think about studying mechanical engineering at the school in the next decade as well.

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