“You don’t realize that avatars don’t usually smile until someone offers you one.” That is what Joni Rich said to me as she explained the “Colgate Smile” campaign in Second Life. It presents a much different view of the campaign than was described in this Massively entry. Perhaps, that is because Joni and her company is approaching things from a different perspective reflecting changes going on in marketing as well as one of the key components of what makes Second Life more than just a more immersive website.

The Massively article focused on the campaign in terms of a ‘site’, yet another destination on the Internet competing with all the other sites, and for that matter with the billboards along side the road, or the advertisements we endure on television. It is the old broadcast mentality. Put something where someone will notice it, and critique it on how well it stands on its own.

Yet marketers are thinking more these days about community and the give and take of advertising. If you want something from someone, you need to give them something that is of interest or importance to them. It builds interest and brand loyalty.

This is why Second Life has such great potential. Second Life is so much more than just another destination. It is a community. People interact. They chat. They transact business. They donate to causes, they give gifts, and what better gift is there, when you are building communities and friendships, than the gift of a smile.

It seems as if Joni understands both what is happening in Second Life and what is happening in marketing and is trying to bring them together in a creative new way. True, there is always room for improvement in the execution, but this was my first experience of a marketing effort by a major corporation in Second Life that seems to be approaching things in the right way.

True, the communities around the Second Life businesses seem to be getting this. I regularly chat with friends from various businesses in Second Life that I’m involved with, and one of my first reactions when I stumbled across the Colgate campaign was to chat with business friends about it.

I had not seen the article in Massively when a stranger offered me a folder entitled ‘Colgate Smile’. It was offered without any explanation, which didn’t really do a lot to build community. Needless to say, I’m very suspect of anything that I receive, without explanation, from a stranger in Second Life, so I IMed the ‘Buzz Agent’ to ask what it was all about. She explained that it was ‘just a smile with a free t shirt and pants’. We talked a little bit more. She said that the response was mostly positive, although she admitted to being ejected from one sim.

Joni spoke more about the experiences. She said that her Buzz Agents have been helping newbies learn how to teleport. Granted, it is helping them teleport to the Colgate site, but it is being helpful. She talked about trying to do good for the community and that brands give away things and provide value if they are going to interact with the residents.

What sort of experiences will the Buzz Agents have? How viral will this be? Will other campaigns learn from this? It will be interesting to watch what develops.