SolidWorks Premium Promo Tango

A new SolidWorks Premium promo clip on YouTube is turning heads -- quite literally.

Featuring a rundown gas station, an unsuspecting youth, and a pot of coffee that fuels an instant Tango routine, the ad has all the dramatic elements of primetime TV. The leads in the short clip look nothing like typical engineers (none that I personally know of anyway); they resemble cast members of teenage dramas like One Tree Hill or Gossip Girl.

At the dedicated site, SolidWorks presents a Flash-enabled cartoon explaning how SolidWorks Premium fits into your workflow. In fact, if you click on the little cubicle marked "The Boss," you'll be presented with a bullet list of arguments you can make to justify the software purchase (complete with an automatic email option marked "send this to my boss").

The marketing method is radically different, perhaps aimed at younger users. SolidWorks' CAD rival Autodesk also maintains a robust video channel on YouTube, populated with software tips and interviews with developers. In the last several years, the video-hosting site has become a destination for those offering and seeking CAD tutorials.

I can honestly say the new SolidWorks Premium promo clip has done what no other CAD advertisements have ever done for me. It makes me want to Tango.