corporate viral marketing is retarded
Before I begin, a small bit of background. I've been working for a web development company for approaching three months now. The company was originally involved with print work but has since "defected" into web and new media, as the demand for print has dried up. The offices sit inside the building of an advertising agency on the top floor - we don't have much to do with them anymore but at one time, we were sort of "in-house" graphic designers for them. Times have since changed; they are struggling to make ends meat whilst our company has gone from strength to strength (presumably), cumulating in the fact we are moving out and into new premises in about six months time (they're still being built).
Everybody knows what viral marketing is - perhaps not by name, but no doubt you experience it several times daily. This is especially true if you're an avid user of the internet. The Sun (a trashy tabloid in the United Kingdom for those outside Europe) even prints viral e-mails, pictures and jokes within it's pages. More often than not the images have originated at 4chan, Fark, SomethingAwful, GenMay, Youtube, Albinoblacksheep (etc… etc…); if it's genuinely funny, people will pass it around, link it, and it will become a global phenomenon. Who can forget that epic video that accidentally catapulted Ghyslain Raza, aka the Star Wars Kid into international stardom? I can still remember the part where he steps on a bit of the cloth he has used to produce a "green screen", slipping over and whacking his makeshift Bo on the floor - and it still commands a smirk. The problem now, in the past six months, concerns the number of new media agencies attempting to "tap" into viral messaging on the internet, be it via e-mail, IM, or on community websites (the amount of YouTube spam is becoming ridiculous).
You can't bottle and sell what is funny. More often than not, you'll have ten stuffy workers sitting around a square conference table trying to thing up ideas. "Oh! A bear! A bear that eats a sandwich and then explodes!" announces one. The others look up from their papers. One worker, frowning, taps a pen against a clipboard with a blank sheet of paper. Another, next to him, coughs. The room is smoky and warm. "Nah. We can't do that." he replies dryly. "We'll have the RSPCA on our backs."
The "marketing" part of "viral marketing" is retarded. It just won't work. For something to be viral, it has to be offensive - and business has too much to lose by being offensive. Above is a video which I consider borderline viral. It isn't hilarious, but as a fan of Deal or No Deal, it's entertaining. And cringe-worthy. Poor Noel, man - I bet he bricked it. It makes you want to bite your fist. And that's viral! I want my mates to feel that awful feeling too, to experience that which you cannot bottle and sell. If it's funny, disgusting, offensive (especially if it's offensive AND topical), sexy (sex sells, more now than ever), scary (those fucking scream flash videos) or entertaining (an addictive flash game, for example) then you can bet your bottom dollar it'll be passed about. More often than not, it's made by John Doe in his spare time, with a video camera or with a pirated copy of Flash, or Photoshop. One guy behind a computer can get away with producing offensive material since the internet has no disclaimer, and they can stay relatively anonymous. As advertising agencies are companies, and companies can be held liable, they have to either brave it, make something offensive and be successful (and hope the backlash isn't too great) or just produce weak, lame, uninteresting (but unoffensive) wank. No surprises what next door came out with. An oozing bucket of wank: A guy, cross-eyed with five syringes stuck in his head isn't funny. It's fucking lame. It did make me cringe, but in a bad way; more because they seem hell-bent on committing commercial suicide. Wouldn't it be better to hire a solicitor and do something wild, rather than pussy-foot around and just fail? I think so.
I'm not claiming to be an expert, but it's common sense. I still find it amusing that the director of said company came up to me as I was making coffee, and started picking my brain for ideas. Yep, I'm 23 and you're 60-odd. Why not hire a young person? I don't work for you mate. Rant over.
Everybody knows what viral marketing is - perhaps not by name, but no doubt you experience it several times daily. This is especially true if you're an avid user of the internet. The Sun (a trashy tabloid in the United Kingdom for those outside Europe) even prints viral e-mails, pictures and jokes within it's pages. More often than not the images have originated at 4chan, Fark, SomethingAwful, GenMay, Youtube, Albinoblacksheep (etc… etc…); if it's genuinely funny, people will pass it around, link it, and it will become a global phenomenon. Who can forget that epic video that accidentally catapulted Ghyslain Raza, aka the Star Wars Kid into international stardom? I can still remember the part where he steps on a bit of the cloth he has used to produce a "green screen", slipping over and whacking his makeshift Bo on the floor - and it still commands a smirk. The problem now, in the past six months, concerns the number of new media agencies attempting to "tap" into viral messaging on the internet, be it via e-mail, IM, or on community websites (the amount of YouTube spam is becoming ridiculous).
You can't bottle and sell what is funny. More often than not, you'll have ten stuffy workers sitting around a square conference table trying to thing up ideas. "Oh! A bear! A bear that eats a sandwich and then explodes!" announces one. The others look up from their papers. One worker, frowning, taps a pen against a clipboard with a blank sheet of paper. Another, next to him, coughs. The room is smoky and warm. "Nah. We can't do that." he replies dryly. "We'll have the RSPCA on our backs."
The "marketing" part of "viral marketing" is retarded. It just won't work. For something to be viral, it has to be offensive - and business has too much to lose by being offensive. Above is a video which I consider borderline viral. It isn't hilarious, but as a fan of Deal or No Deal, it's entertaining. And cringe-worthy. Poor Noel, man - I bet he bricked it. It makes you want to bite your fist. And that's viral! I want my mates to feel that awful feeling too, to experience that which you cannot bottle and sell. If it's funny, disgusting, offensive (especially if it's offensive AND topical), sexy (sex sells, more now than ever), scary (those fucking scream flash videos) or entertaining (an addictive flash game, for example) then you can bet your bottom dollar it'll be passed about. More often than not, it's made by John Doe in his spare time, with a video camera or with a pirated copy of Flash, or Photoshop. One guy behind a computer can get away with producing offensive material since the internet has no disclaimer, and they can stay relatively anonymous. As advertising agencies are companies, and companies can be held liable, they have to either brave it, make something offensive and be successful (and hope the backlash isn't too great) or just produce weak, lame, uninteresting (but unoffensive) wank. No surprises what next door came out with. An oozing bucket of wank: A guy, cross-eyed with five syringes stuck in his head isn't funny. It's fucking lame. It did make me cringe, but in a bad way; more because they seem hell-bent on committing commercial suicide. Wouldn't it be better to hire a solicitor and do something wild, rather than pussy-foot around and just fail? I think so.
I'm not claiming to be an expert, but it's common sense. I still find it amusing that the director of said company came up to me as I was making coffee, and started picking my brain for ideas. Yep, I'm 23 and you're 60-odd. Why not hire a young person? I don't work for you mate. Rant over.
