Now what do you think the purpose of that was? Do you think it has a purpose? Most of the people I've met think it does not. (If you watch the credits, it's obvious but the way it's structured, with commentary from the people who watched it tacked on the to the end of the thing itself, most people don't watch it all the way to the end.)
If you were one of those people, you should know this is an ad for Trident's latest product, a layered fruit gum that comes in flavors like pineapple/granny smith apple. If you thought that was a fun, spontaneous moment in a supermarket, you were supposed to think that but you were wrong. (Just like you were supposed to think Ikea Heights was a spontaneous theatre project.)
I'm not saying the ad is bad or wrong or even that the approach is wrong, I'm just saying, we need to be aware of the difference between advertising and "spontaneous creativity."
I suppose it could be argued that all art has an agenda but not all art is designed to provoke a smile and hopefully a purchase once you reach the checkout. That is the realm of commercial art, propaganda and public persuasion.
More importantly, art isn't so ashamed of its agenda that it tries to conceal it. Neither is it so determined to play on your sense of happy coincidence and personal enchantment.
So, should we start making art that persuades while pretending to merely amuse? Or should we maybe be aware of who writes the score, directs the video, pays the singer and ultimately cashes the check?
I suppose it could be argued that all art has an agenda but not all art is designed to provoke a smile and hopefully a purchase once you reach the checkout. That is the realm of commercial art, propaganda and public persuasion.
More importantly, art isn't so ashamed of its agenda that it tries to conceal it. Neither is it so determined to play on your sense of happy coincidence and personal enchantment.
So, should we start making art that persuades while pretending to merely amuse? Or should we maybe be aware of who writes the score, directs the video, pays the singer and ultimately cashes the check?
and just in case you wondered if I'm being a paranoid spoilsport....
this is an excerpt from the FAQ section of Improv Everywhere's website:
"I work for a brand / marketing firm / advertising agency, can we hire you?
Maybe. We do not stage official Improv Everywhere missions that advertise a brand. However, we have in the past worked with companies as creative consultants helping to develop campaigns and as video producers creating content for a brand. We have also staged pranks at internal meetings and conventions for corporate clients. We do this work independent of Improv Everywhere, and will not use this site or its resources to promote it.
We also take on sponsorship from time to time. If a company wants to hire us to simply do a mission we already want to do (with their brand having nothing to do with the content,) we would consider sponsorship. We think this video is a good example of a brand sponsoring a project.
Why would you ever work with a brand? Isn’t that against the spirit of IE?
Taking on occasional corporate gigs helps us continue to do what we do. Doing a small amount of corporate work (while keeping it separate from Improv Everywhere,) allows us to pay our New York City rents and fund future Improv Everywhere events. In terms of taking on a sponsor, we see it as no different than a television show being supported by commercials. So long as our content is not influenced by the sponsor, we think it is a smart way to fund our work."
this is an excerpt from the FAQ section of Improv Everywhere's website:
"I work for a brand / marketing firm / advertising agency, can we hire you?
Maybe. We do not stage official Improv Everywhere missions that advertise a brand. However, we have in the past worked with companies as creative consultants helping to develop campaigns and as video producers creating content for a brand. We have also staged pranks at internal meetings and conventions for corporate clients. We do this work independent of Improv Everywhere, and will not use this site or its resources to promote it.
We also take on sponsorship from time to time. If a company wants to hire us to simply do a mission we already want to do (with their brand having nothing to do with the content,) we would consider sponsorship. We think this video is a good example of a brand sponsoring a project.
Why would you ever work with a brand? Isn’t that against the spirit of IE?
Taking on occasional corporate gigs helps us continue to do what we do. Doing a small amount of corporate work (while keeping it separate from Improv Everywhere,) allows us to pay our New York City rents and fund future Improv Everywhere events. In terms of taking on a sponsor, we see it as no different than a television show being supported by commercials. So long as our content is not influenced by the sponsor, we think it is a smart way to fund our work."
And here is the original video to which they are referring. Remember this? People posted it all over the place, turns out it was for Stride Gum - just like the new one is for Trident Layers.
http://urbanprankster.com/
http://urbanprankster.com/
This is the meat of their pitch btw. It bears remembering that the idea of posting a "frequently asked questions" section on your website is useful because it frees you from quoting a source. Anyone could be asking this question. If you're the owner of the website you could even be asking it to yourself, and because it's a "frequently asked question" you don't have to quote a source, there is no source - you're paraphrasing something that has come up any number of times. (good way to get your point across without sounding pushy or even assertive - it wasn't IE that asked this question after all, it's just out there in the ether - the question of How do we make money on this? You have to admit, it's a pretty important question since we all need money to live.
The thing is this, advertising is always going to take new forms and because we tend to think of advertising as a bad thing those forms are likely to be more disguised as the public becomes more adept at recognizing the old ones. Because once we see an ad for what it is, we tend to disregard it.
I'm interested in why we are so intent on preserving the illusion of spontaneous, creative expression even at the expense of awareness of how we are being persuaded to act.
I'm also interested in the response that will make most people who read this post - is anyone does, pissed off that I even mentioned it. Why does knowing this is a profit-based activity change your view of it?
Facebook itself is an advertising medium - and I'm not talking about those irritating little squares that line the top of your screen when you're playing a game or the side of your page when you're engaged in other things. I'm talking about the people you choose to friend and what you decide goes up on your page and why.
Facebook is a consensual, community advertising forum. In a way, it's a variation on Second Life. Where Second Life creates consensual geography, FB creates preferential demographics or aspirational demographics. We choose the organizations and individuals that appeal to our sense of who we are on FB and through that choice we end up cobbling together an advertising demographic that relies on interest and self-identification rather than the usual physical factors of age, income bracket, gender, geography, profession and education.
I'm interested in why we are so intent on preserving the illusion of spontaneous, creative expression even at the expense of awareness of how we are being persuaded to act.
I'm also interested in the response that will make most people who read this post - is anyone does, pissed off that I even mentioned it. Why does knowing this is a profit-based activity change your view of it?
Facebook itself is an advertising medium - and I'm not talking about those irritating little squares that line the top of your screen when you're playing a game or the side of your page when you're engaged in other things. I'm talking about the people you choose to friend and what you decide goes up on your page and why.
Facebook is a consensual, community advertising forum. In a way, it's a variation on Second Life. Where Second Life creates consensual geography, FB creates preferential demographics or aspirational demographics. We choose the organizations and individuals that appeal to our sense of who we are on FB and through that choice we end up cobbling together an advertising demographic that relies on interest and self-identification rather than the usual physical factors of age, income bracket, gender, geography, profession and education.
It's also an advertising demographic that provides an audience that is genuinely interested in what you have to say. And if you can disguise your content to appear to be a quirky, amusing video posted by a friend - well, why wouldn't you pick up that packet of gum that just happens to be squished together fruit flavors (pineapple apple) at the checkout counter? After all, it reminds you of your FB friend and their cute little video, you haven't tried it before and it only costs a couple of bucks, in a way, it's a reminder of a good, shared joke. And that makes it worth its weight in gum.
No comments:
Post a Comment