DJ's like Fatboy Slim have pioneered the music remix and Girl Talk has built a successful career on it. It's a huge part of video culture too because remixing is an entertaining way to make anything just a bit more ridiculous. It's also a forum for creativity because remixers pair audio samples with all sorts of visuals. Faris recently hired Eclectic Method for the NYC Twestival. They are the fore-fathers of mash-up have been affecting the way we experience media since back in the day. The most recent example of this phenomenon is a meltdown Christian Bale had on-set. It didn't take long for the Bale remixes to pour in.
It's interesting because we love to tell stories, extrapolate and exaggerate; and remixing is great for just that. But it's bigger than an entertaining video. This story is about driving creativity. I'm a proponent of the philosophy that good ideas come from good ideas. Well I guess I picked that up from Lawarance Lessig. He is well know for fighting for remix culture because new ideas come from remixing old ones. His book frames the problem as "a war between an old read-only culture, in which media megaliths sell copyrighted music and movies to passive consumers, and a dawning digital read-write culture, in which audiovisual products are freely downloaded and manipulated in an explosion of democratized creativity." So I guess the question is how do we promote an environment that encourages the rapid progression of ideas instead of stymiing it?
This is an annoying observation but there are a lot of smart and influential marketers who shape the way we think about our culture. Since good ideas come from good ideas I wanted to share the blogs that inspire me. Here's a list of the top 150 marketing blogs as defined by a Twitter search.
We live in a consumer world and as much as I'm annoyed by it I have to admit I'm caught up in it. I'm over the phase of disposing every possession I own like Chris McCandless from Into the Wild, but I still think that our culture needs to do some re-evaluation. Michael Moore is pretty famous for saying media breeds fear and leads us to security through consumerism. The US loves shopping and watching TV, in fact the story of stuff video describes how US culture is defined by the "work, watch, shop treadmill." What's most interesting about their video is how business has designed products for planned obsolescence.
Innovation fatigue plagues our culture. In fact the streets of San Francisco are riddled with discarded technology; TV's, computers and fax machines line our curbs. We're buying new products so quickly we don't know what to do with the old ones. Don't get me wrong, the problem here isn't innovation, in fact I'm proud to be at the forefront and like being an influencer. The problem is that companies design products for obsolescence. The film makes a great point, a vast majority of products are designed for disposal when it's very possible to swap out parts instead of discarding an entire item. Cuba's Yank Tank industry is a great example of being resourceful in an effort to conserve materials.
I think we need to rethink how we design products to expand their lifestyle and create a more sustainable and responsible way to be consumers. I have an elementary school science teacher who is convinced that automotive companies purchased the patents for materials that would make cars extremely safe and nearly industructable. He claims that insurance companies wouldn't have a purpose if the technology was used and I think the same applies to the consumer goods industry. What if we made computers that allowed us to swap out old motherboards or appliances made replacement parts readily accessible?
We expect more from brands these days. Our generation has evolved into a culture of Free Love where we want experiences to function on different levels and expect a full bodied experience where things are given to us for Free. Companies have raised the bar and we've come to expect more than just a product or service, we expect a full experience from a brand.
The Sound of Color is a great example of just this. We think of color and we associate the artistic and entertaining experience with which we are engaged with the company who produced it. Experience THE SOUND OF COLOR for yourself. One of the biggest flaws is it's not made to be viral; but does it resonate with you? Watch the 'making of' on their site for a brief 3 minute explanation.
Moore’s new book about brandalism is kind of inspiring in the same way Cotton’s Planning For Good is inspiring. There is a real desire for advertising to change for the better.
As a brand strategist I like to be challenged about how I’m contributing to my culture. Moore challenges me to understand what I’m doing and although she wouldn’t agree, there is certainly a middle of the road compromise that can allow for the sale of goods without manipulating the consumer. This includes a two way street that allows art and advertising to contribute positively to culture.
Is the future of branding about driving profits and manipulating a consumer by bluring the line between product and culture? Elizabeth Anne Moore spoke last week in Boston about her book which described the impact that advertising has on our culture. She raised questions about emotional branding and marking concepts like love marking. Moore really gets her boxers in a bunch when she describes the destructive impact of Kevin Robert's Lovemarks, a term to essentially refers to branding through emotional manipulation. Consumers are driven to purchase a product because of what they think it stands for; not because it is a product they need. Her argument challenges advertisers to be authentic and act with integrity – it’s too extreme, even from an advertising perspective.
We value DIY; forefathers like Ian of Dischord records. Dischord was a revolutionary record label that pushed us culturally and made us realize that there are alternatives to selling out. Our generation is stuck between the extremes of selling out and dumpster diving. We’re charged with manufacturing our own culture now and determining to what extent we embrace various marketing techniques. If bad advertising is about pushing a product that people don't really need then how can marketing shift to have a more positive influence on society. Maybe it's about operating with transparency to create trust and destroy the manipulative and deceptive side of advertising. Is it about advertisers promoting culture or being a part of society without trying push their believes on us. Maybe it's about embracing subtlety, about being who you are and letting people recognize they're interested in you. Or maybe it's just about embracing your own inner dumpster diver.
I didn't have 5 minutes to watch this video but I couldn't tear myself away. There's something to be said about a gritty, honest, feel good advertisement that has disturbingly good intentions and forces you to really contemplate an issue.
Post Secret
I think I first saw this technique in a more rudimentary form while watching "Adaptation"; it was a quick scene when a car reverses out of the driveway and you witness a startlingly disturbing and violent impact. The technique was later reused in a recent Volkswagon campaign.
Most recently we saw "Wind" which was elusively entertaining, intriguing and a bit unsettling to watch:
and now Post Secret. It's becoming more of an imperative that advertisements are entertaining, but there's a shift towards a theme that elicits an emotional response. It's a gritty, honest approach that doesn't seem contrived. This technique has incredible potential because it has the ability to get your message passed around; but it also enables the viewer to watch the message to the end and has a better chance of resonating with the audience.
In a DVR, OnDemand & internet world there has to be a reason to stay tuned into the increasingly obsolete 30 second spot, why not build off a trend that is gaining some momentum?
Where has Russian been? Are they making a come back? What a lucrative way for the government to increase nationalism - it's just as fun as handing out drugs only you boost your population instead of creating a bunch of strung out losers.
If your Mom said, "Alright, I've signed you up for sex camp, you have to go procreate for the next two weeks," would you kick and scream? Well.... maybe, it is kind of strange, but it's being embraced in Russia.
This article talks about "Nashi", the 100,000 person strong youth movement run by Vladimir Putin's Kremlin that has become a central part of Russian political life. During the camp sex is encouraged and condoms are nowhere in sight.
The main reason Russians feel it's an important movement is because, "the hard-drinking, hardsmoking and disease-ridden population is set to plunge by a million a year in the next decade." Some point out the similarities to Nazis movements, while others feel it's an effort to combat democracy.
Despite the somewhat obvious governmental agenda, kids are going; obviously for the sex but also for a sense of purpose and for opportunities for an education and a chance at getting a leg up. "Nashi supporters drown out protests by Russia's feeble and divided democratic opposition," mmm I guess sex is a powerful thing. I know history repeats itself, but how has Russia so quickly forgotten that communism didn't work out for them the first time around. The Kremlin's chief, Vladislav Surkov, is trying to explain why questioning the crooks and spooks who run Russia is not just mistaken, but treacherous." It seems to me that we have similar problems, eg. the US healthcare system; we know there's a huge problem, we know it needs fixing, but we're having trouble figuring out how to get started.
DJ's like Fatboy Slim have pioneered the music remix and Girl Talk has built a successful career on it. It's a huge part of video culture too because remixing is an entertaining way to make anything just a bit more ridiculous. It's also a forum for creativity because remixers pair audio samples with all sorts of visuals. Faris recently hired Eclectic Method for the NYC Twestival. They are the fore-fathers of mash-up have been affecting the way we experience media since back in the day. The most recent example of this phenomenon is a meltdown Christian Bale had on-set. It didn't take long for the Bale remixes to pour in.
