Archive for the 'Viral' Category

Check out this lovely young woman who has only just started learning English.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6CbG7qopX0]

Hat tip to B.L. Ochman.

What could be more fun? Blaspheme and win a DVD!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7QVbJnSPQE]

I just have a few little issues: I don’t have a video camera, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that I deny any and all gods, messiahs and holy spirits. I don’t need the video anyway. I can’t keep up with my NetFlix account as it is.

I hope this doesn’t turn into a peer pressure thing. “Not only do you have cooties, but you don’t have the guts to blaspheme! I dare ya to curse out the baby Jesus.” Don’t fuck with the theists, kids. It isn’t nice, and they’re very sensitive. Blaspheme all you like, but don’t pressure others to join you. You never know — your best buds might believe in deities.

I for one have deep regrets about debating with a rather fragile believer my first year of college. I made him sufficiently uncomfortable that he ended up with a list of questions for his minister and transferred to a Christian school the next year.

Finally, does it count as blasphemy if you don’t believe it in the first place? If you’re really an atheist, saying that you don’t believe in a god is about the same thing as saying you don’t believe in Stan and Inga (more about them another time, but for now suffice it to say that if it weren’t for Stan and Inga, there would be no electricity). In high school, I used to absolutely thrill my friends by looking up and saying, “fuck you, god.” To them (or some of them, anyway), this was beyond the excitement any slasher movie could provide. To me, not so much.

Update: Brian Flemming, who made the film The God Who Wasn’t There (the flick being given as a prize to our brave blasphemers), has a few interesting quotes about the challenge.

Richard Dawkins:

I had not given the Blasphemy Challenge any thought until you called it to my attention. Now that you have done so, I do not seem to feel strongly one way or the other. As that admirable bumper sticker has it, Blasphemy is a Victimless Crime. So, am I going to send in my own film clip denying the Holy Ghost? No, that is not what Oxford professors do, they write books instead. Do I find it offensive that so many young people are sending in their film clips? No. I hadn’t listened to any of them before you raised the matter. I have now done so, and I must say I find them more charming than offensive. They mostly seem rather nice young people, and they are doing their bit, in their own lively and entertaining way, to raise consciousness and set an example to their peers. I am especially pleased to note how young they are, for organized atheists have, until recently, been noticeably and discouragingly grey-headed. I think we may be witnessing the beginnings of a shift in the tectonic plates of our Zeitgeist. I am delighted to see so many young Americans taking part, in a way that suits their age group better than mine or yours.

Creationist Dave Scot (or as it says on his original post, DaveScot):

I found the images of young people in “The Blasphemy Challenge” giving up their immortal souls on a dare disturbing enough to make me weep for them. I’m not rationally convinced we have immortal souls to give up but certainly the possibility exists. Imagine on judgement day that was you in the video and it was being replayed. There’s nothing to gain and everything to lose in this. Please join me in a simple prayer for the young victims of this stunt.

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Brings tears to your eyes.

Here are a few lessons for all you marketers who think you can create a viral marketing campaign.

1. Don’t Pretend to be Mr. Consumer Dude
Both Adfreak and Adrants (who know their shit) point out that Sony’s attempt at a viral campaign for the PSP — all i want for xmas is a psp — blows. Why?

Now take fake blogs. You’ve heard of them. Edelman knows all about them. They are the things marketers seem to think are the holy grail of this new social media thing. Let’s get down with our customers. Let’s “join the conversation.” Trouble is, a fake blog – one that pretends (badly) to be all hip hop on our ass – is like an idiot that shows up at a black tie event wearing American Eagle cargo shorts and a t-shirt. The natural reaction to that is, “Who the fuck is that idiot?”

So now we have social media idiot Sony with help from idiot agency Zipatoni throwing a fake blog at us called All I Want For Christmas is a PSP. On the blog, some guy “Charlie” is apparently helping his friend Jeremy get a PSP for Christmas. As AdFreak points out, the blog commenters are not amused and “Charlie’s” defense of the blog is even less amusing. In reaction to commenter’s complaints, “Charlie” writes, “yo where all u hatas com from… juz cuz you aint feelin the flow of PSP dun mean its sum mad faek website or summ… youall be trippin.” Oh for fuck’s sake. Is anyone at Sony awake? Do you know how stupid this makes you look? And once you’ve been found out, the least you can do is own up to it rather than spew fake hip hop speak.

2. Don’t Roll Over From the Start
The Thumb-vertising site is a great idea, and both Adrants and the MIT Advertising Lab comment on it. It’s a funny concept that does a fine job of both mocking marketing itself and promoting a product. But, despite the fact that the MIT folks either don’t notice this or choose not to give it away (“Don’t know if these people are for real but they must be all thumbs”), the site tells you it’s fake:

This is a SPOOF website owned and managed by Douwe Egberts. It has been created to market Douwe Egberts Café Switch.

Well, of course it’s a spoof. Don’t tell us. That’s no fun at all.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the acronym WOM, but in marketing-speak it’s what we call “word of mouth,” which has become one of those marketing buzzwords like Web 2.0 and viral marketing. Sure, everyone knows what word of mouth is, but there are people who are paid to manage it for companies, or at least to try to manage it.

It’s the sort of thing that can get out of hand. After all, nobody owns the interweb tubes, and despite the efforts of some, public opinion is pretty hard to tame. That’s the situation the venerable Bank of America currently finds itself in.

BoingBoing is reporting on a huge customer service gaffe on the part of a Bank of America branch. As word has spread about it, people have been closing down their BofA accounts to express their disgust, to the tune of about $50 million.

And then there’s the video below, of a couple of BofA folks performing their version of U2′s “One,” with lyrics extolling the glory and wonder of their mastery of the world of credit cards (which BofA actually invented, by the way) as they absorb competitor after competitor. The headline of its page on YouTube describes it as “funny/terrible,” but I have to admit, the guy has a good voice. What’s funny/terrible about it is the concept of singing with passion about the credit card business, and the way these guys are dressed. It makes me want to shake them by the shoulders and angrily scream BANKER at them. It’s kind of like the way the space hippies called people “Herbert” in that Star Trek episode.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhYg_7e3X54]

There’s one thing that it seems many people don’t know about BofA. That abbreviated version of the bank’s name is pronounced “B of A” by most, but some of us prefer the single word “Bofa,” and that just happens to be a word of celebration in the Zulu language. Just imagine a bar in Soweto, full of fans watching a World Cup match between South Africa and the hated Italians. Italy is favored to win, and moved ahead with three early goals, but the South Africans are making a comeback. Every time the goal tender makes a save, the crowd shouts “Bofa!” With each goal by the South Africans, the shouts of “Bofa” grow louder, until the game is won when a player from the Townships makes a miraculous penalty kick and the whole nation shakes with screams of “Bofa!“

It’s true. Would I lie?

Here’s why I didn’t get any work done today. Thanks, *fsk. Thanks a bunch.

Line Rider – beta by *fsk on deviant ART

How do we know that the Bible is true? Because it says so, of course.

Similarly, this little cartoon (click the image to see a larger version) by David Jones of AdWeek is so incredibly viral it makes my head hurt.

You can check it out as a video too — a viral video, that is. Very, very viral.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH7Kd3MOZyI]

I’m so worried for poor little Lonelygoil. It’s clear that this big event she’s training for is a human sacrifice, and she’s been chosen because she’s the only virgin left in the coven. So sad. She doesn’t understand. If only Danielbeastieboy could help her. She wouldn’t be eligible for the sacrifice anymore, so she’d finally be safe. It might make her a tad angry, but it would be worth it. So what if YouTube wouldn’t be willing to show it?

The first step in saving Breeeeeeeeeee is getting her to that party. She’ll get to see that there’s a whole world out there, full of peers who’ve all seen her videos but will act like they haven’t in order to further confuse the audience.

And maybe she’ll get lucky at the party. That is to say, she might hook up with these two

Thank you, TV in Japan. You may have saved a life.

Apologies for my sloppy Photoshoppery, but I hope you get the idea.

The season premiere of The Simpsons was on tonight. Not a great episode, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. There was a long (probably about ninety seconds) ad for Nike, as part of their Nike Gridiron campaign. If you go to the site, select Features, and then Briscoe Hawks, you’ll see what I saw.

It’s apparently an attempt at a viral campaign about high school feetsball (not to be confused with football) teams and the town’s love for them. There will probably be a spot for every game of the season, along with maybe a few romances, players studying hard to stay on the team, etc. And it features a cast of famed feetsball personalities!

In tonight’s episode, we’re introduced to the Briscoe Hawks on the day of their game against the undefeated Arundel Wildcats. The story begins in a classroom, where a history lesson is being taught to the kids (many of whom are members of the team, already wearing their jerseys) by teacher Jimmy Johnson. He wants to make sure they understand the concept of Preparation — the only word on the blackboard. He’s asking questions about what happened to Napoleon when he invaded Russia, but we know what the real lesson of the day is… we know why preparation is so imporant.

After class, the guys file out into the hall, where it’s clear that they’re beloved by all — especially a blonde girl (who we find out on the site is the head cheerleader).

Now comes the bit that has me concerned: as they’re preparing for the game in the locker room, the Hawks gather around the coach (played by Don Shula, who even I have heard of). The coach says something like, “One of these two teams is going to experience their first loss tonight. Is it gonna be us?” and the team in unison shouts out, “No sir!”. The coach then says “Take a D” or something like that, and the Hawks, every last one of them, fall silent, close their eyes and kneel.

What the hell are they doing? What’s a “D”? Are they praying? This doesn’t look like a private school… Is this a public school? Is the team praying before the game, at the coach’s behest, at a public school?

What is this, Texas?? Where’s the freakin’ ACLU? Sure, if they compained about this, they’d just be told that the team is in a moment silent thought. Right.

Correction: The coach says “take a knee,” not “take a D.” So that’s even clearer. I was desperately trying to figure out a word that begins with D and means something religious.