The truth about Dove’s real beauty

This week has been a rather interesting week in the news for large companies, particularly Unilever, who has been accused of retouching the photos of the models used in the Dove ‘real beauty’ campaign. This story to me seems more interesting because of the potential public relations crisis it could be for Unilever and the Dove brand.

The sad thing about the whole issue is that it was probably unavoidable. In my limited experience, it is very rare that a photo goes from camera to magazine/billboard/commercial/newspaper without being retouched a little - whether to enhance the brightness, or finish, or for some other perfectly reasonable cause. The question to be asked however is what kind of retouching was done. The photographer Pascal Dangin was quoted as saying:

“Do you know how much retouching was on that? But it was great to do, a challenge to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.” - The New Yorker c/o The Toronto Star

Charming fellow isn’t he?

Only days later he issued a statement through Unilever saying that the photos were not altered. But the damage was already done.

It will be interesting to see if and how this affects the Campaign for Real Beauty and how Dove will deal with it. One thing’s for sure though, in any campaign it is important that all the key parties (and even some you might not think of as key) understand the goals and purpose of your campaign. Maybe if dear old Dangin understood why it was important for the campaign to show real women (or at the least why the public should think they were real women) then he might have kept a tighter reign on his tongue.

Then again maybe not. And I’m sure there’s another lesson in that too.

 

Tri-Cycl-ing your product somewhere else…

If you watch any television at all, chances are you have seen this commercial. And if you are a female over the age of 12, chances are you know what it’s about:

For those of you still in the dark, Yasmin is the one of the latest birth control pills to hit the market. I am not against contraceptives. What I am against however, are ads for contraceptives aimed at teenagers, simply because it subconsciously tells them that it is okay to start having sex at that age, as long as they are being safe.

When I first saw the Yasmin commercial, I thought that it might be targeting high school girls, because of how young the actresses appeared to be. Closer inspection however showed that the women portrayed were likely college aged.

My over-sensitivity is probably due to another birth control commercial for Ortho Tri-Cyclen-Lo which ran a couple months back and featured girls who were definitely of high school age. Those who remember these commercials knew that the concept was that girls should try something new, eg. Try playing, try laughing, try getting up early etc, with the unspoken message being try Ortho Tri-Cyclen-Lo. As far as I was concerned, the real message was ‘Try having sex before you’re ready for it and coming out unscathed.’

Maybe it was the public out-cry against the commercial targeting teens, or the medical problems associated with the product, but the ads for Tri-Clyclen-Lo have pretty much disappeared from the TV and Internet. Can’t say I’m disappointed.

In recent years activist groups of different kinds have been working hard to ban advertising that was seen as harmful to the public, especially minors. Everything from tobacco and alcohol, to fast foods got hit. However, it seems like for every dangerous advertising strategy that gets blocked, two more appear.

My question is, where are the ethics? I know that every public relations/ marketing/advertising/business program comes with an ethics course attached. So why has this aspect of social responsibility been so discarded? And why does someone have to put a ban on your ad for you to know that maybe you shouldn’t be advertising birth control to girls below the age of consent, or liquor to youth under 21?

The Revolution will be televised - Pt 2

If you are unfamiliar with how powerful a medium, TV dramas are for the music industry let me just give you an example.

Most people who live in the western world are familiar with ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. However, before 2006, very few knew of the band “The Fray”. They have actually been around since 2002. In 2005 they released their album ‘How to Save a life’ to modest reviews. Their song ‘How to Save a life’ was not a single, and rarely received radio airplay until March 2006 when it was featured on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and then used in the new season promo for the show.

Since it’s TV drama debut The Fray has developed international fame. The song, ‘How to Save a Life’ became a major international hit, topping singles charts in Canada, and Ireland, and making top 5 on several US charts. Less than a year later, that virtually unknown band, sold 1.2 million digital tracks for that one song that was played during Grey’s Anatomy.

Yes, Primetime TV is the new radio as far as most artists are concerned. Instead of trying to pay some DJ to play your track, artists are pimping out their songs to Music coordinators. No doubt, Alexandra Patsavas (music supervisor for Grey’s Anatomy) is one of the most whispered names among artist managers, and Lindsay Wolfington (music coordinator for One Tree Hill ) has admitted to receiving too many packages to sort through.

What does it all mean for me, an aspiring PR practitioner? It means that the most unlikely places can often be the best places to communicate your product/client/event to your audience, especially if you can get there at the right time with the right message like The Fray managed to do. It also means that I can be assured that some good music will be another benefit of my TV addiction.

Just in case you missed it…

The revolution will be televised - Pt 1

Since about 1998 when R&B died, I have been finding it hard to find good music. Most people my age who remember the 90s, seem to agree that the Omarions, 3LWs and Danity Kanes of the present day are simply not cutting it.

In 2005 however I began to discover meaningful music in the most unlikely of places, and in the most unlikely of artists. That unlikely place was Television, and the unlikely group were whiny caucasian crooners from the US to Australia to Britain. In fact, anyone who has been following television trends in the past couple of years, will notice that TV dramas have been the go-to location for fresh new music.

It started on teenie-bopper network The Wb (now the CW). Instead of the usual lyric-less scores, artists like Dave Matthews Band and Canada’s own Sarah McLachlan had their songs being used as the back-drop for those oh so emotional scenes in shows like Dawson’s Creek, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In fact, I bought my first Sarah McLachlan album after hearing one of her songs, on The WB’s Roswell. Pretty soon, all the WB’s hour-long prime time dramas were using contemporary music to boost their show.

However, as viewers eat up the trend, and other networks come on board, the tables have turned. ABC, the major network most on board with this music trend has been featuring many new artists and their music on their prime time dramas. They also (like the CW) have pages on their website dedicated solely to the music used on their shows. It seems that it is now the show that is being used to boost new music.

(to be continued…)

‘I hate Sarah Marshall’: a social media case study in the making

As you may have figured out by now I am a complete TV addict. So when I came across the ‘I hate Sarah Marshall’ campaign I knew I had to blog about it.

I actually stumbled upon the campaign one morning on the train. I was standing wedged between a tall bulky guy in a gigantic winter coat, and a tiny old lady struggling to keep her balance, when my eyes fell upon a poster. It was white with the words “You do look fat in those jeans Sarah Marshall” written in black, and that was it. No pictures, no graphics, nothing to explain what it was about except a URL at the bottom: www.ihatesarahmarshall.com.

So I’m thinking this is one of those anti-bullying ads that have been all over the place recently. It turns out www.ihatesarahmarshall.com is actually a blog by some guy named Peter about getting over his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall, who dumped him. However, as soon as I scrolled down the page and saw a picture of TV’s Kristen Bell, I realized it was all promotion for a new movie, which I now know to be Forgetting Sarah Marshall, coming out this spring.

The blog itself has several youtube clips that serve as further promotion. Funny enough, the first clip answers most people’s initial question: How did Peter get the money to pay for all these billboards? It turns out that along with my TTC poster, billboards of a similar kind have been put up across North America to promote the movie. In fact, persons unfamiliar with the actors might think the blog (which I guess is really a flog), Peter and his relationship crises, is actually real.

I am pretty impressed with the promoters for this movie. I love the way they combined mainstream advertising with social media to create awareness for their product. Blog stats show that over 50, 000 persons have viewed the site since Peter started posting in February of this year. And I am sure I am not the only person who first learned about the movie through the blog.

I know a lot of people are skeptical about the future of social media as a legitimate tool of communication within the business world, but this mini case just goes to show that this tool is growing in use and recognition and it’s clearly here to stay.

Anyone else seen the ‘i hate sarah marshall’ campaign, or heard of similar projects?

Dear diary: My client dumped me!

Last week I got dumped.

That’s right, dumped, shown the door, given the boot, kicked to the curb. Pick your expression.

I suppose I should have seen it coming. All the classic signs were there, long periods without communication, not replying to emails, indecision about what they wanted to do, and frequently changing their mind. Still it came as a surprise. And after all the time and effort I put in, it truly felt like a betrayal.

What hurt the most was the way it happened. Just a simple email saying, ‘we have decided to cancel our event’. Not even a phone call. With a simple electronic message, all the time and research I put into the media plan became void. Don’t you just hate that?

It’s okay though. I will live to compose a media list again. In fact I have already found a new client who wants me to help them do promotion for another event. There are organizations out there who want to use my skills. Fortunately it was only a volunteer position, but what would happen if it wasn’t? I wonder how PR agencies and consultants handle clients who cancel on them halfway through a project or last minute? Isn’t the time and effort worth something even if the work is not utilized?

If you can’t beat them, make your own video

A friend of mine recently announced that she was considering moving out, and getting an apartment. In discussing how she would afford it, she noted that all she needed was a bed and a computer. It used to be that a bed and a TV were standard items for your new place. But somewhere along the way, the TV got replaced by the computer.

Truth be told, since the advent of streaming video through websites such as Youtube, VEOH, and Dailymotion, the television set has slowly but surely become less relevant. Television content still holds importance, however, almost all of it can be found on the internet somewhere.

With this shift, has come several problems for communicators and the companies they represent. For one, all forms of TV promotion such as advertising, and public service announcements, have a harder time reaching their audience. In addition, some viewers are choosing internet content over traditional media. Social media is usually able to peacefully coexist, and even enhance traditional media. However in this case there seems to be a bit of competition.

Nonetheless, after realizing that blocking of questionable Youtube content on their companies or products was futile, communicators seem to have adapted. In fact the corporate world has decided to join the party.

This wave of corporate involvement comes in several different forms. In it’s simplest form it involves moving television content to the net, as is. In the entertainment industry this has been especially true, among record labels, such as Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Bad Boy Records, all of which have their own user profiles on Youtube. These companies have most of their music videos available online through Youtube, free of the distortion that sometimes occurs when these videos are uploaded by other users.

Another form of corporate involvement involves, creating original content specifically for the internet. This has been used as a form of viral marketing and brand promotion for several companies outside of the entertainment industry who realize the strength of the streaming video medium. An example of this is the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment first shown on Youtube, which has since spawned a number of similar videos across the internet.

In his Strategic Public Relations blog, Kevin Duncan notes that a lot of smaller unknown companies are also using Youtube to create brand awareness online. In “Blending Youtube into Brand Awareness“, he interviews George Wright of Blendtec, a manufacturing company that has posted a series of videos testing a blender with unusual objects such as ink pens, and golf balls. Its Will it Blend? iPhone video where they attempt to blend an iPhone was viewed almost 4 million times since being posted in July last year.

In the interview, Wright says that the video itself started as a $50 investment, but has already helped build a brand for its home appliance products. The results in terms of impact were far above expectations.

It seems that more and more, the corporate world is sitting up and paying attention. In fact a TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony news release on BusinessWire.com noted that 50 per cent of senior marketing executives see social media as a vital component of corporate communications which should not only be monitored, but allocated significant company resources.

It is clear that streaming video content on the web is here to stay. Communicators should likely get on board, or get left behind.

Dear God: This is why I’m leaving You

I recently came upon a blog, lettersfromleavers.com, which is a compilation of letters from ex-churchgoers on why they left the church. I thought it was a very interesting concept, especially for an organization like the church who’s main goal is recruit members. It’s an invaluable research tool that gives them information on exactly why their members are leaving, and thus shows them how they can stem the tide.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all organizations had a resource like this at their disposal? Usually when someone quits a job, or decides not to renew membership in an organization, he or she may be asked to give a reason why. However in many cases the individual may not give the whole truth, or they may choose not to give a reason at all. But if somehow this information became available, think of how this could change not only the rate of member turnover for an organization, but also the quality of an employee’s work environment, and the amount of money spent on new-hire training.

Lettersfromleavers.com. A simple concept with the potential to have a far-reaching effect.

(Credit to Good Girl Lit for introducing me to lettersfromleavers.com.)

Excuse me miss, may I manipulate you for a moment?

Nobody likes to be manipulated.

We all hate the idea that we have somehow been tricked into making a decision. Yet as I watch the evolution of the presidential race in the Unites States, I feel that more and more, a subtle type of emotional manipulation is taking place. We are all used to the celebrity endorsements, the bleeding heart speeches, and the video clips of the candidates visiting poor people in the projects. However this campaign has taken this activity to an entirely new level.

Today quite by accident, I came upon this video. And even though I like the video, and the message, and the candidate, I can’t help but feel like voters are being tricked into making an emotional decision about something that should be considered in a serious and rational matter. When it comes to promoting a candidate, can it ever be too much?

TV: A PR Agency’s worst enemy

Most people’s first impressions come from the media. Like most people my initial exposure to PR came from TV, and sad to say, that initial observation was not positive.

It came in the form of two (short lived) television shows: one called Power Girls, which debuted on MTV in 2005; and the other The Fashionista Diaries, which aired more recently on STAR.

Power Girls was a ‘reality’ show that followed the lives of four girls working at Lizzie Grubman PR New York. The girls had some intriguing tasks such as finding celebrities to fill the front seats of a fashion show, and teaching up-and-coming teen stars how to walk the red carpet. They also had some cat-fights, some kissing-of-ass, and a 24/7 work schedule that seemed a mandatory part of the business. Glamorous? yes; appealing? not so sure.

The Fashionista Diaries however, was a whole other cup of tea. It showcased two starry-eyed PR hopefuls working for Seventh House PR, who soon learned that how you dressed on a daily basis was more important than the work you did. The most interesting part for me was when one of the interns was chastised for wearing shoes from last season. Other interesting parts were the multiple occasions in which the boss would bad-mouth one intern to the other. In fact these parts completely overshadowed any PR related activities that the firm did.

Lucky for me I know that not all PR firms are like this. But how many other people do? And how many bright, PR potentials are being turned away from the industry by the fear that they will end up cleaning some celebrity’s shoes at Grubman, or becoming a slave to Gucci at Seventh House?