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April 10, 2009
How Funny Are We?
We....as in marketers, that is.
In my surfing for project information recently, I came across Current TV. Here is their description of themselves:
"Since its inception in 2005, Emmy award-winning Current TV has been the world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices.....Current is now viewed in the U.S. and U.K. in more than 51 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 358 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), Sky (channel 183) and Virgin Media Cable (channel 155)."
Current's Website is a media smorgasbord...a drug-den for media-addicated viewers with time to burn. It is also a window into the changing landscape of media. In that landscape, weak efforts at brand development and audience shaping not only fail to go unnoticed...they earn the scorn and ridicule of others.
So it was with some amusement that I found Sarah Haskins, (Twitter) a Harvard-educated, Second City-trained comedian who is boosting her career lampooning campaigns that target or mis-target women. Yogurt manufacturers, Carl's Jr., women-focused TV networks...all have come under the hysterical, yet burning light of Sarah's criticism. Think Bob Garfield live, only funnier (I know..Garfield is pretty damn funny to start....)
With growing frequency, talented writers/critics are building a comedy empire spotlighting the awful work being produced in the name marketing. They point out the over-the-top claims, the creepy associations, the blithe generalizations. And, they make more and more of us conscious of how we are targeted by well-meaning marketers...like ourselves.
Once you acknowlege these new media outlets, you come to see how the business of marketing and advertising is changing. And since our consumer lives train our business lives, how these changes will influence marketers of every stripe.
So, if you haven't already visited Current TV or seen Sarah Haskins, sit back and enjoy a laugh or two. But realize, that the laughs could be coming at your own expense.
Posted by jcioban at April 10, 2009 12:29 PM
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