Subliminally Not So Subliminal

A subtle yet, ingenious innovation. I’m not talking about the quick-draw gadget. I am talking about how this video is most likely paid for by Colgate.

This YouTube channel is notably known for showing how to make fun little gadgets, not paid-for advertisements. It’s pretty obvious this entire video is centered around the Colgate Wisp. The subliminal message here is that you cannot create this gadget without purchasing the Wisp. It is not just this video, some of his other inventions are centered around the Wisp.

More and more of this is being seen on YouTube. Companies have taken notice to YouTube’s popularity and the large audience it holds. Companies, such as Colgate have paid some of these video creators to help endorse their products in an unofficial manner. These YouTube celebrities hold some power, because they have created a bond with their viewers. Viewers don’t view these YouTube celebrities on another plateau as they do Hollywood celebrities or big corporations. They look at them as their own, and in this way they can easily create a closer bond. I suppose these amateur film makers are viewed as “selling out”, but if you were offered the right amount, wouldn’t you?

Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Cute, Cute

YouTube is notoriously known for finding fuzzy, cute, cuddly, innocent, charming, adorable, heart warming commercials?

Small Companies Can Become Famous Too

$60,000. That seems like a pretty high budget for a small fifteen second amateur YouTube clip. Take a look at this video. From the title, I thought it was going to be a video with a lot of product placements which would advertise Apple. I thought, maybe it was Apple that paid these individuals on the side to create this really neat video featuring their products.

When I got to the end of the video, I then realized that the roles were reversed based on my previous theory. Instead of Apple using amateurs to promote their products, this small computer based store is using Apple to promote their store. I guess in a sense this advertisement benefits both companies because the Apple brand name will attract a large audience to watch the video and all these viewers will be exposed to the advertisement for Tekserve. On the other hand, Apple has not argued against using their products in the video because they know that amateur viral videos such as this one will help them to promote their product, creating a win-win situation.

Even small companies like this Tekserve store are taking advantage of the power of YouTube. This video hit over 400,000 views on YouTube, but is also featured on other web-based video sharing networks generating more views there. The video also hit online media websites such as The Consumerist. YouTube not only turns regular people into celebrities, but it can also turn small companies into cyber celebrities.

It’s What It Boyles Down To,

Marketing.

Most of the YouTube and media community have heard of her name. Most have heard her voice. Most have seen her unique style. But few have seen the show.

Susan Boyle was a contestant on the British talent show, Britain’s Got Talent. The show scours across Great Britain searching for ordinary people with extraordinary talents. Indeed Susan Boyle had talent, but the way the world found her was quite unique. After displaying her surprising talent on the show, video clips of her audition began to invade the Internet.

Her name began to appear all over the Internet, newspapers, television shows and into the dark corners of the web. And the catalyst for this surge of popularity? YouTube. She has accumulated over 100 million views alone. Here is a thought for you, she herself has more views on YouTube, than the show Britain’s Got Talent has of her episode. Which comes to my second thought.

Usually copyrighted material that shows up on YouTube, such as television shows, movies and other corporately owned material are forced to be taken off YouTube. But the producers of Britain’s Got Talent saw this YouTube phenomenon as an opportunity to expand their audience in a global scale. They allowed YouTube to continue distributing clips of their show to help promote the show. The episode after the show garnered record views clocking in at over 17 million viewers, which was 69% of all viewers for that time slot. Needless to say, YouTube played a key role to the success of that show.
We see this phenomenon all the time as companies “leak” videos onto the internet to help generate popularity and discussion on their product. When we view these video clips, we see them as nothing more than video clips. But the fact that it generates talk, interest and the fact that we are spending our time watching them proves that it works. This subtle marketing ploy shows the evolution of marketing and how it is adapting to the changing consumer.

Corporate Hands in Your Pocket

Is YouTube really about you? Are we the ones dictating what messages are being sent out? In the last few decades the media system was the one telling us what to watch. They were interpreting the meanings of the events that occurred around us and then feeding those meanings to us. Now with open platforms and social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook the influences of the media systems should be decreasing. These online websites broaden the number of opinions that are accessible to the public, helping us see the world in more than one way. During today’s class lecture anthropologist Mary Douglas’ theories were brought up which suggests that society is shaped over a normative debate and the outcomes depend on the contenders. The corporate media systems used to be the contenders who shaped our society but ever since the explosion of the Internet phenomenon, we, the public, are now included in the list of contenders.

But are we really contenders in shaping society? Yes and No. We have an influence because it is easier to voice our opinions nowadays but we are just little fish in this big pond. Our opinions are not separate from the corporate media system’s control. Websites like YouTube have been taken over by major corporations who have more power in society and therefore with this power, they have a greater influence and control in the types of messages that are being sent out to the public. YouTube has the ability to reject and delete whatever videos they deem unacceptable. So really, the public isn’t able to fully express themselves on what was supposed to be a platform to “Broadcast Yourself,” as their slogan says. YouTube has become part of the larger media systems that shaped our society in the last couple decades. They help control what is being viewed, told, and advertised. Amateur video producers think they are the ones influencing the public sphere in this era with their opinions but the truth is that the big corporate players are still dominating the game. They tell us what we can and cannot say or do. With regards to the advertising aspect, websites like YouTube become a key player in determining what your tastes should be; what is and what is not being advertised; and what you should or should not buy. There is no escaping these large corporations.

Claim to Fame

The grass is always greener on the other side they say. A 2008 Wired article stated:

Get Internet Famous! (Even if You’re Nobody) – Jason Tanz

Get Internet Famous

What the quote and the cover page of the magazine are suggesting is that YouTube can turn anyone into a celebrity. Many people are trying to use YouTube to gain fame. They post videos about anything in hopes that they will be able to generate more views and attract world wide attention. The more unique, outrageous or creative the video, the more people will want to watch it. Society tells us to be unique. The culture tells us that in this highly massified world, we need to find a way to differentiate ourselves. YouTube has become one outlet in which to do this. There are many types of people that can be seen on YouTube. There are those that that try to fit into the dominant social system. These are the people who watch all the celebrity and corporate endorsed videos on YouTube and try to replicate aspects of it in their lives. Then there are those people who choose to be hyper individuals. These are the ones that do “crazy” stunts to gain attention. When marketers find someone on YouTube they believe has potential or if they see someone that generates a lot of views, they will latch onto this profit making potential.

For example, on the cover of this magazine is Julia Allison. She is a nobody. She cannot sing, dance, or act, but she is recognized in the online YouTube community. She has found a way to catch the attention of viewers and keep them engaged. Another example of a nobody turned to an online celebrity is Michelle Phan. She has many tutorial type, do-it-yourself, videos on how to apply make-up. With the millions of viewers she attracts, she has gained sponsors attentions and her videos are now being endorsed by make-up companies such as Cargo Cosmetics, Lise Watier, and PurMinerals.

Sponsoring these individuals to promote their products or feature advertising clips during their amateur videos is a very cheap way for these corporations to promote their products to mass audiences. That is one reason why YouTube is such a popular site. The more these corporations endorse the users, the more the general public will want to make videos to become famous and endorsed as well.

Music is still Music

YouTube has adopted a new role. Most likely one that the creators of YouTube never dreamed of it becoming. More and more users are using YouTube as a music player.

Music videos are appearing all over YouTube. From Tim McGraw to 90′s Backstreet Boys to Lady Gaga, YouTube is a host for all these music videos. YouTube is now a place not just for videos, but also for music. Recently the music industry has been on a bumpy path with the new generation of consumers now downloading their music instead of purchasing it. So why hasn’t the music industry shut down this YouTube music movement? In fact the music industry has embraced it, seeing it as an excellent opportunity to evolve and adapt.

One of the most viewed channels on YouTube is UniversalMusicGroup followed by SonyBMG. They have seen this as an opportunity to promote their artists’ music, hoping to bring more consumers to the store to purchase their CDs. Whether this is working or not is hard to tell, but we do know that people are responding to the music videos. If you look at the most viewed videos in the history of YouTube, more than 40% of the top videos are music videos. We don’t really view these as anything but a music video, but what a music video really is, is a promotional tool used by the artists to help amplify record sales. Music videos were meant for the television, but now they are seen on YouTube more than anywhere else.

This just shows the natural evolution of marketing and that corporations are finding every way possible to capitalize on this new movement.

How To Change Society

How to dance like Justin Timberlake. How to do your make-up like Rihanna. How to do your hair like Beyonce. These are all videos you’d see in the How-To section of YouTube. This category is completely devoted to helping the general public teach one another simple do-it-yourself projects. But when looking through this section of YouTube, it is not filled with traditional do-it-yourself home projects like how to bake a cake or how to build a bookshelf. The most popular videos are the ones that have a ‘Hollywood’ factor to them. Many of the top viewed include videos that mimic celebrity’s actions or have a brand attached to it. The corporate entertainment and media business has a huge influence on what is ‘popular’ in society. They then tell us how we can replicate this, thus creating a plastic, molded society.

Use of “How-To” advertisements initiate mass change in society. – Dr. Strangelove

Nivea How To Advertisement

This topic was discussed in a previous class lecture. Are these just simple do-it-yourself projects? No. It’s much deeper than that. The big decision makers in society are telling us what we should be like. These How-To advertisements influence today’s culture because they target human desires and needs. They are teaching us something we don’t already know making us question ourselves. They have so much power in the world because in reality, those with the most amount of money have the biggest say in today’s society. Is there any way to stop these corporations from creating mass anxiety among us? Probably not.

Your Big Break

Contests on YouTube have turned into a new way for corporations to advertise their products. This advertising technique works by challenging people to use their products in a video advertisement and to submit it to them through YouTube. The company then compares and contrasts the submitted videos and they pick their favourite ones. From their top selection they allow the users on YouTube to make the final pick. The users can vote and comment on all the videos. The winner for the best amateur produced advertisement is then given a prize, usually a cash prize.

Swiffer YouTube Contest

Throughout the whole process, these companies’ products are being promoted without them having to pay a penny. We have turned into their free labourers, allowing the rich to get richer. The public does not see this as an advertising technique. It is just a game in which they can have fun making a funny, creative, or insightful video where they also have a chance to win money or gain some recognition and fame. The corporate media system wants to be able to take advantage of all the creativity that is out there in the world. There are many innovative people that just haven’t had their time to shine. If these companies see an amazing idea portrayed through the videos, they jump on this idea. The consumers become the “taste makers.” They create a new way of doing something, and the corporate world finds a way to capitalize it.

Unboxing Your Wallet

Is this video paid for or just a really lucky individual sharing his happy experiences? These “unboxing” videos are very common within the YouTube community, mostly among electronic devices. Popular unboxing videos have included gadgets such as the new iPods, cellphones and new gaming consoles. A very recent one that caught my attention was this one posted by Dr. Strangelove in the YouTube Advertising Facebook group, unveiling the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition package.

So to answer my original question, this game is not due to be released until late November 2009, so how in the world did this person get a hold of something so exclusive? Usually game developers put high security on their recent games, ensuring that they don’t get into the public’s hands before they are supposed to. That one little tidbit makes me assume this video was produced by the game developers: EA. Why would EA spend their valuable time and resources producing this little clip of their product? The only answer I can think of (and probably the correct answer) is to generate attention and awareness for the game. This video does a good job of highlighting all the details.  Not much about the game, but about the collector’s package that can be purchased. It does a good job of slowly showing all the items available in the box and the person does a good job of “selling” the product.

Like it or not, most of these unboxing videos have a main purpose: to get you to buy their product! They do so in a very casual way, showing the “average” fan opening the game for the first time, and telling the audience “you too can have this feeling of enjoyment and ownership IF you go out and buy our product”. It is a very sneaky and subliminal tactic indeed, but if it works, it works. Now I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to save my money for some sweet night vision goggles.