Brand Evangelists: Same Old Sales Pitch

Allen Adamson spends a lot of time lauding consumers’ use of the web to review, complain, and create buzz about brands. In some sections, he encourages companies to find natural brand enthusiasts to speak about the brand and offer up free samples to anyone who wants to review it. In other sections, he acknowledges that some consumers may give negative reviews and that’s okay, too.

I agree that it’s okay to review a product negatively. These negative reviews flourish in spaces such as Amazon or Yelp. Unfortunately, I’ve seen countless blog reviews where the blogger only speaks highly of the product or brand. I strongly believe that blog reviewers and brand evangelists aren’t 100% honest. They’re savvy enough to know how to write a sales pitch; many even work in the marketing industry themselves. From product reviews on Gap to wine to Nintendo to cherries to Tempur-Pedic to vibrators … the blogosphere is oversaturated with brand enthusiasts who keep getting free stuff. It can be a bit obnoxious, to say the least. Perhaps because a blogger received the product for free they feel obligated to promote it positively. I'm guilty of it, too. (Thankfully, the FTC now requires full disclosure when a blogger reviews a gifted product, as explained in the video.)


In fact, the first negative review I’ve read in a long time in my blogging circle was this list of products the blogger loves and loathes. However, with no FTC disclosure, it’s safe to say Brandy was not given these products to review. And, because of this, I do trust her opinion on these products. Instead of a company bribing her to promote their mascara, her post feels more like a sister showing me the best of the best and what to avoid at the makeup counter (or even the drugstore).

The bottom line is that I no longer trust brand evangelists because it seems quite contrived.

Branding, Twitter, and Strawberry Beer

One of the beauties of the digital space in terms of building a brand is that it's interactive.
Adamson, pg. 63

Not too long ago, I was reminded that March is strawberry beer season. Unfortunately, Abita's Strawberry Harvest beer is incredibly hard to find anywhere north of the Mason Dixie line. I had first tried it at an outdoor pub in New Orleans and have been smitten since. We tend to go to great lengths to secure a six pack; calling local distributors, bribing our friends from the south, etc, but we’ve never actually acquired any in Illinois.

This March was the annual Dude Weekend at our house. I tend to make myself scarce while the gentlemen visiting play Warcraft but I had one request this year: The friend from North Carolina has to pay for his stay here with Abita Strawberry Harvest. He made good on this promise.

I mentioned on Twitter to alert two of my strawberry beer-loving friends that I had some in my possession. Much to our surprise, the Chicagoland Twitterverse weighed in.










As you can see from this abbreviated conversation, several of my Chicago-area friends found places to purchase this beloved beer and I learned a lesson in Illinois beer distribution. (And I’m not above traveling to the city to have a pint of Strawberry Harvest.) This is a perfect example of how digital media can deliver a brand. Bajwa, as quoted in Adamson, says: “If the right people find you and you give them something engaging, something worth passing along, you can spend less money and have a far greater impact. Content that is shared voluntarily is of incredible value” (pg. 93). In this case, it was not Abita the brewer engaging with its customers, it was a restaurant and a liquor store trying to drum up sales. So, perhaps this interaction didn’t directly deliver a brand, but it did put The Southern on my radar and I will remain loyal to the local Binny's Beverage Dept.

Twitter, Conan, and Alternative Distribution

It’s funny how the internet works. As soon as I finished Tryon’s book, I opened a Word document to begin my blog response. For once, I didn’t have any clue as to what I would respond to. Great book, but nothing inspired me outright in this set of readings. I thought, “I could write about my friend’s group organized live-tweeting of the first season of Buffy,” or “I could write about that funny Jaws trailer I just found.” But I wasn’t sold on any idea.

As I stared at a blank Word document, a friend of mine tweeted:

Curious, I did what anyone might do in this situation. I Googled. A quick search brings up a number of relevant hits, including bloggers' reviews, news stories, and articles regarding the film's unique distribution. YouTube provides clips and interviews with Conan and the director, Rodman Flender.



As an incredibly devout fan of Conan O’Brien, I was hooked. There's no doubt that his attention to the Millennials' use of social media has fostered my admiration, as well as the admiration of Team Coco (a nice example of fan culture). Furthermore, according to Hollywood Reporter: "In a unique multiparty, multiplatform arrangement. . . Conan O'Brien Can't Stop will be distributed by AT&T, Abramorama and Magnolia Home Entertainment." For me, this means I'll be able to watch the film via AT&T U-Verse and I could not be more geeked about that prospect. I am a media savvy Millennial as well as a fan, and I know I'm not the only one. Conan is practically putting this film into my hands. Thanks, Coco.

What a perfect example of everything Tryon discusses. Here is an independent documentary that has not been distributed en masse but saw a premiere at SXSW and is reaching potential audiences word-of-mouth via Twitter, blogs, and YouTube. It is as though everything I had just read came to fruition as the result of a single tweet.

The IMAX Experience

I’m a Millennial and I don’t like going to the movies. I am the stereotype that worries film scholars.

The difference between me and other potential movie-goers is that I’m not a cinephile. Generally, I don’t even like movies. I love television, but films take up too much time and concentration. That is why, when I do make plans to go to a movie theatre, I prefer blockbusters. In fact, the last films I’ve seen in the theatres were either Pixar (because I do love some Pixar magic) or huge blockbusters (Iron Man, Transformers, etc).

Furthermore, I prefer to spend a couple more dollars to see these blockbusters on the IMAX. If I’m going to commit the time to be entertained, I want the explosions to be outrageously good. On special effects, Tryon writes, “…these effects are invariably marketed in terms of their novelty, their ability to present unprecedented experiences for audiences, an assertion that seems specifically designed to lure audiences back into movie theatres” (40). As Tryon suggests, I am the demographic that goes specifically for special effects. I don’t necessarily need a great story; I can see those on my own television. I want spectacle.

On the otherhand, specifically speaking of IMAX films, Tryon argues this spectacle creates a sense of hypermediacy, or the notion that an audience is aware of the spectacle’s spectacularity. Though I may be aware of the movie magic involved in creating an IMAX film, I find it more immersive than a traditional viewing. I believe Millennials have grown up inundated with advanced technology and immersed in images. I would argue my generation is less accepting of traditional film as fully immersive. In fact, nothing bores me more than an older, less bombastic film, such as Citizen Kane. I can appreciate it as an artifact, but it is not entertaining. I, like my generation, prefer the IMAX experience to truly overwhelm my senses and force me to forget everything else around me. In fact, that’s exactly how Millennials need to be entertained in an era of media saturation.

Week Six: SecondLife, like high school but worse

Meet Petunia Pinion. I created her in early 2007 for my Communication & New Media course. Petunia was created in representation of, as Filiciak states, “a longed-for chance of expressing ourselves beyond physical limitations” (as quoted in Brookey & Cannon, pg. 149). Physical limitations constrain my ability to have purple skin, wings, or even purple hair (without the pricey process of bleaching and dyeing). Petunia represents me: her hair and skin represent my love affair with the color purple. Her tie-dyed shirt and bare feet represent my affinity for hippie culture. Her bright, defined eyes are testament to the fact that I believe eyes are our clue to whether or not we can trust someone. Her toile skirt is in homage to my obsession with toile fabric dating back to early episodes of “Trading Spaces.” She wears a bracelet because I love bracelet but find them cumbersome in real life. And her wings inspire me to fly (though, Petunia doesn’t need wings to fly). In other words, Petunia represents everything about me that I cannot—she is the liberated Renee.

For my senior comprehensive project in undergrad, I chose to do an autoethnographic analysis of hegemonic hypersexuality in SecondLife. I was less a participant and more of an observer. However, I found Petunia garnered too much attention to be a fly on the wall. In any social space, Petunia regularly received remarks about her appearance, and occasionally others would chat about “the purple fairy” as though she weren’t even there.

I knew she wouldn’t do for my study.

Meet Sheri Merryman, a name inspired by Sherry Turkle. She’s about as bland and uninteresting an avatar can be. She was my eyes and ears into the hegemonic representations of avatars in SecondLife. Rarely did anyone speak to her. I was disappointed to shelve Petunia for the sake of the study, but her appearance was too engaging, lending credence to the fact that women’s bodies are on display to be remarked on and spoken about. Non-hegemonic representations of identity are disciplined, reminding me of high school.

Week Five: Intertexualization in "Glee"

I am a Gleek.

As a former show choir nerd myself, I have been an unabashed fan of the television show “Glee”. And, whether the critics like it or not, “Glee” is a sophisticated show. The show’s creators utilize intertextuality in more nuanced ways than simply straightforward cover of popular songs. I have identified one captivating example of intertextuality as textual strategy in this show.

Before the second season began, nearly all recurring actors in the show started to use Twitter. Fox’s official Twitter account made their actors’ Twitter handles public. On a recent episode, Naya Rivera, who plays Santana, calls her costar Corey Monteith “Frankenteen”. The average viewer may just think this jab is a clever comment on Monteith’s height (see photo above). In fact, it is, but the name has a bit of a history.

Initially, a Twitter-friendly viewer might recognize “Frankenteen” as a reference to Monteith’s Twitter handle. Using this as a point of reference is funny in itself. However, the Twitter handle was, in fact, born from the third episode of the series in which another character referred to Monteith’s character as Frankenteen. The show’s choreographer initially coined the name and the writers worked it into the script. Due to network negotiations, this episode aired quite some time ago, before the cast members were active on Twitter. It is doubtful that many casual viewers remember this first mention of “Frankenteen” and Rivera’s use of it likely reminded viewers of Monteith’s Twitter account instead.

The more layers a fan peels back from this single joke, the more involved he/she feels in the narrative. Ott and Walter call this parodic allusion, or “the pleasure of recognition is often directly proportional to the difficulty of identifying the allusion” (436). As a fan, I do feel incredibly nerdy for knowing this bit of "Glee" trivia but it also made me feel more involved and committed to the show itself.

Ott and Walter make the point that the Internet is changing the way we view television. “Glee” is capitalizing on this intertextualization in a big way.

Week Four: Hollywood Gamers and GoldenEye

I was introduced to Nintendo 64 through the GoldenEye game based on the 1995 Bond film. In high school, we played tournaments after play practice. When I saw Activision was remaking it for the Wii, of course I pre-ordered it.

The game arrived in November. I found it far more difficult than the 64 version, but that’s not my only complaint. James Bond in the Wii remake looks like Daniel Craig. He wasn’t in the GoldenEye film; that was Pierce Brosnan.

It’s possible my hang up comes from the fact that I am a Pierce Brosnan fan in general. I was introduced to the Bond franchise with Brosnan as the face. What disappoints me with GoldenEye for Wii are the differences in the game because of the appearance of Craig. However, for some game fans, there were already inconsistencies in the first GoldenEye game, therefore those of us with trepidations should quit our complaining. According to Evan Elder Eller at VGChartz, Pierce Brosnan never fought Oddjob or Mayday, who both appear in the 64 version, so this game was already a stretch.

This brings up a discussion of licensing and use of likeness in an actors’ contract, a discussion not lost on the video game’s fans. Craig Harris writes at IGN:

Like it or lump it, for GoldenEye 007 Activision has ousted Pierce Brosnan in favor of the current Bond, Daniel Craig, for the role of 007. Whether the switch is due to lacking the likeness rights or simply Eurocom and Activision wanting to take a huge risk with such a massive design change may never be known. The Craig rendition of Bond is one of the biggest alterations to the character, giving the Ian Fleming spy a much more brutal, thug-like personality than his Connery/Moore/Dalton/Brosnan precursors, and with this single change comes a ripple effect: all the existing roles have been recast, some characters have been removed, and key moments – while true to the GoldenEye film – have been altered to work within the Daniel Craig style of Bond.

It's interesting that a simple change in likeness can change an entire game.