Browsing Tag

Facebook

Uncertainty

I re-watched Up In The Air for the first time since it inspired my debut blog post for Hot On The Street and picked up on different elements. Keeping in mind the themes of (un)happiness and uncertainty that it shares with Take This Waltz, I realized that those must be two of the defining social issues of this era.

When Up In The Air was released, America was in the middle of the recession. Now the economy is in recovery mode and people are still feeling uneasy and lonely. Magazines, movies and the like promote romance, offering tips to help you acquire it if you’re single, but ultimately leave people unsatisfied enough to make them continue subscribing and buying, hoping for that one life-changing tip.

Despite all the critics’ rave reviews, I walked out of Take This Waltz wishing that I hadn’t over-hyped it in my mind since its premiere at TIFF, which I missed because I was too busy needed to be in London for school. Then it had another special showing in New York at Tribeca Film Festival, which coincided with my first-ever trip to the Big Apple, but I couldn’t attend because it was sold out. It wasn’t a matter of being in the same place at the wrong time; sometimes there are circumstances beyond your control. Anyway, I was frustrated because I had such high expectations for a single film, and then walked out feeling disappointed.

Did I laugh when Lena Dunham tweeted praise for Take This Waltz? Absolutely. I tweeted her right back, with my fingers crossed that she would respond. She’s the girl who a lot of my peers look up to, waiting for her to put on HBO exactly what’s on their minds, yet they’re shy about expressing out loud. Part of the reason I’m drawn to her is that she’s got spunk. She doesn’t pretend like she rolls out of bed looking like a Hollywood diva; she allows herself to be seen by millions with somewhat messy hair and she just appears to be someone who goes with the flow. But as seen on TV with her character Hannah, we all have bad days. Girls feel miserable when they don’t have their periods. Just ask Dove. Those are the times when companionship matters most.

It’s not just about having someone to lean on when you get fired. People sweat the small stuff too – it happens. That’s when you need to recruit your personal support team – family, friends, professional mentors, even trustworthy acquaintances who may not call you a ‘friend’ per se, but you think the world of and respect.

If you have time to casually surf the web and read my blog right now, take a few extra minutes to compile a list of people to whom you can turn when times are rough and you can’t sleep peacefully anymore. Make the list and store it somewhere. Don’t publish it on Facebook and tag them all in it. Keep it in your nightstand drawer for easy access. If you never have to use it, consider yourself lucky.

Women Who Should Be Famous

Songstress-turned-humanitarian Mandy Moore’s entrance onstage at The Carlu on Tuesday night was a walk to remember. Dressed as conservatively as her character Jamie Sullivan, Mandy was an excellent host for Dove’s first ever live-streamed event.

Dove could’ve easily called for a dress code of “girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes” because the featured guests donned Dove’s colour scheme, and anyone in a LBD stood out. Complete with hors d’oeuvres, photo walls and mocktinis, Dove and its agency partners hosted a classy event for a good cause.

I’ve supported Dove’s self-esteem project for many years. In fact, I got into an argument with a professor last semester after she screened the Evolution and Fotoshop videos, mainly because Ben Barry’s speeches about how the concept came to life turned me into a brand advocate. That class helped me identify a conflict between my MIT and Women’s Studies programs: in media classes, Dove’s campaign has been discussed (and praised) ad nauseum, whereas in the Women’s Studies culture jamming class, discussing the benefits of the campaign from a business perspective was not a priority whatsoever.

Speaking of school, the honoured women reflected on their high school years and shared what young girls can do to achieve their goals. Spoken word artist Toni Blackman made a great comparison between internal and external confidence. She was a homecoming queen who climbed the social ladder, yet lacked self esteem inside, despite what her prom photos imply. Her recommendation is to “write out a plan and put that plan to action with determination and absolute focus.” Likewise, Fahima Osman admitted to being a nerd growing up who decorated her bedroom with A+’s to remind her of what she needed to do for medical school entry. Fahima is now a general surgeon and Canada’s first Canadian-trained Somali physician at that.

Inspired by the statistic that second to Mom, 32% of Canadian girls cite celebrities as their top role models, Dove felt compelled to recognize admirable women working outside of Hollywood. During the presentation, scientist Arlene Blum modestly shared tales of climbing the world’s tallest mountains and David Suzuki’s daughter Severn described how she scrambled to prepare notes last minute for a speech to UN officials when she was merely 12 years old.

After Mandy Moore formally introduced the four women, Sharon MacLeod, vice-president of marketing, Dove Canada, led a Q&A session. Preteens barely old enough to have Facebook accounts quickly formed a line and articulately posed questions. Thankfully the girls never said the word “like,” and that confidence will definitely help them stand out as eloquent public speakers someday. What would truly be incredible is if the 4 featured role models spoke at upcoming Canadian graduation ceremonies.

Within just a few months, I shook Nicholas Sparks’ hand and sat a few rows away from Mandy Moore. When’s Shane West coming to Toronto? He’s cute…

Facebook Connects Music Lovers

If you want to star in a music video, there’s no need to respond to a semi-sketchy casting call posted on Craigslist.

Derek Blais, art director at Tribal DDB, helped lead the creation of a music video that suits today’s narcissistic culture and sedementary lifestyle, where people want to invest minimal effort to become stars. Thanks to the “Facebook Connect” function, anyone with a Facebook account can star in Young Empires’ new music video, alongside young actors who look like tastefully dressed Abercrombie models.

I won’t bore you with the details of how the music video works. Slow internet connection? Try playing it on another computer. Director Miles Jay’s vision ensured it’s just that spectacular.

I first learned of Young Empires when fashion retailer FCUK named them artist of the month, following a competitive event promoting unsigned Canadian bands in September 2011. Little did I know that months later, they would achieve international buzz thanks to a creative interactive music video.

Less Than Impressed: Cottonelle

“The Name Generator”

Goal: Encourage consumers to use Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Care* Bathroom Tissue and Cottonelle Fresh Care* Flushable Wipes, as part of a personal hygiene routine, which supposedly needs a cheeky name.

How It Works:

To enter contest, entrants submit name suggestions for the routine. The names are then voted on and the highest voted names are added to “The Book of Names.” How unncessary clever.

Otherwise uninspired entrants can develop an idea using 1 of 3 tools in the Cottonelle Facebook app:

The Randomizer: Simply click to get a name instantly

The Personalizer: Answer a few questions for a personalized name

The Customizer: Create a name to add to our Book of Names and enter for a chance to win a year’s supply of Cottonelle products.

 

How It Fails To Impress:

– Supplies and information provided to mommy bloggers to create sponsored posts led to bland content.

– The white text on the aqua blue background is unclear, while the rest of the site is nothing special.

– The commercial (where I first learned about it) is super cheesy. How many families discuss toilet paper while standing in the kitchen? Yuck. It really irks me when people don’t think of social context.

Personally, I’m still amazed that Secret has acquired over a million Facebook fans. As an example of Cottonelle trying to compete with other personal hygiene brands for online engagement, let’s hope they spend more time at the drawing board for their next campaign.

Cottonelle’s Name Generator app is one of the cheesiest advertising ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Personal purchases aside, I prefer toilet paper commercials featuring cuddly bears and cozy robes.

Consider this for a mini competitive analysis:

Charmin promoted another routine by featuring the Old Spice guy, and their video received close to 2 million views.

Continue Reading

Facebook Favourites

Alas, Facebook has finally revised its Timeline design to reflect users’ interests in a way that appears more personalized than simply a list of pages where they clicked Like.

In a digital age characterized by content curation, this is quite meaningful because it suggests users seriously consider which pages to share with friends on Timelines. Since brands began setting aside budget for media buys to attract new brand page followers, tempting users through contests, giveaways and the promise of exclusive content, users’ Timelines became less a reflection of their favourite things and more so a mosaic of where their brand loyalty lies.

 

Next Facebook Timeline Design

Current Facebook Timeline Design

With Facebook’s new changes (in the testing phase), users can gain a better idea of what their friends like, especially if users feel compelled to “Like” TV shows, stores and the like that represent their favourite things. For example, let’s say your favourite band is coming to town, but you can’t remember which of your friends are fellow fans. You can search for the band’s page, where Facebook will then share which of your friends liked the band’s page, then sift through the list of acquaintances to find a friend who’d likely be interested in buying tickets too. If they “Like” the band on Facebook because they’re among their favourite musicians, they’ll be more likely to pay money to see them live. This enhances Facebook’s truly social benefits by making it easier for Facebook friends to plan offline outings.

Continue Reading