YouTube Videos Question Authenticity of Unilever's Campaign for Real Beauty Message

We recently discussed Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty and the viral videos generated as part of that campaign (i.e. the Evolution and Onslaught videos). What we haven't discussed yet is an interesting marketing dilemma facing Unilever, the multinational corporation which owns the Dove brand along with about 400 other brands, including personal care brands Axe, Sunsilk, and Lux. Obviously all of these product lines have different brand personalities. So what do you do when two of them clash? That's exactly the dilemma we are talking about here. While Dove's viral videos have been trying to redefine our perception of real beauty, Axe's marketing strategy has been reinforcing the exact stereotype of the woman as sex object that the Dove videos have been trying to dispel. So what's Unilever to do?

Can they reap the benefits of Dove's success in rebranding itself as a socially responsible brand while at the same time supporting Axe's message of female sex appeal? Should Unilever allow one of its own brands to undermine Dove's mission? Can the Dove message come across as authentic when other Unilever brands blatantly reject it? Is this hypocritical?

Here are a two YouTube videos that are calling Unilever on its apparent hypocrisy:





Also see this post from AdPulp.

Follow the British Prime Minister on Twitter, Flickr & YouTube

After the Queen started her own YouTube channel last Christmas, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown followed suit yesterday by creating a DowningStreet Twitter stream and Flickr account. He already has his own YouTube channel. All he needs now is a blog... 

Leave it to the Brits to pioneer social media uses for Heads of State!

Viral Marketing & Viral Video Slides

Here's the slideshow for our discussion of viral video. Click on each slide to navigate to the next. It's a big file, so it may take a second to load.

Web Video Assignment

Since we didn't have time to go over the upcoming web video assignment in class, I am posting it below. Please read over it and let me know if you need clarifications.

For this project, you will produce a 30 or 60 second YouTube video for The United Nations World Food Programme that strives to raise awareness about world hunger. 
According to the Hunger Bytes competition website: “This is your chance to be controversial, provocative and shocking - whatever it takes - to make a video that will grab the attention of the on-line community and get them thinking about world hunger. The goal is to make a top rated viral video that creates a real buzz and gets people thinking about hunger.”

The detailed call for entries can be found on the Hunger Bytes YouTube page. Your job will be to develop a creative idea, obtain footage (pics and/or video), edit the video, add sound and text, and format it for web distribution.

Requirements:
• Create a 30 or 60 second video entry for the Hunger Bytes Youtube competition
• Create a blog post about your video which embeds the video, describes your creative idea, and is tagged for effective search engine exposure

Grading Criteria:
1. Video is well edited (smooth & appropriate transitions, synchronized audio track & text)
2. Video quality is good (not too grainy)
3. Audio quality is good (edited correctly, proper volume)
4. Video is uploaded to Youtube and embedded on the blog with proper tags

Guidelines for the ethical use of social media from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations has published some good guidelines for the ethical use of social media in PR practice. Check them out!

Election 08 and Social Media: Special Blogging Assigment

I know we're still on spring break and the last thing you want to hear about are assignments, but this is not a new assignment - just a twist on your regular weekly blogging assignment. :)

I just finished reading an excellent Rolling Stone article (entitled "The Machinery of Hope") on how the Obama campaign is using social media to build a grassroots movement and I got to thinking that we should maybe spend a little more time on the subject of social media and political campaigning than we have thus far. This is after all an election year and all these new technologies are changing political campaigns right in front of our eyes.

What I would like us to do the week after spring break, is blog about how you think these technologies are affecting the way political campaigns are run. You can pick any candidate you like, or compare and contrast what different candidates have done in the social media arena. Just to clarify, these blog posts will NOT be in addition to your 2 weekly blog posts, but will replace them.

Check out these resources for an overview of the issue: 

• Wired story "Start a Nonprofit and Join Election '08 YouTube Free-For-All"
  
• New York Times article "Finding Political News Online, the Young Pass It On"
• Brave New Films use of viral video to expose Fox News' agenda setting powers:

• News story on the use of social networking in political campaigns:

Wikipedia accepts donation in return for edit?

Check out this article from the BBC about Wikipedia's founder supposedly trading edits for a donation.