Love this new vid, made by Evan Roth, one of the originals from Graffiti Research Lab. And, uh, anyone else think Jay cribbed that voice-buckle from Wayne?
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link from Michael Karnjanaprakorn
yoyoyo amigo? STFU. Ad Age published an essay by MHB about how social media will help get advertising past tired cliches when attempting to engage multicultural marktes. TBD when SMH will slowdown.
The idea that online is ‘colorblind’ is now thankfully being replaced be a more intelligent discourse on the topic. No doubt, you can see more about it here at Desedo, cause it’s the world we live in.
[T]he proliferation of media voices and sources enabled by the internet has allowed a more nuanced and less gangster voice of young black america to emerge, untempered by market concerns and sensationalism. Because of social media’s democratized communication tools, we are now seeing a more accurate depiction of black america. Mainly because that media is actually being created by, ahem, black people.
The authorship space of social media has fostered a cross media rise of black skaters, black rockers, black gamers and a wildly successful new strain of nerdy hip-hop. (Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, N.E.R.D., Cool Kids, etc…) These diverse depictions and distributions of black life run counter to what we often see in mass media.
And that’s one case study. Many other groups within America have used social media to this effect : GLBT, American-Muslims, Asian-Americans, etc… Increasingly more content is made + moved by these groups, counterbalancing the content about these groups as seen in mass media. Dialogue is supplanting monologue.
As a society, we are all richer for it.
So. What is the upside for marketers within this diversifying social media space? It is a chance to engage oft ignored multicultural markets. Money is still on the table. And in our current economic state, brands are seeking “new” consumer groups.
My thinking is this:
1) Except for humor, traditional advertising is a risk-adverse platform. When brands aim to reach multicultural markets, most opt to play it safe with the tropes that Blacks value ‘soul’, Latinos love ‘family’, Asians are ‘sedulous’, etc… >>
3) Social media is where this engagement strategy can begin to change for the better. Why? Because social media is built upon the truth of multiplicity. As Raafi notes above, one person can now use this space to identify himself as: a gamer + a skater + black + a man + a music lover + a photographer + more. As brands understand this truth, they will rethink the narrow content used to engage multicultural consumers. And given the online ability to reach niches at low cost, brands can actually put to use their knowledge of multiplicity – beginning new conversations with those consumers who’ve too long been writ as simply a clatch of soul claps and sombreros.
i can’t tell you you’re oppressed
without asking your opinion on it.
-Fatemeh Fakhraie
I’ve written before on the subject of sex and authorship and believe in the virtues of Neo Burlesque and Suicide Girls as a potential source of empowerment. Yet what still struck me in this clip from Sundance’s Pleasure For Sale is the frank calm with which Kittie approaches prostitution as an independent contractor. Or at least, that which we see on screen? Dunno.
That said, we must keep questioning those things that make us nod or shake our heads, be it assent or dissent.
The popcorn, jokes, and testosterone zing around the room with all the patience of an electron. Across town the same scene is amplified in a crowded bar, long and skinny, the popcorn substituted with beer. In both rooms the flicker of television screens — rhythm — and the dance between sports and advertising provides the meter by which the hours will unfold. Where elbows and dripping bottles crowd one space, coasters and crumbs crowd the other. It is the job of Lebron James to communicate above the din in both these spaces. If, during commercial breaks, he can do just half of what his body does during the game many millionaires not pictured on the screen sweating and chest-bumping will be just as enthused.
LeBron James, the icon, comes to form before our eyes. We see, just a bit sharper in Nike’s new spot “Chalk.”
And was that Lil Wayne mugging from the courtside seats? Indeed, we’re not sure if the cameo will help sell more albums to sports fans or sneakers to hip-hop fans, but the will is there. He’s even blogging for ESPN. Guess who he talks about most?
LeBron James was a junior in high school when he first appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. His senior season’s games were broadcast nationally on ESPN. Now a six-year pro and gold medalist, the table is set for him to become a legitimate media personality, or, as Nike once put it, for us to Witness.
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further reading at Esquire.
Early SI cover here.
halal chicken can help stack cheddarRelioscope, one of the leading journals for discourse about religion, just published an interview with MHB about the American-Muslim Consumer Market.
So…my white paper about Islam, Identity + Advertising has been getting some pixels round the internets. Did interviews with Religioscope + Agency Spy and Ad Age reprinted an excerpt. And it’s getting published in print by Cambridge Scholars Press, cause you know I’m an armchair academic.
Was invited to a conference about Religion and Media in Iran, waiting on some visa issues. Linking up with Fatemeh Fakhraie, EIC of Muslimah Media Watch, to do content + consulting for agencies/brands. Quite curious to see what’s next….
