Monday, February 18, 2008

PulpKing

So while at my internship, where I watch a lot of commercials, I came across this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s87NgING4k

This version of it is in Spanish, but it's for Blockbuster. The captions read "Pulp Fiction...or The Lion King. Take home both". Now, I have to admit that I loved this commercial. I thought the mash up was hilarious. However, it made me wonder about more independent media getting co-opted by commercial media. This commercial is reminiscent of the type of fan art that's made independently and showcased all over the web. Judging from the Youtube research I did after seeing this ad, video/audio splicing like this is something that tons of people do, even with just Pulp Fiction and The Lion King alone. I just wonder if there's something wrong with a corporation like an advertising agency taking that independent idea and making a profit off of it. Or is it just a really clever marketing tool? Not quite sure...

-Lindsay
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3 comments:

the COOL class said...

Since I never saw The Lion King or Pulp Fiction, I did not get the references. but this sort of pop culture mixing can be really good. Wonder what other class members think.
DeeDee

February 18, 2008 at 7:41 PM
the COOL class said...

Lindsay, this reminded me of that Quiznos commercial we watched in American Television culture:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cG042nkReBA

It features the spongemonkeys from rathergood.com and it's an example of failed commercial appropriation of independent media - a lot of people really really hated this commercial (See http://www.slate.com/id/2095868/). Similarly, I wonder what the public response was to Tay Zonday's Dr. Pepper commercial: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2x2W12A8Qow

February 18, 2008 at 8:32 PM
the COOL class said...

Tay Zonday is riding that wave for all it's worth. His responses to the commercial seem innocent enough that i believe he really doesn't think it was absurd.

Advertising firms, and even just the advertising branches of larger companies, are wising up to new uses and formats (such as those displayed) of advertising media lately. I can only make the leap that since the last ten years have seen a steady increase of "popular" televised commercials using these methods that it's being diffused mostly by younger generations entering into the work force. Successful viral campaigns are the stuff those firms and company divisions dream about. Every now and then a company will take common internet practices (like the Blockbuster ad) and adapt them to television, but the splash never seems to be as big as they'd hoped. Perhaps because television spots cost tens of thousands, while video posting is free and easily replayable, or perhaps because some of the magic doesn't quite transfer from youtube to the boobtube.

That's not to say it always works on the intertubes - check out anything about Sony's "All I Want for Christmas is a PSP" viral campaign, which was hatched and executed by an advertising firm not quite smooth enough to make it work, and the backlash that ensued from people who felt like someone was trying to pull a fast one on them.

February 18, 2008 at 11:31 PM

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