Someone Always Complains ...

I'm a big fan of advertising, of course it's the industry I worked in and am eager to return to (damn recession). I think there is such creativity and brilliance out there, especially as the only way to cut through all that advertising noise is to create something really artistic.

I just read about a new viral video using sheep. I think having an advertising campaign that is getting talked about on the other side of the world and becoming an internet hit is the sign of success. But of course someone always has to complain. There is a bit of credibility in getting complained about, I heard this from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) that most ads will get at least one complaint, and if you don't get a complaint you've done something wrong because no-one is paying attention. Of course you don't want too many complaints, this could cause a problem if you've been a bit too risqué. Depending on your product though drumming up publicity with complaints could be favourable.
Interesting that the complaint for the Samsung viral ad is about animal cruelty. This just makes me wonder what on earth goes through some peoples heads. Now I'm not a huge animals rights atavist, I could never be a vegetarian, but I do believe in the humane treatment of animals (even the ones I plan to eat). I think it is a reflection on society how we treat animals when we could so easily exploit them. I cannot however see how herding sheep could be seen as cruel. I think it is fantastic that this still exists in modern times, sheep still need to be herded to greener pastures, which to me is the opposite of cruelty. It is something that is still done so traditionally as it would be difficult to replace with technology. I don't think donning LED vest would have worried the sheep too much, these are animals that have long been put through sheering so we can don our own woolly hats and jerseys. Getting trotted around the Welsh countryside also isn't really going to be a huge torment. So why on earth are some people so upset about the use of these sheep in advertising.

I personally see a problem with people who are bit too over enthusiastic about a cause, sometimes it can be detrimental to the wider issue. If people are going to tout 'animal cruelty' when a bunch of sheep are parading about the welsh countryside are we going to pay attention when something truly is animal cruelty? Sure there is a level of exploitation for advertising, but I don't think these animals are actually harmed, I also think unless you have some big problem with advertising in general there really shouldn't be any problems with this campaign. But instead some people do get upset, they shout cruelty as a catch phrase but we can't see the link to thing we do associate with this such as animal testing so hopefully people largely ignore them rather than next time assume 'animal cruelty' could be as harmless as LED vests.
I also read today about a failed home birth in Australia that led me to think about extremists ruining it for everyone. Safe home births should be encouraged, with medical professionals handy, but when people push that 'free births' are the way to go, but using the language for home birthing then the two can get mixed up. It is a tragic story in it's personal sense but it seems tragic on a larger level that a sad personal incident could be used to prevent safer exercises in home birthing.

Working for change and in advocacy can be a tricky business because of the people who's views are a bit too far. It seems unfair sometimes that most people will only look at one view and then label all people with similar ideals as being the same.
Of course I think most people understand its a few people with extreme views in this case of animal cruelty, because we can all see that attaching an LED to a sheep isn't quite the same as testing pharmaceuticals or locking up animals in cages to perform.
I like the Samsung ad, and I think the sheep deserve their 15min of fame for their work. Bring on more sheepvertising I say, it's interesting and innovative.

Social networking on the move

I just heard that Vodafone has signed up for Bebo's open mobile. Basically you can interact with bebo via a shortcode sms service and allows the use of Bebo more seamlessly through handsets.
Interesting because I already know of people who have that little mobile Bebo sign next to messages. I assume this has come from the same system as the m.facebook.com which allows access to facebook via a 3G phone, using the basic web surfing function.
I can't help but think there is something very lucrative for Vodafone here though, using a mobile friendly page is a bit different to sending out a text message, these will incur very different charges, at the cost of 20c a text message Bebo addicts could be racking up a tidy profit for Vodafone as they update status'. Handy for uploading photos but Vodafones data plans might be more useful for sending messages, at $1 for 10Mb it might be cheaper than sending out shortcode sms.

Personally I haven't been a big fan of using my phone for the many different uses they now offer but I can see that phones are becoming more and more like little PCs and the connectivity of society is becoming more fluid. I have used my phone to check my facebook on occasion. I think the connection of social media with mobile devices to be an important step in the way we interact with these sites. Already I see Facebook as a major source of communication with my peer group, it allows me to communicate information to all my friends, some of them or just one. It allows me to create events, join groups and interact with people I don't know or people I haven't spoken to in years. Having access to social media through my phone also allows me to keep on top on this information when I'm out and about, this can be especially useful when trying to organise a group of people. We are using these social network sites as the main interaction with our peer group, taking this outside of the realm of our homes and making accessible everywhere will possibly only grow the phenomenon as more people pick up on mobile technology.

Of course I think there is a flip side to the relentless connectivity of our modern world and that switching off can become more and more difficult, the interaction with these sites can often be called an addiction. We all love the pet name 'crackbook' for the beloved social website. I think this comes from that basic social desire of humans and of wanting to be 'in the loop' we feel if we don't keep up with the connections everyone else is making then we will get left behind and left out. If you don't accept the friend request on the virtual realm you may loose that friend in real life. Of course some people seem to take it a step to far, I don't know how people maintain over a thousand 'friendships'.
The way we interact with our friends is changing drastically, I know for myself and my peer groups it is the most common way to interact with people. Sometimes you get messages from people who's opinion you couldn't care less about but it is the way we get most of our information about our friends. This has changed considerably since I was in high school. I think at least in part because of the nature of the world I navigate now, I no longer see my friends on a daily basis and thus need to utilize other means to keep in contact and updated on their lives. But we all know high school students now are big fans of social media, more often Bebo for the younger set, but even after seeing their friends all day social networking sites allow them to interact on new levels, we can send links, 'gifts' share our photos and personal life to our friends, and strangers also.
Now we can do everything on the move, something twitter has already proven a successful format, it's inception based on microblogging on the move.

We have an interesting fascination with technology and communication, there is a fine line between our public and private life that never existed before. It is exciting but also scary. I think it can be a fabulous thing that we are able to access social networking sites from our phones, it brings us closer to our obsession with these sites but will hopefully also increase our real friendships through connectivity.

There is one problem that will possibly rise with this new inception. Most people around my age group will have noticed as mobile phones have become more popular there has been an increase in drunk texts and phone calls that we later regret. Now when you wake up with a hangover you may also regret those photos you uploaded to Bebo and you status update that seemed like such a great idea at the time. Will be interesting to see how mobile's will shape the future of social networking sites.