Click here to view the embedded video.
In the discussion today, I found the idea of ‘no advertisement is bad advertisement’ interesting. I guess from the stand point that even when a product is being given media attention the product being advertised is being discussed so it still comes off as a successful advertisement despite the negative incantations. An example of this would the ads that were used to promote the second season of Gossip Girl. During season one of Gossip Girl the show had been heavily panned by some critics who felt the show gave bad role models for teens. A rather vocal critic of the show was the Parent Television Council who took issue with the teenagers use of drugs and sex in the show. The ads for the second season take quotes from negative review of the show from organizations and groups including the Parent television Council and quoted them in the ads, effectively turning the negativity surrounding the show into a way to promote this show. I think another reason these ads were successful because on some of the common themes we discussed associated with advertisement, I could see the Gossip Girl ads appealing to the masses from an elitist point of view. The characters in the show are all part of the elite New Yorkers teenagers who basically go around and do things that they can get away with because of their elite status. The audience which is probably mostly consist of teenage girls come back week after week because they want to live vicariously through the lives of the ‘upper east-siders’. The ads show the gossip girl characters going to fancy parties and getting to hangout while periodically freezing the video and quoting different negative reviews of the show. The quotes are used in such a way to suggest that the elite live outside the rules and that is why people should watch the show. This is defiantly a very creative way to turn what would be deterrent from the show into a way to attract viewers.