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MySpace Advertisements
"...Many young people do interact with ad characters and products as if they have a friendship."
By Jordan Monroe
May 16, 2007
Listen to this Commentary!
Advertisers are trying to make social networking sites like MySpace work for them, creating personal profiles for TV shows, movies, and consumer products...hoping teens and young adults will link to them as “friends.” Youth Radio's Jordan Monroe discusses this marketing strategy from a young consumer's viewpoint.
When it comes to advertisers on MySpace, all I can say is, “operation infiltration: complete.” Here’s Helga, a character from a VW commercial. She’s got a profile on MySpace...complete with zodiac sign. It only takes a few minutes online for 15-year-old Evelyn Martinez and her friends Mayra Jimenez and Consuelo Cisneros to discover that Helga is practically a MySpace celebrity.
EVELYN (on tape)
How many friends does she have?
Mayra:Whoa...
Consuelo: 3,128 friends...
Mayra:It says, you're so awesome and I love your commercials.
Consuelo: Thanks for the ad Helga and I will drink your bathwater?
All: Ewwwww!
JORDAN
Now, I’m no economist, but it seems to me if a commercial can make someone drink someone else’s bathwater, that’s some good marketing.
But what about the dollars? If you can believe it, Kyle Nicholas of Kaboom Advertising says companies like his don’t worry about the bottom line – they are just trying to be social and use MySpace the same way everyone else does.
KYLE (on tape)
To develop relationships, to expand our social network, have fun, see what’s exciting and new out there...encountering people as you would in a sort of natural face-to-face situation...
EVELYN (on tape)
No, they’re not creating a relationship with you.
JORDAN
Evelyn Martinez isn’t impressed. She says teenagers understand advertisers’ ulterior motives.
EVELYN (on tape)
How are you going to become friends? Like in real life your not gonna’ be talking to your ipod, "Hi, iPod. How are you today? Let me hear you..." It's obvious that they’re not your real friends, they’re just trying to get you to buy their product.
JORDAN
But many young people do interact with ad characters and products as if they have a friendship. Once MySpace buddies, users can send each other comments, which are posted on their profile for the world to see.
People are leaving messages for the McDonalds hash brown. I call him “Hashy” ...the Square Burger from Wendy’s, and the Ipod Nano. Each color has its own special profile.
Blue iPod gets comments like, “Hey, I hope I get you for my birthday.”
While the square burger gets comments like, “Dude, I just ate you” and, “Why are you so delicious?”
I have no idea what’s so appealing about maintaining a relationship with a brand name food of a company mascot. Luis Sierra found a practical reason to get involved with an ad profile – a bonus feature.
LUIS (on tape)
I befriended the movie X-Men 3 because my friend said if you add the movie, you go from having 8 friends on your main page to 24 friends.
JORDAN
But Luis and X-Men 3 soon started to grow apart.
LUIS (on tape)
I did go see the movie. I never really checked back in with the website. It seemed overdone. Like it seemed like someone actually paid money to put this website together. Like it’s not your typical MySpace page. I guess they used me to see the movie and I used them to get 24 friends.
JORDAN
Although many young people do choose to interact with product profiles on MySpace, it doesn’t necessarily mean a friendship exists. Once the novelty wears off, advertisers risk becoming that popular kid who just falls out of favor.
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