There is probably nothing more uncomfortable than being in the middle of an inside-joke where you have no idea what they’re talking about. Awkwardly sitting there and grinning whilst they chuckle away.
I’ve suffered far too many of those situations as my best friend is a self-confessed meme-and-vine addict. She’d make these references and re-enactments of iconic videos which I simply never understood.
“Have you seen that meme/video?!” Not being a meme-lover myself, she’d excitedly jump onto YouTube and hunt down those “hilarious” videos which in my opinion (an emphasis on ‘in my opinion’) are blatantly stupid.
Procrastination mode kicks in…
“How on earth did these 10 second videos attract millions of views around the world?”
In Ted Talk episode “Why things go viral”, author Kevin Allocca identified and explained how tastemakers, community participation and complete unexpectedness are the three factors that has contributed to the development of a “new kind of media where the audience defines its popularity.”
Furthermore, author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On”, Jonah Berger discusses about the six STEPPS (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotions, Public, Practical Value, Stories) that brands and companies could apply to enhance the probability of their content being shared.
With the attention span of humans decreasing from “12 seconds to eight seconds” (shorter than a goldfish. Scary isn’t it?) contributing to the shift of memes and vines. Why sit and watch an hour long show when you can squeeze in almost 300 clips, on the go!
***** WARNING: GET THOSE TISSUES READY *****
Not-for-profit organisation, Ad Council launched a campaign in 2015 “Love Has No Labels” with the objective to tackle public issues and challenge the traditional ways of thinking and bias. The idea that love has no gender, no race, no religion, no disability and no age.
Ad Council wanted to spread a message core to themselves, but were confident that the viewer would connect and believe in too. With more than 164 million views, 40,000 user-generated-content, and receiving an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial- their risk paid off. Their strategy of incorporating user-generated-content enabled their campaign to be more than just a campaign but a community where people felt safe, where people could contribute to the organisation but more importantly, where people could celebrate their love.
A quote from “Seth Godin’s” Ted Talk that seemed impossible to forget was that,
“the riskiest thing you can do now is be safe. The safe thing to do now is be at the fringes– be remarkable.”
And I think in the case of Ad Council, they have truly done that.
Can you guys recognise any elements of Berger’s six STEPPS within the Ad Council campaign?
Linna Trinh 
Besides, I also found this campaign to apply the Stories step into it, it will bring the stories to and spread it to everyone so that they can feel the deeply purpose of the program.
P / s: if you have any time, please try to look at my blog and give me some feedbacks. Thanks, .
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Hey Trang, I can’t view your page?
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This was such a blessing to read. Deep insights and beautifully written.
That ‘Ad-council’ advert certainly brought up some emotions. Very inspiring. Made me think about my life.
Looking forward for the next blog.
Kindest Regards,
Your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman
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Hi Linna,
Great blog post!
I definitely love Vines and Memes, they are so eye-catching and entertaining.
Personally, in relation to the ‘Ad-council’ campaign Emotion was the most recognisable element of Berger’s Six Steps and my feeling towards the campaign and what is symbolised is what drove me to share the video.
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So much emotion in the campaign!
Thank you for taking the time to read this article Kiki!
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Great article Linna! I loved the Ad council campaign, and think that they touched on the emotion aspect of Berger’s 6 steps so beautifully. It’s ads like those that you remember because they are remarkable and they leave an impression.
P.S Get on those memes!! They are the best things ever
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They such a huge impression! Haha thank you for taking the time to have a read Caitlyn!
I’ll definitely have to jump on the meme-bandwagon!
Linna
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I couldn’t help but smile remembering the first time I saw the Ad council campaign. You started talking about vines being short but the Ad council campaign has a 3 minute version and a one and half minute version of the campaign. This goes to show that in today’s society, despite our attention spans decreasing, people still will watch longer videos if they are engaging enough. I personally believe that our attention spans are decreasing due to the overload of messages we receive, it is our way of the brain trying to filter in/out what is most important. Great post!
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You raise such a valid point. However, the decrease of our attention span makes it harder for marketers to get our attention but I agree, people are willing to watch longer if they are engaging ENOUGH.
Thank you for taking the time to have a little read and respond!
Linna
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This campaign was really well done, I think using harder emotions like this rather than humour and fun has a really profound effect. Do you think that many brands can do this without seeming no genuine? Check my blog out too if you can thanks
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Hey Laura, thank you for taking the time to read and respond 🙂
To your comment, I definitely think it depends on what the objective or content of the campaign is but I’m sure there are brands out there that haven’t exactly executed the “emotional” aspect in a genuine way.
I tried looking at your page but says that it doesn’t exist. Please re-send 🙂
Linna
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