Sometimes a marketing situation calls for something
subversive – a device to rouse passions of which entrenched powers wouldn't approve.
We're not talking palace-coup-level undermining of
authority. Fomenting some unrest probably should do it.
A guy named Douglass recently found himself in need
of a good plot. Okay, he actually already had, I like to think, a decent plot.
Douglass is a character in a movie I hope to make called I Am Douglass. The
script has plenty of intrigue, but we felt like the marketing needed some.
We began marketing the concept of the film before
acquiring all the resources to make it. Our team adopted that approach to
attract attention from actors and investors while showing them we took the
off-screen side of the business seriously. We also knew that any buzz we could
create now would benefit the film once it got to market.
We got off to a reasonable start. We staked out
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and Vine emplacements. Friends and family
provided some initial followers and we built up enough content to create an air
of viability and a possibility of stickiness. Now we need to reach the next
level and maybe something a little inflammatory can do it.
The movie's story revolves around two guys
desperate to get somewhere safe enough to reveal explosive information they
have discovered about government surveillance abuse. Many people already
believe that security forces worldwide have engaged in improper spying and it
really ticks them off. Ticked off people do emotional stuff like contributing
to Indiegogo campaigns and buying t-shirts that say "The NSA is reading
this shirt" (yeah, we have those for sale). Our target market might also like
to see a movie made that would draw more attention to the subject. We've got to
try to get viral with these folks.
We already put a bit of mystery into the campaign.
IAmDouglass.com features a fake front page made to look like Douglass has
already sent some incriminating tweets. Our first video tends toward the
conspiratorial. Those, however, are self-promotional. For the anti-surveillance
audience to pass around content it needs to both entertain and help them make
their arguments. Our solution? Subversive cartoons.
Surveillance Lad is a superhero and a do-gooder. He
helps people by watching them and helping them when he sights something amiss.
In the first cartoon, he notices Mrs. Tomlinson has left the sugar out of her
lemonade. He picked up on the omission while watching her via her computer's
webcam. He helpfully orders her some sweetener. He deletes a teenager's
ill-advised Facebook post, keeps a college student from illegally downloading
music, alerts a wife about her husband's infidelity, and performs other
similarly handy functions.
My 7-year old niece read a line for one of the videos.
She said, "I don't want him doing that." The videos try to really cut
to the bottom line : even with the best of intentions, pervasive surveillance
can seem creepy. The seven videos get progressively creepier the deeper we get
into the series. There's also the subtle message that no matter what level of
security clearance they have, people with normal human flaws run spying
installations. They aren't superheroes.
We will position the pieces as if we have uncovered
a lame government PSA campaign like the ads promoting Obamacare. You know,
where some 50-something suit said, "Oh yeah, the kids will love
this!" Imagine if the NSA wanted to show people the ways their work could
benefit the average person.
The videos will run on YouTube with support from
Vine. We'll promote them however we can think of. That includes your Facebook
page if you share them (thanks in advance). I've even starting creating virtual
graffiti by commenting on as many surveillance news stories as I can and adding
our hashtag #iamdouglass.
This issue cuts across party lines. Everybody has
somebody they don't want getting into their junk. No conservative wants Dianne
Feinstein listening to his phone calls and no liberal wants Dick Cheney reading
her emails. So, Republicans - imagine Surveillance Lad is Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats - imagine he's a Koch Brother. Koch Brothers - imagine he's anybody
you want and that a huge investment in making I Am Douglass could stop him.
Come to think of it, you could maybe use a little
radicalization yourself. You'll enjoy that same feeling of hellyeah you did
when you came home with that tattoo your dad expressly told you not to get.
Post a comment with the hashtag #iamdouglass someplace conspicuous. Don't paint
it on something you don't own, but if you've got a spare barn facing a highway,
why not use that extra can of paint to stick it to the man? Share a video,
favorite a tweet, and if you have a friend who's a conspiracy theorist, send
her our way.
Are we sufficiently inflammatory? Are we
sufficiently funny? Are we Douglass? We will find out.
I Am Douglass online sites :
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
YouTube
Indiegogo
Zazzle
Rush Olson has spent two decades making movie-like
creative products for companies, sports teams, broadcasters. He currently
creates ad campaigns and related creative projects through his company, Rush
Olson Creative & Sports.
