I wanted to share some of my favorite original online videos with you. Dove's incredible video campaign to help spread themes of self-confidence, inner-beauty and empowerment to girls and women were truly powerful. The videos were professional, poignant and cut to the core of how images from the media can be damaging to women and girls everywhere. I also thought this is the type of content that is defining what makes this medium unique. Please visit DOVE'S SITE to get the full impact of their endeavors. It is nice to see a company try to do some good in the world.
Then when I started to dig a little deeper, I found two films that were a response to a couple of the Dove films.
The first, a comedy, mocks the do-good nature of the Evolution short by going in the opposite direction. Let's show a decent looking guy becoming an obese pig. It's funny how on-target the video is with aping the tone and style of the original. A pure parody.
The second, a video created by Greenpeace, points the finger back at Dove for their forestry practices for collecting palm oil, one of the main ingredients in Dove Soap. It is an equally alarming and scary film. It definitely creates an emotional impact and makes you think about issues facing branded entertainment.
Unfortunately, this content can be a double-edged sword. It begs the question - When does entertainment begin to become propaganda? As videos try to appeal to media-savvy audiences, what kind of techniques are being used to win fans? What are the motives behind some of these videos?
I think the motivation to make the Dove's videos were honest, but we will never know if the endeavor was more public relations than good corporate citizenship... Maybe it's a mix of both. I'm just glad they were made and it inspired such feedback in the online video community.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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If you weren't aware of it, Jessica is involved in this campaign.
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