Companies, organizations and even individuals are boosting their image with social media campaigns. It seems there are no boundaries when it comes to who can use interactive media as a PR tool.
Deodorant maker, Old Spice, has seen great success with social media. Its “Shirtless Man” campaign has made national headlines and gained attention on sites like YouTube.1 The simple campaign incorporates consumers’ questions asked on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook into its ads.2
In the non-profit sector, organizations are turning to social media to spread the word about their efforts and raise money. The United Nations World Food Programme, or WFP,3 is in the middle of a social media campaign comprising Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Paypal and online games. The organization’s “Free Rice Word Game” has fed 4.2 million children and adults each day4 since its launch in 2007.
Even celebrities and political figures are turning to social media. Oprah Winfrey, Ashton Kutcher and President Barack Obama are only a few of the top names popping up on top social media sites.5 They’re blogging, interacting with fans and supporters and promoting products and ideas.
Still, it was not a shirtless man with rock-hard abs, celebrity figures spouting off personal thoughts or hunger that drove one of the most successful interactive media campaigns in history. Instead it was a chicken. Okay, and maybe a little hunger, too.
Burger King debuted its “Subservient Chicken” ad6 in 2004.7 One of the first interactive ads in history8, it was also one of the most successful. The campaign began with emails to customers and soon after featured a television commercial, print ads and a website. On that site, visitors typed commands, telling a man in a chicken suit to do anything they wanted. Requests were as normal as “dance”, “run in place” and “jump” and as bizarre as “blow your nose”, “pee like a dog” and “make a sandwich”.9 And the ad did just that – it made Burger King’s TenderCrisp Bacon Sandwich10 one of the most popular fast food menu items of its time. With 15 million hits in less than a week11, Burger King’s popularity soared.
The creators of the Subservient Chicken campaign took a unique approach at creating conversation through social media. They didn’t have people talking to one another, but they did experiment with the power of online interaction. Even though that interaction was with a man dressed in a chicken suit, the results were impressive.
It’s equally impressive how the marketing team did not mask their intentions. Instead, the team paralleled Burger King’s original slogan, “Have it Your Way”12 with this new, interactive approach.
I admire the Subservient Chicken campaign because the producers took a chance. There was no guarantee asking customers to interact over the internet in such a bizarre way would be effective. By taking risks, they created an original idea that not only worked, but also set the bar for viral marketing and the use of interactive media in the commercial world. No doubt, today’s “Old Spice Man” ad campaign evolved from this concept, as so many others have as well.
There are two extremely different ways I want to use social media in the near future. On a cause movement, I plan on starting an online support resource for patients diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
I recently dropped out of my in-person support group for multiple (no pun intended) reasons. While a once a month meeting seems simple, my schedule is hectic with full-time work, graduate school, and an upcoming adjunct teaching position in the Fall. It takes an hour to drive to group, and the session lasts two hours. Add in the drive home, and that’s four hours of my time I just don’t have to give right now. Time is limited for everyone these days. An online support resource would provide an easier way for people with MS to find answers, talk to and see a real person with the same diagnosis and be reassured about the future.
This project would also give people a more comfortable setting to share their innermost fears. Sitting in a circle of people you only have one thing in common with is frightening – especially when that one common trait is your diagnosis. Participants could come and go as they wanted. Saying goodbye and closing your computer screen when you are overwhelmed with information, or even the sight of a fellow patient in a wheelchair or on crutches, is less disruptive than packing up your things and excusing yourself from an in-person group. I was recently faced with that decision during a group dinner while sitting across from a lady in a wheelchair. As she struggled with the ketchup bottle and was unable to even take the wrapper off her straw, I had mental images of myself in that same place just a few years ahead. I had three choices: suck it up and sit there until the end of the dinner; let my emotions go and burst in tears; or run out, jump in my car and go home to cry. I did all three, just not in that order. I found myself forced to finish dinner, although I wanted to vomit. I politely excused myself after paying the check citing ‘homework’. And I went to my car and cried the entire way home. If I had been skyping with another patient or even two or three patients, I could have easily removed myself from stress and come back to deal with it when I was ready.
The online MS support group would end stressful, group scenarios and give people immediate resources. They wouldn’t have to wait until 6:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of the next month to ask questions that pop into their head.
On a much lighter note, my other plan for utilizing social media is to raise awareness of the many great locally brewed beers on the market. With the help of my boyfriend, who is a beer nut, I will launch a website with a mobile app that identifies microbrews from around the world. It will include photos, testimonials, taste breakdowns, critiques and an interactive map to help people find their favorite beers at distributors and restaurants/bars. You’ve got to balance the emotionally draining missions with fun, right?
It would be incredible to even come close to the success of the subservient chicken ad with my social media efforts. To reach the masses with a message of hope and to give them a much needed resource would be amazing. To share my love for complex beers would be fun and would perhaps provide a source of income. I’d even be willing to put on a chicken suit to do it.
6 http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/finance-socialmediacampaigns/burger-king-subservient-chicken/
