If no one trusts influencers, then who are they influencing? How is a 21-year-old animated kids’ movie inspiring the latest club trend? What are fashionistas doing to keep up with the times (of day). And what’s the least amount of effort you could put into a campaign, and still have it make waves? We’re asking the big cultural questions in this week’s Our Take. Enjoy.
A matter of trust
Research carried out by Amarach for the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) covered a wide range of topics but one particular revelation stood out: just one in 10 Irish people trust social media influencers. Such an admission has to be real food for thought for agencies and brands alike.
Our take is that influencer marketing certainly has its place in the marketing and comms mix but it takes a bit of cultural know-how to do it right. Influencers are, by definition, people who are trusted – by their audience. The real challenge is to know those influencers, and those audiences, and to ensure they engage in a genuine partnership, and can speak with an authenticity that doesn’t make it feel out of place.
In the words of Billy Joel “Cause it’s always been a matter of trust.”
Read more on the ASAI/Amarach report here.
A BIT OGRE THE TOP?
A new wave of rave is currently sweeping the UK as a Shrek-themed club night hits London. Taking place under the arches of the Vauxhall train station, the odd phenomenon made its way to Britain following huge success in the US, and saw 1500 fairy-tale franchise fans dressed as their favourite characters from Never Ever land.
Kicking off at the early time of 4pm, the rave opened with Shrek and Fiona blasting into verse as green lasers fire across the room and inflatable ogres looked down upon the audience. The main room also played host to some live performances from the cast of Shrek the Musical, and an MC who called on ravers to “Do the Roar.”
You would think that after 21 years, 3 sequels, a spin off, theme parks, musicals and the numerous other attractions the series has spawned they would say “That’ll do donkey, that’ll do” and call it a day. But with 30,000 partygoers expected through the doors as the rave makes its way around the UK, it seems there’s plenty of life left in the old ogre.
And who doesn’t love the idea of dancing to the Monkees alongside the Muffin Man at 3am. Get me my green face paint! I’m a believer!
Read more about Shrek rave here.
Lights, Camera, Fashion
As is customary, Paris Fashion Week served up some interesting looks including one from Japanese brand ANREALAGE, turning heads with nifty UV light-sensitive outfits that changed colour right before our very eyes.
The brainchild of designer Kunihiko Morinaga, the garments were made using “experimental, photochromic materials” – fabric that reacts to ultraviolet light to reveal new patterns and colours. While a UV lamp was used for the fashion show, on the street the clothes would react to the changing ultraviolet light from the sun throughout the day.
Morinaga has form for this sort of thing. In 2015, he made a collection where the colours of the garments were only seen through flash photography, invisible to the naked eye.
We love to see this level of innovation and boundary-pushing. Look, we know photochromic lenses will never, ever be cool but we can’t wait to see if this fabric makes it to the high street. A dress that changes colour as the sun sets? OK, how much and where do we pay?
Read more here
Somebody, Anybody, Everybody Scream
In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, there’s a new Scream movie coming out. The sequel is the sixth in the hugely popular franchise and this time Ghostface is headed for New York. But before then, he’s been spotted in various locations around the US. As well as real-life sightings, various social media accounts associated with the film have gotten in on the act too, engaging with posts carrying news of the sightings.
The pics are going viral, and the cops have been called. Seriously, people have been terrified by the sightings, not realising that they were part of a marketing campaign from Paramount Pictures.
One local police department even had to release a statement on Facebook confirming that the person seen in neighbourhood dressed as Ghostface “was hired by a company through Paramount to promote the new Scream movie.”
It’s a brilliantly simple execution and as minimal a campaign as you can get; one man and a costume and millions of views and likes later. And it’s from the same crowd that created an equally simple, yet terrifying campaign the horror film Smile last year, in which actors sat in the front row of various Major League Baseball games with huge grins on their faces. Creepy.
Read about it here.