A message that has thousands angry.
Peta has just launched a billboard campaign in Jacksonville, FL which says- Save the Whales- Lose the Blubber- Go Vegetarian with the illustration of a heavy woman in a red polka dot bikini that does not fit. Many people are outragged by the ad message. Yet PETA says it is a message about saving lives, because vegetarians are usually 10-20 pounds lighter than meat eaters. PETA does not seem to care that they are now targeting a large population with a disrespectful lose weight message and now telling people what to eat.
What is more interesting than the ad, is what will happen online using Social Media as bloggers, vloggers and pod casters post comments about this billboard and share the post. Twitter and Social Networks will probably be flooded with this controversy. That is what is so great about Social Media. A billboard might only appear in one area and in years past, their may be a local or regional uproar about the ad, but that would be the end of it.
Today, with the use of social media, a topic or controversy and be picked by millions of people in a matter of hours throw viral efforts by sharing and commenting on the controversy on social networks like Facbook, Digg, and through Twitter. Tons of blogs pick it up and post their take and more bloggers or readers pick it up and share it with their readers and friends. Before you know it a controversy that would have once been local, is now national or goes worldwide by a few mouse clicks and an active user base at the ready.
To read the full story about the PETA billboard and their response click here.
Another controversy filled blog posts and twitter recently involving a story about Walmart, cookies and the Girl Scouts. A writer wrote a piece after the BlogHer conference, and quickly the story became something of a blown up game of telephone and had bloggers says Walmart was trying to take on the Girls Scouts and their cookies. The original article was a bit different but it just goes to show you that active users on twitter or other social networking sites or that blog, can post an opinion without all of the facts. Often emotions drive bloggers into action and this case was no different. Read more about the Cookie Monster:Wal-mart and the Girls Scouts or check out the original post by CV Harquail here.
In many cases social change or cultural changes have taken place because of the power of hundred or thousands of voices commenting on a topic or issue. There have been several ad campaigns that mom bloggers felt were distasteful or had a unrealistic image of women or products and they united through blog posts, tweets and social videos and their voices have been heard resulting in some ads to be pulled. But I want to be careful to point out, often when some mom bloggers put up a blog post, video or podcast about a controversial topic, it is still only a limited number of total mom bloggers. Check out this post by Maria Bailey regarding the Mortin Controversy last Fall and she points out the number of mom bloggers that where up in arms where much lower than people often note-click here.
But truthfully the question becomes, is lots of controversy over a topic better or worse for a company. Well it depends on the circumstances and company. For someone like Wal-mart it may not be in their interest to have hundreds of rants about them ripping off the Girl Scouts, but for PETA I think they believe controversy and attention, even if negative gets their message out to more people so they are happy for the exposure.
One thing is for sure, social media can turn a story or opinion piece into a overnight sensation better than any other media today and for less money. That is not to say the many other types of media are not important and effective, but instead to say that social media is playing a bigger role in buzz than ever before and it is continuing to grow.
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