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Article Title: The Lonelygirl15 Hoax - Home Schooled
Entertainment Or Viral Marketing?
Author: Madison Lockwood
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Article URL: http://www.isnare.
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Do you remember where you were when Lonelygirl15 was exposed as
a hoax? Perhaps the revelation was not quite worthy of such
importance, but it is the case that millions of people were not
only wondering, but, more importantly, watching- for months on
end. Was this one of the most successful attempts at viral
marketing in history, and if so, what was being marketed?
First, a little back ground for those who haven't been
connected to the Internet or exposed to mass media in the past
few weeks.
Social Networking on Digital Video
Online exhibitionism is a social blockbuster. Sites like
MySpace (56 million members) and FaceBook(9 million members)
have proven to be enormously popular websites where those who
engage in the no-fee registration can post personal profiles,
daily blogs and photos and develop lists of cyber-friends along
with cyber-groups with whom to "chill." YouTube is the video
version of this virtual socializing phenomenon. Members can
upload home made videos (60,000 a day) and use moving pictures
to convey their personas and artistic talents (100 million
views a day).
YouTube members develop their own "channels" with strings of
video uploads; those that have talent find large numbers of
subscribers enlisted to follow their channel postings. YouTube
has been a particularly successful vehicle for new bands to
develop followings and for established bands to market their
performances and recordings. Some record companies use YouTube
in much the same way that they sought distribution on MTV a
decade ago. Others sue because their artists' videos are being
posted without authorization.
But YouTube is still principally a playground for the young and
the goofy - which doesn't necessarily tighten the "young"
classification much. And like all gathering places for young
people, there's going to be a lot of hormonally challenged
males in search of eye candy. Young, attractive women who post
video logs gather substantial followings in relatively short
order.
Enter "Bree"
So it was with "Lonelygirl15,
sixteen year old, self described "home schooled" teenager named
"Bree" with a pretty face, big eyes and an every-button-
female adolescent personality. Over the course of the summer she
posted twenty nine videos that built an enormous audience with
nothing much more than the charm and innocent wit of the
typical teenage girl: hormones with feet. Oh, and, as it turned
out, a pair of professional writers.
Most of the videos were filmed in her bedroom, although she did
go on an outing or two with a male friend. She made some obscure
hints at matters occult and mysterious, heightening the interest
for her testosterone-
There was something of a story line built into the string of
videos, although nothing that would hold the interest of even
an art-house movie crowd. She was invited to a party, she
defied her father and went anyway, she was punished for it. But
there was enough intrigue and popularity (and suspiciously high
quality to the videos) to spark a lot of text posts about just
who this girl might be. There were also videos from fans posted
regarding her identity, its mystery and caricatures of her
persona.
So it came to pass that some computer-savvy detectives lured
"Bree" to an email site on MySpace that had some tracking
software attached. The reply Bree sent was traced to one of the
biggest talent agencies in Los Angeles, Creative Artists Agency
(CAA). Busted. The crew that had solicited the email posted a
message of their discovery and because of the origin of Bree's
reply, concluded that the entire caper was some sort of
marketing device related to Hollywood and its principal
products. Bree joined a reasonably exclusive fraternity of
"celebrities" who were "famous for being famous."
A True Viral Epidemic
The two guys who had been scripting and making the videos were
"filmmakers" named Ramesh Flinders and Michael Beckett. Since
their outing, they haven't missed a step. The actress who
played Bree is a young Los Angeleno named Jessica Rose who has
since appeared on national talk shows discussing the
months-long scam as an artistic venture. She found the casting
call on Craigslist, read for the role, went back for two more
tests, and got the job. Some of the scripts were written, but
she was given the freedom to ad-lib.
The filmmakers themselves claim that Bree was never meant to
portray a real person - a little hard to believe, in the
absence of any disclaimers or asterisks in the footage. Nor,
they say, was it a promotional device for any sort of Hollywood
studio or organization. However, they are currently represented
by CAA, they were in that office when responding to emails
under her nom-du-Tube and Ms. Rose was paid $30,000 for her
portrayal of the Lonely Girl. Somebody invested in this caper
for a reason.
All of the exposed parties declare without a hint of remorse
that the show will go on. Jessica Rose sees the future as
continuing posts that develop a storyline. Presumably, the film
makers see this as a ticket to bigger screens. And if
Lonelygirl15 remains a current fixture on YouTube, there's
going to be an entire school of video art devoted to the
on-camera responses, commentary, caricatures and other spins on
the original YouTube hoaxette.
All of this begs the question: should we care? If so, how?
About what? There are thousands of videos on YouTube that are
works of comedic fiction, humorous commentary, amateur
entertainment of every stripe. Why not a series? The fact that
it was a spoof doesn't seem to have offended anyone; after all,
YouTube is a platform for every sort of video expression
dispensed in small bites.
What it was meant to accomplish might be a question worth
caring about, if there was a way to follow the money. If it was
done for self-promotional purposes by the film makers, they
succeeded brilliantly in one of the most massive examples of
viral marketing in our time. The problem is that they have been
recognized for producing footage that no one would buy a ticket
to go see. The fact that they manufactured a cultural
phenomenon in a matter of weeks is probably closer to the
import of this stunt.
The term "viral marketing" has become high on the list of
Internet capabilities in the tech advertising and marketing
shops. Like most of the things that move with the speed of the
'net, no one has figured out quite how to harness it. What the
Lonelygirl15 production proved is that under the right
circumstances, it is possible to create instant recognition for
a virtual entity among enormous numbers of people. But Howard
Dean did that in 2004 - with a purpose. For that matter,
MySpace and YouTube branded themselves via word-of-net over the
course of two or three years and are now billion dollar
properties.
What's interesting is that no one, including Rupert Murdoch, is
quite sure WHY they are billion dollar properties. Ad success is
measured in terms of exposure to eyeballs, and these sites have
eyeballs by the tens of millions. But no one quite knows how to
turn that fact into sponsorship cash. It's possible that the
Lonelygirl15 caper will give some ad genius an idea on how to
cash in on video viral marketing. If so, you can look on Bree
as an evolutionary step in the process.
About The Author: Madison Lockwood is a customer relations
associate for http://www.apolloho
understand how a website may benefit them both personally and
professionally. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting,
ecommerce hosting, & VPS hosting to a wide range of customers.
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