What disappointed me this year is the lack of creative Superbowl commercials. Many advertising firms and companies lack the creative input to market their brands to new consumers efficiently. Screw the stereotypical gender and sex jokes. You professionals are not fifteen years old anymore. Why would I want to use Groupon or BigDaddy.com as online services when their commercials pretty much sucked? Do you want to know what was my least favorite Superbowl XLV commercial? Hint: It was not the Best Buy/Justin Bieber one.
Sketchers
Plus I love watching little kids play dress up. I do that all the time (in my own special way) and it was funny to see how the little girl embodied Darth Vador's character throughout the whole commercial, especially the part where she thinks her imaginary telekinetic powers activated the Volkawagen when it was actually her father in the kitchen. I also like that Volkswagen played around with gender ambiguity. I thought it was a little boy at first, but you only see the stereotypical pink room in the house so I would presume its a little girl. If it is not, then it's fine. Little girls can still be Darth Vador when they grow up!
Chrysler probably still outsources their labor in places like Mexico and India, but it offers the American people a U.S product and the choice to buy the car to help stimulate the economy and the pockets of American workers who work at the Chrysler plants to make the cars. I think after writing that last sentence, I do not know if I should hate the company for potentially outsourcing millions of American jobs overseas, but nowadays most U.S companies do it. You just have to adapt to the times. What were your favorite and least favorite Superbowl ads this year?
First and foremost, I want to thank Lady Gaga for sweeping the award shows with 8 awards including Video of the Year! I love the name of her next album, "Born This Way", her outfits especially this late Alexander McQueen ensemble from his last collection and her ten second ballad of her "Born This Way" single. I want to know why MTV did not allow her to perform. I would trade this show for a two-hour Lady Gaga performance in a heartbeat. Usher and Florence and the Machines had the best performances of the night.
If I have not mentioned any one else, you either sucked and were extremely boring to watch. My worst critiques:
- I love Chelsea Handler but as a VMAs host, she does not work for me. There were few laughs coming my way and I think at the beginning of the show, she seemed very nervous.
- Taylor Swift looked like a 30 year old woman with heavy makeup on stage. I wished Kanye West had interrupted her again. It would have been more entertaining. Was she playing the guitar?
- Rihanna looked like a ginger hot tranny mess with no singing talent. Eminem and Rihanna do not make a good music collaboration.
- Ciara gave a very random and weak thirty second performance.
- Justin Bieber lip-synced.
I had high hopes for this year's ceremony, but it was as stale as bread. And it is disappointing because I can't trust MTV to provide me with the best music video experience anymore. If I had to rate this show, I would give it a 5/10 and that is because Lady Gaga was there. If she was nominated but did not show up, I would not have watched it. Way to go MTV.
What do you think about this VMAs? What could have been better about it?
Not the year of Beyonce (that was last year) or the year of Justin Bieber. If you do not know who Lady Gaga is right now, you must be living under a rock in the outskirts of outer space. She is everywhere. She is the most popular pop star and social media queen of our generation so far. When mankind invented the word "ubiquitous" for the English language, you can see her picture inside a Webster dictionary next to the word. Currently, she holds the title of Twitter Queen with over six million followers and counting, beating out the ubiquitous crowned Twitter prince, Justin Bieber. Sweet.
What does Chelsea Handler and I have in common besides being Jersey girls? We love dark humor, sarcasm, celebrity gossip and brutal honesty. I watch her amazing show, "Chelsea Lately" on the E! Show occasionally every week and I think her little antics and sarcasm will reshape MTV, its VMA image, and its low ratings.
I tweeted her once. It read along the lines of, "If anyone could save the VMAs, its u @chelseahandler! Grats I will be watching and Chelsea, if Kanye interrupts u, beat his ass for me. :)". I hope Chuy is on stage with her. And speaking of Kanye West, here is my top reason why you should watch the VMA's this year.
3. The Unpredictability of the Show:
Remember in 2003 when Britney Spears gave that infamous lip-lock to Madonna on stage? Remember the infamous "Taylor Swift, I am going to let you finish" comments Kanye West made to Taylor Swift before she made her Best Female Award speech last year? Those little moments in VMA history will always be a part of the collective consciousness and American pop culture. These moments keep tabloids busy and wealthy, the paparazzi the celebrity fiasco they drive for, and the American public a reason to read those tabloids and view those paparazzi photos. This year, Glee cast members and True Blood's Joe Manganiellio (squeals ^_^) will be award presenters. You never know what is going to happen or who will show up.
Although I do not like the direction that MTV, as a channel and global brand, has headed in the last five to ten years, I will say is that the MTV Video Music Awards is one of the last MTV gems that I will continue to watch until it gets stale like bread. For the last five years from moving to Miami to Las Vegas back to its home in NYC, the VMAs was heading in that direction, but last year's VMAs revived the craziness that is the VMAs. We just have to watch the Jersey Shore cast but seriously, I do not know why MTVs thinks these people are entertaining enough to produce two seasons of a reality show around their lives and then invite them to this award show. Oh, I forgot, $$$.
So sit back and relax. The 2010 MTV Video Awards will premiere live this Sunday, September 12th at 9:00pm EST in LA. Performers include Justin Bieber, Usher, Paramore, and Drake. To find out more information about the show and the ways you, the viewer, can vote on your favorite artists, click here.
I am so excited! Who are you excited to see at this year's VMAs and why?
I have had enough of your fucking (5/17/10) name! Every single week, you are all what screaming, teenage girls talked about online. I have had enough and I am coming out of the woodwork. I will not be silent anymore! Here are the top ten reasons why I hate you, Justin Bieber:
1. You trend Twitter like it's no one business. You are ruining the authenticity and culture that is the Twitter brand. What does a teenage girl's misguided mind reveal? The Apocalypse!
It goes something like this: "Look, I tweet in 140 characters or less about Justin Bieber all day long instead of discussing about more important issues such as national security, illegal immigration, and health care reform. I will use my power to put Justin Bieber on the top of the trending topics list every fucking week!" *Prays in front of her Justin Bieber shrine before running off to watch Twilight*.
2. Your stardom puts you in the company of other talentless, overrated child stars such as the Jonas Brothers, Lindsay Lohan, and Miley Cyrus. Speaking of Miley, I saw your lame new video.
3. Every mobile-texting, teenage girl tweets about you, but the rest of us are still wondering why in the hell you are famous in the first place.
4. Three-year-old toddlers kiss the ground you walk on when they should be playing with Legos instead.
5. My own mother gushes like a high-school virgin every time I mention your name.
8. You make the fangirls of the 90s boy band era, including myself, look like bunch of 60s hippies compared to your bra-throwing teenage groupie fans. They even make us feminists look bad. At least, the Backstreet Boys were talented!
9. You performed at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll with Glee.... Glee and Justin Bieber should not be in the same sentence. The reason that President Obama invited you makes me wonder if the world is really in peril.
10. Your name is my death sentence.
So there you have it. My ten reasons for hating your popularity Mr. Bieber. Now run along before I go madly insane. What is with the flipping of the hair? Afraid I will go and shave it all bald? Muhahahaahha! Give me your reasons why you love and hate Justin Bieber. Post them in the comment box below. I want to be mildly entertained.
Happy April Fool's Day! What a perfect day to spill some unnecessary gossip. You Know It's April Fool's Day When You Hear....
1. Justin Bieber is still a trending topic....
2. Congress changes the reform bill, making health care universal ro all American citizens. Hooray!
3. Erykah Badu makes another nude video.
4. Jesse James's mistresses get a spread in Vanity Fair Magazine.
5. Being a douchebag and prankster is perfectly legal and praised for.
6. Kate Gosselin wins the "Dancing With the Stars" competition.
7. Simon Cowell makes out with Ryan Seacrest, just to tick Ricki Martin off.
8. Your iPad arrives at your doorstep, and magically opens from inside a vanilla envelope right before your very eyes.
9. Starbucks goes bankrupt, leaving millions of hopeless, yet educated New York hipsters out on the streets.
10. NBC, CBS, and ABC finally fire all the late-night TV hosts except Craig Ferguson, so he can take over the world.
A couple of days ago, I was strolling through my Tweet Deck until I came across a ijustine tweet with a link to a recent Justin Kownacki's article entitled, "Are You Waiting Until You're Popular Before You Start Being Relevant?". The title alone struck a chord to me. His words defiantly brought life to a continuing situation in my life: what is my path to success and how I can implement it in social media and in other mediums? Am I socially irrelevant? It only took me only two minutes to decide to write a response to this insightful article. I am here to confess to you that:
1. I am a shameless self-promoter sometimes. Who else is going to do my dirty work? Me.
2. I tweet celebrities and other famous people (in their own right), seeking some form of self-recognition and acknowledgment from the people that I admire, when nine out of ten, they don't response back.
3. Twitter and other micro-blogging platform feel like continuous beauty pageants. Everyone including myself, is seeking their fifteen minutes of fame in the most constructive or ludicrous ways possible. I personally was not the most popular girl in high-school, so I may already be at a disadvantage.
4. Setting yourself and your personal or professional brand(s) is harder now since more and more people are now signing up to Twitter and other social networking sites and creating new blogs at an astronomical rate. Your Twitter account or blog is like a resume/cover letter with hundreds of thousands of hiring managers grossing over it to see you are worthy following.
5. Twitter has now socially integrated into my own personal life. So for people who think I have no life outside my laptop computer, you can just stuck it.
6. Despite my pleas for self-recognition, I fear overexposure. Case in point, Justin Bieber. I still do not know why is he is a constant trending topic on Twitter.
7. Fear should be a sin. Like what Kownaski said in his article, what is stopping you from being the real "you"? I do not have a definite answer, but the plot thickens.
Despite these confessions, I am more grounded than I had thought. I do not compare the Twitter backgrounds or the tweets or writing styles of successful bloggers and social media experts to my own brand because everyone is different. There is no point in trying to be someone else or be another ijustine or aplusk. What I do envy, however, is the self-recognition and support that these people get on a daily basis. I just want to be known for my visionary talents. When you seem like you have a good foot in the door, another obstacle crashes on top of you. Despite my fears and problems, I see the brighter side of the rainbow. (To Be Continued).
What are your fears and anxieties using social media tools to enhance your business or brand?
