What better day to write this post than a Friday! You know Friday? The day before Saturday and the day after Thursday! Well in case you have not heard Rebecca Black has taken the web by a storm through her lesson on the days of the week, among other things. For a 13-year old she has gone from unknown to infamous in a matter of days. Her music video for the song “Friday” has raked up more than 80 million views at the time of this writing and a record 1.6 million “Dislikes” beating the old record holder Justin Beiber. Besides YouTube Rebecca Black kept trending on Twitter for a full week like there was nothing else going on in the world!
Among the many ways to get famous this is certainly not one of them. Besides the anger and disgust this video has arisen it has also created a lot of ridicule and humor that was simply too good not to share and that is probably the only reason I decided to write about this. Now the question that perplexes me is whether to show you the fun stuff first or the original video. Should I even bother to embed the original video or leave it as a link? The song Friday can have this effect on people I guess. Oh my friends are here and I have not even finished my cereal! Anyways I think I have figured it out. Watch the original video first (I hope you can watch it to the end) before watching the parodies to truly appreciate them
Rebecca Black – Friday (Official Video)
Unofficial Sequel to Rebecca Black’s “Friday.” – Saturday
And my most favorite – Thursday by the Great Conan O’Brien
JWT Mumbai’s Diamond Bride Campaign is a great example of rock-solid strategic thinking. It demonstrates how a deep consumer insight can lead to a major change in behavior. It shows how something as rooted as tradition can be challenged and how a new paradigm can be created. De Beers India came up with a very challenging brief “How to get Indians to use more diamond jewelry instead of gold at their weddings?” A question that had no easy answers. It’s like asking women in America to wear a black dress at their weddings instead of a white one!
This meant that the battle had to be fought on a higher ground. The inherent symbolism of security, well-being, tradition and value that came with gold jewelry was not going to be easy to overcome. To win this cultural battle, the planners decided to explore the modernity, status and glamour of diamonds and give them a whole new context with respect to weddings.
The power came from personifying a gold bride and an imaginary diamond bride. The research gave clear cues of the differences between the two:
Gold bride
Traditional mindset
Aspires to be a dutiful wife
Feels financially insecure
Someone who is apprehensive of her in-laws
Will not raise her voice
Diamond bride
Well-educated
Forward-looking
Elegant
Casual
Cheerful
An extrovert who speaks her mind
Not nervous at all, even though she is getting married.
It was this personification excercise that helped place diamond jewelry for weddings in a larger context. While diamonds stood for high status, the diamond bride symbolized something much larger. She symbolized the aspirations of Indian women who wanted to be more happy than simply married. If she chose to be a diamond bride she would be able to shun all the cues of a traditional, subdued, insecure woman and be able to embrace this image of modernity, express herself freely and make her wedding day truly her own. This was the insight that the creative took forward and did a brilliant job in its execution (see TVC below).
So what is the key learning that we can draw from this as planners? For me I think it is the power of context. If we can put something in an entirely different context and yet be relevant we can uncover some big insights and inspire dramatic changes in behavior. So the next time you want someone to use more of your product or service, I think it would be a good idea to get out of context, experiment with something fresh, bounce it off with consumers and then see where it takes you!
I bumped across a tweet by Chris Voss on the subject and it intrigued me quite a bit. This is highly unusual considering the fact that in Saudi Arabia at Applebees there is a note on the bill that reminds you to please tip the server despite the service charge! It made me want to dig a little deeper on this subject and I discovered some fascinating contrasts between Saudi and Icelandic society. I also got some insight as to why waiters in Iceland would take offense if they were tipped.
For one Icelanders are a very homogenous society unlike Saudi Arabia which is a mix of Arabs from all over the Middle East to Asians from Pakistan all the way up to the Philippines. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norwegian and Celtic people who settled in the 9th and 10th centuries. Their language has essentially been the same over the centuries. For the common Icelander reading their old medieval sagas from the 1200s is relatively easy for the same reason. This gives them alot of pride in tracing their ancestral roots. They are also homogenous when it comes to religion – 87% belong to the state church. They are egalitarian and highly literate. They have a great love of literature. They publish more books than any country in the world, while there are hardly any libraries in Saudi Arabia. Doing well and finishing one’s education are widely held societal priorities unlike Saudi Arabia where it is only beginning to become a top priority
Icelanders are also known to be very independent and individualistic, while Saudi society is extremely interdependent and collectivist. Icelanders have a strong work ethic. The country’s work week is the longest in Europe. While in Saudi people have not developed the same sense about work. This explains why there are so many expats in the workforce.
In Iceland before the mid-70s working as a server was considered a demeaning job. Tipping was therefore considered an insult as it further emphasized the server’s position as a servant. Therefore there is no tradition to tip in Iceland. Before the 70s going out was also not popular and there were not many restaurants either. However, that has changed since then, but the tradition of no tipping has continued. While in Saudi Arabia, people eat out very often. Most servers are expatriates and they are only here to make money. Therefore they feel no shame in being tipped. Rather they would be very grateful for the gesture! Interesting contrast don’t you think?
