Every Video, Mashup, Comment Tells a Story

Three acts in an ongoing play (conversation). Credit to Pete Blackshaw's cgm for the original post, Selective & Arbitrary for a heads up on the riff and odd professor's comment, and BlogPulse for connecting the dots.

Act One: Onslaught ("Dove Self-Esteem")

Act Two: Dove/Axe Mashup (aka Talk to Your Daughter)

Act Three: A Conflicted Response with an interesting close: "which came first, the desire for ['X' (beauty or attraction, however defined)], or marketing creating a hitherto-absent desire for same?"

Comments

[Paul Roberts]

I don't understand this play in 3 acts

It seems that the videos for Act 2 and 3 are identical. Is this is a mistake?

[Nina Burokas]

Hi, Paul:

There are two videos - the second is a riff on Dove's Self-Esteem campaign. The "third act" is not a video, but a look at how people are reacting to video 1 in the context of 2. Specifically, does Unilever's use of the same advertising techniques it decries undermine brand credibility and the impact of the Onslaught message. A related question is that of cause and effect. That is, if consumers respond to a particular message, who is to blame - consumers for wanting or manufacturers and the advertising industry for playing to that desire.