Hello. This is Motion Visual Japan Inc. The winter wind is gradually approaching, and it has become quite cold recently. It feels like a distant memory when we were saying in mid-October, "I wonder when it will get cold." Please take care of yourselves and stay warm. Now, this time, we will discuss the background of why corporate videos go viral.
I believe that many of you reading this blog are on the side of content creators. Therefore, today, by examining past viral outrage cases and understanding why they occurred, I hope it will be helpful for you when distributing videos. The cases this time are from major companies, but in an era where anyone can be a creator, viral outrage is by no means a distant problem.
Differences Between Viral Outrage Targeting Individuals and Corporations
Speaking of viral outrage, recently, the mentalist Daigo was in the spotlight. His statement, "Rather than using tax money for people on welfare, I'd rather protect cats," was indeed a harsh remark that is generally unacceptable. While viral incidents involving YouTubers, such as infidelity, clear violations of etiquette, or misrepresentation of qualifications, are often deemed "outright unacceptable by social standards," corporate CM outrage often stems from "invisible discrimination lurking in society," such as gender issues.
Example 1: Lumine's "Support for Women" CM
Specifically, consider Lumine's CM. The video features a female office worker in her late twenties as the protagonist, starting with her exchanging greetings with a male supervisor in a suit and glasses (estimated age: late 30s to early 40s). If you search on Google, you might be able to find the video on YouTube. You might think, "This kind of interaction happens in my company too." Some of you may recall "being told something similar" or "remember saying something like this to a subordinate."
The flow of the story is that the boss asks if the protagonist looks tired, tells another woman she is cute, and after a conversation with the boss, decides, "I have to change too." It was a commercial that also promoted Lumine's transformation, but this commercial ended up being a huge controversy. The reason for this was that in a workplace where one should be evaluated for their work abilities, the expression was based on the preconception that "women should be cute."
Example 2: Unicharm Menstrual Product Commercial
If it were this blatant, it would be easier to understand, but there are also things that draw criticism when viewed from a different perspective.
(Source: https://mag.sendenkaigi.com/senden/202107/internet-public-opinion-and-ad-flaming/021618.php)
An example of this is the commercial for Unicharm's menstrual products (tampons). This video was posted in April 2017 to "C CHANNEL," a Twitter account that provides lifestyle information for women through 1-minute videos.
The content of the video clearly conveys the specific difficulties women face during menstruation and ends with the message that "tampons are the solution." At first glance, it seems like a good commercial that is easy to understand and helps the target audience visualize its use. It was originally distributed on "C CHANNEL," a video channel that features beauty and fashion content, and was well-received. After some time, it came to the attention of people outside of C CHANNEL's user base, and it developed into criticism and controversy. The general opinions expressed on social media included, "It's unpleasant to be told to choose menstrual products based on men's opinions," and "It's strange to describe menstruation, which women cannot avoid, as a nuisance to men." While it was very well-received by its actual target audience of women, it became a controversy the moment it became visible to everyone. This is where the difficulty lies.
What's important is to question and confirm the definition of "common sense" rather than assuming you already understand it. Nowadays, there are diverse values regarding gender, disabilities, and more. In particular, controversies tend to arise when "imposing values that could deny someone's life" is included, and when this occurs in a "setting visible to an unspecified large number of people."
For example, suppose a copy like "Live life once, let's get married at least once" is released. If this copy is only distributed within a community seen by people currently looking for a partner, it is unlikely to cause a major backlash. However, if it were to be seen by a large, unspecified number of people, comments such as "Marriage isn't everything" or "I feel uncomfortable being pressured to get married" might arise. While this example is admittedly blatant, no company ever intends to "start a controversy" from the outset. It is not wise to assume "we are safe."
How was that? "Backlash" is a phenomenon that can occur even if you are careful, but please use the content of this article to check your videos one more time before they are released.
[Also Recommended!]
[2022] What You Need to Know About Corporate Videos to Make a Difference!
https://motionvisualjapan.com/corporate-video-tips-2022/
There's a reason why companies aren't advancing their DX
https://motionvisualjapan.com/why-digital-transformation-stalls/
You won't survive post-corona without knowing this! Video utilization and Digital Transformation (DX)
https://motionvisualjapan.com/post-pandemic-video-strategy/
Post-Corona Corporate Strategy! Utilizing Video to Promote Digital Transformation (DX)
https://motionvisualjapan.com/video-for-digital-transformation/
There are no comments on this post.