youtube – Marketiquette by Minyoung

I’m all about tearjerkers, but that doesn’t mean that I’m blinded by my feelings. I actually enjoy analyzing the manipulation of emotions just as much as being manipulated emotionally, as strange as that sounds … which is exactly what I did with Google Maps’ video ad, which I found in an AdFreak article.

This ad, which was released by Google Maps one month ago, is about the true story of Saroo Brierley. After being separated from his family in India and adopted by a family in Australia, Saroo finds his way back home with the help of Google Earth 25 years later. There were some things that the video was lacking, such as info on his book describing the entire experience, but I still got goosebumps watching this video.

What caught my eye was this part from AdFreak’s article on the video:

“You will cry. You will forget that it’s an ad for Google. You will also forget about Google’s privacy concerns and how eerie it is that your blind date can see every detail of your house before you meet.”

It’s so true. I sure wasn’t thinking about the controversy over one’s privacy online – I was too busy celebrating the happy ending of Saroo’s journey. Who could ever have predicted how life-changing Google Earth could be for an entire family?

And in this case, I believe it’s okay for us to put aside our protest about our privacy for once and just appreciate this miracle of a story. There are times when you should fight for what’s right, but there are other times when you should simply be thankful for what we have today before you start complaining about the things that were unimaginable only decades ago that we now take for granted. Like Gizmodo’s article says, this story carries a sentimental and striking message about the power of Google and of the Internet itself. It’s a message that our generation really needs, and I couldn’t agree more with it.

“[H]is story is a good reminder that the internet isn’t all leaked cell phone pic and cat memes.”

I feel like this ad probably helped out the story of Saroo Brierley and his book more than Google Maps. I sure wouldn’t have known about this story had I not seen Google’s video. All the reviews I’ve seen so far have been nothing but positive. I can’t wait to pick up this book from the library and give it a read.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching fashion and beauty gurus on YouTube. What kinds of videos do fashion and beauty gurus upload? Their videos range very widely, from make-up tutorials and shopping hauls to fitness routines and vlogs of their personal lives.

I’m unsure as to when I noticed this, but I discovered that these fashion and beauty gurus have a become a highly valued commodity… to fashion and beauty companies.

It started when I saw that certain gurus included a disclaimer in the video description or the video itself, promising the viewer that the items featured in the video were not “sponsored” by anyone.

Now what does that mean?

It means that no companies were feeding the guru money to say positive things about the products, or at least implied this intent by sending them products for free, and that the guru had purchased everything with their own money and whatever opinions she expressed in the video were her own, honest and genuine.

A special example would be Michelle Phan, easily the most famous beauty guru on YouTube. She now owns her own make-up brand, em cosmetics, which is now used in every one of her make-up tutorials since its launch and hence promoted to all of her subscribers, somewhat subtly. You’ll see what I mean in her most recent make-up tutorial:

The question is: is this okay? Clearly this is beneficial for the companies because this is an excellent way of getting their name out, through (self-claimed) experts who have already earned the trust of hundreds and thousands of viewers out there. I know I’ve certainly been tempted to shop at many of the stores mentioned during a video.

I personally don’t mind because I learn about stores or brands I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, and I’m capable of judging whether or not something is trustworthy regardless of someone’s opinion. However, I can’t say the same for the more vulnerable viewers – the younger shoppers, the shopaholics, the trend followers – who may be easily convinced to spend on things that their role model gurus gush about. This is such a grey area of ethics that cannot be simplified by regulations because companies and gurus are technically not doing anything wrong.

This sponsoring trend has only come to life in the past one to two years and it’s spreading fast, from gurus like Michelle Phan with millions of views to new gurus with only thousands of views. This concerns me in regards of the potentially wasteful purchases that vulnerable members of the YouTube audience will make, and I can only hope that gurus will be aware of their influence on their viewers instead of taking advantage of them for their own benefit.

Tag Archives: youtube

Google’s Ads: Good Enough to Make You Forget About Privacy Issues