Sdwys

Even AdCritic voted for Kanye

Not only did Kanye West claim the number one spot on the Billboard charts, but he also managed to crack the adcritic top 20, for his video “The Good Life”.  You know it has to be a great album when the advertising community can take a moment to leave their self-absorbed world and acknowledge some true artistic greatness.
 

Kanye West easily bested 50 Cent in their much-hyped clash, pushing 957,000 copies of Graduation against 691,000 copies of the G-Unit star's Curtis in its first six days of sales.

The album-sales war between Kanye West and 50 did what it was designed to do: It put a much-needed spotlight back on hip-hop and gave fans something to get excited about.  Yet there is still no template to do business and great beats and amazing lyrics can only sell so many albums.

What can we learn for West’s success?   Enter Hova…..

Jay-Z suggests it's all about creativity. "Artistry wins," says Jay-Z. "If you're going to emulate something, then emulate art. Because you can emulate a record or a trend, but that doesn't win at the end of the day."

This sets the stage for THE REAL NEWS of the day--- Jay-Z will release his second album in a year, "American Gangster," Nov. 6 via Def Jam.

The Dumbing of America. As some get smarter, the rest of America becomes dumber

While I am unsure if America is headed for Idiocracy, I am sure that America is fed a lot of dumb stuff by the media.  So yes, America is getting dumber in the context of common sense.

TMZ’s interview with LA club goers is perfect example. "TMZ" sent a correspondent to the hotspots of L.A. to see how well Angeleno clubgoers remembered the terrible events of September 11.  The results prove that as Americans we are experts in “junk culture”, but are definitely not as smart as a 5th grader when it comes to current events.

Children are growing up light years ahead of most adults when it comes to technology and we live in a demand-based economy where there is far more demand for brainless celebrity bullshit than there for anything else.

So what’s the long-term effect of “junk culture”?  I am not sure entirely sure, but I will leave you with this one thought. “America's teen pregnancy rate fell 36 percent made for celebratory headlines this year, but a lesser-known finding is that among young adult women, rates of unwanted and unintended pregnancy have actually increased.” Let’s hope we are not following Britney’s approach to planned parenthood.

50 Cent vs. Kanye West

Let's be honest, both albums leaked over a week ago, which makes it truly hard to gauge the True potential success of each album.  In terms of album sales Billboard.com’s early sales projections might put Kanye ahead of 50 Cent—“Graduation" could come in at the 575,000-700,000 range, while "Curtis" is being projected in the 500,000-600,000 range—But this does not take into account all secondary branding opportunities and revenue avenues resulting from the promotion of each artist’s respected albums.

If we look at several additional sources we can better estimate potential impressions and albums owned (leaked and purchased) using several sources--Google Music Trends, Google Trends, Yahoo Buzz, iTunes and Torrent seeds on Mininova.org.

 

While it appears Google chat users are more likely to listen to Kanye, even on a bad day searches for 50 Cent tower above those of Kanye. Furthermore 50 Cent torrent seeds are out pacing Kanye and 50 Cent has four music videos with over a million views (over 12.8 million total) compared to Kanye’s two music videos (over 4.7 million total). Note: Kanye does not have his own YouTube channel and relies heavily on users remixing his songs for YouTube distribution.

But in the end, do 50 Cent’s album sales really matter?  Kanye is still a rapper/producer who loves fashion and 50 Cent is a brand. No matter what he is laughing straight to the bank with his profits from Vitamin water, g-unit clothing, and his very own video game.

For more on 50 Cent and Kanye check out their interviews on  vbs.tv.

50 Cent

Kanye West

Can something go viral on its own anymore?

The answer is YES. Creativity and entertainment value are what make virals successful, not the channels or methods it is distributed.

The reason we believe in viral advertising as an effective medium is that is creates a moment of escape that not only entertains consumers, but also allows them to facilitate their own social interactions. Consumers can decide when to engage in a brand’s message, where they want to experience it, and with whom they wish to share it. In essence, viral advertising allows a brand to be integrated into everyday consumer’s conversations through entertainment.

In the same fashion that the best TV spots are 30 times more likely to be stopped and watched, the most effective virals are those with lots of entertaining and original content. Successful virals will never diminish as long as they are providing entertainment. No one will say no to entertainment. 
There is a huge consumer appetite for good content and untapped online audience who is eager to view and pass engaging content.  Content comes first and seeding will always be secondary. When we create an online experience we need to offer consumers something completely new and entertaining that they can’t get offline and that they will seek out.

Check out this great animation highlighting, semi-chronologically, some of the most memorable and effective internet videos.

Internet People - Watch more free videos

Everyone Needs a Vice

We all know that people that have no vices tend to not be as fun, so it is no surprise that one of the best performing funds over the past year is the Vice Fund (VICEX), which bets on all things your mother wouldn't approve of-- alcohol, tobacco, gaming, and defense contractors. The fund is up over 25% since last year and has a Morningstar rating of 5 stars.

The fact that this stock has outperformed most socially conscious mutual funds only proves that the market is amoral and agnostic.

Download vice_fund_vicex_google_finance.pdf