Why I hate Jen Aniston "Viral" for Smartwater



So this how it went - a bunch of admen are sitting at a bar talking about their latest assignment: a video for Smartwater that's guaranteed to go viral. Impossible? No, they say, we just have to make a video that people can't *not* talk about it. "Idea!" cries the man in skinny jeans (trick description: they're all wearing skinny jeans) "Let's make a video that references every viral video ever made!" "Brilliant!" cries the guy with the plastic glasses, "And we can have Jennifer Aniston star in it!" "Yesss!"

Granted, I have an authority problem, but don't tell me what I have to talk about, I'll talk about it (and talk and talk and talk) if you do excellent work that's, surprise!, worth talking about. It is gimmicky, inauthentic and manipulative. This is video can just as easily been about Dove deodorant starring Fergie - it's not about Smartwater and it's not about Jen. It has no story. It has no personality. All it has is a grab bag full of internet memes.

Oh, and all those videos you mention? They went viral because they were real stories, about real people - it's that solid authenticity that we love to watch. Exploiting these pure stories for your bottom line just makes you seem like soul-sucking, corporate drones. Kinda counterproductive, don't ya think?

Last word: you can make videos, but people make them viral.