Page 119 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

Consumer Culture and Fashion Studies 103

and obtain a coupon by “ prescribing ” themselves or others. A site
header states that as of week 20 of the campaign, 1,444,115 people
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have been “ prescribed. ”
The Prescribe the Nation campaign is an example of a highly suc-
cessful viral campaign; however, campaigns which are based prima-
rily upon the response of the consumer are notoriously fickle. If the

consumers do not respond in the hoped - for manner, the campaign
will fail or, worse, become an object of scorn. When a video appeared
at alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (this site no longer exists) in 2006,
featuring a young man rapping about his desire for a PSP, some
viewers were skeptical. A group of posters on the Something Awful
forums quickly revealed the video to be the work of a marketing
agency working for Sony. This failed campaign came less than a year
after Sony ’ s widely criticized guerilla - marketing attempt to promote
the PSP. This 2005 attempt hired graffiti artists to spray - paint build-

ings with images of kids using a PSP in fantastical ways (such as
riding it like a horse), and did not feature Sony ’ s name or logo
anywhere. Neither of these campaigns was successful in increasing
sales, and both created significant amounts of hostility toward the

company. (The PSP video, along with some background informa-
tion, can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX_
3GEvF8RQ . A New York Times article on Sony ’ s graffi ti campaign
can be accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/business/
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media/12sony.html .)
Both Vaseline and Sony attempted to tap into existing social net-
works that might have had a need or a desire for their respective
products, with the intention that the members of these networks
would promote their products. However, while Vaseline successfully
utilized these networks, Sony ended up alienating themselves from
the members of the social networks they were targeting. What were
the similarities between the two campaigns? Why was Vaseline ’ s
campaign so successful while Sony ’ s failed? Were there any elements
present in one campaign but not the other? Is there a way that Sony
could have altered either of its campaigns to make them more
successful?