VMA's and MTV, Ahead of the Advertising Curve

Last night just by happenstance I stumbled upon the MTV VMA's... which brought me back to my days as a junior high student. We used to talk about them on the bus the next morning, that is really why I watched them, and to see 'NSYNC(and you know that is why you watched them too). This is not going to be a blog about the highlight moments of the evening where Kanye took Taylor Swift's thunder, Lady Gaga's wardrobe changed everytime the camera was on her or Janet's MJ tribute. No, this post is about something I payed no attention to as a junior high student, but something I can't avert these days... advertising.

What I noticed were the ads. There was a great Levi's ad done by Wieden+Kennedy:



This as is not what I am talking about either, although it is great isn't it. What I am talking about is the cross branding and promotion that ran durning the VMAs. I saw FOX ads for the new show GLEE and another for CBS. For what I don't remember because I thought somehow my TV had spontaneously switched to CBS while I was brushing my teeth. Now maybe MTV has been at this for along time now and I am antiquating myself, I don't know. But if so, is it working and why would a cable channel drive traffic to a network station?

There is one first I know to be true, "Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Video Award" is the first VMA sponsored award. Why MTV didn't think of the brilliant idea before, beats me. There is great potential in sponsorship and user/listener/watcher/consumer interaction which works with the VMA's like no other award show because of the young demographic. The AMA's do have a T-Mobile "Breakthrough Artist" Award that MTV maybe piggy backing off of, but I think there is still more potential with the MTV audience, because of the constant edge MTV is trying to provide.

Buzz is no longer created on the school bus. Buzz is created before the event, during the event and after the event. While the VMA's were airing, there were 1 million plus tweets, according the the MTV wrap show. The face of advertising is always changing and adapting, which has become evident by MTV, always paving the way, and always walking the line.

The rest...

DAYS 2-7
In the days that followed day 1, I didn't have as much trouble... although I did drive my mom's car to work (she was out of town and I could park closer to the door at work, call me lazy) and her radio was on. It took me a second to register I needed to turn it off. The radio is just so automatic, it is like background noise. I knew it was on and I wasn't paying attention, it was also 6am.

That was the entire reason for my experiment. I am not an avid radio listener, but I listen while commuting and when it was taken away, I noticed. It was boring, not going to lie, especially in traffic. I am totally one of those people you see in their car singing along to the radio, and I don't even notice. Well, I saw those people and I was jealous.

I missed the company most of all. I didn't miss the information, because I can get that from other sources. I am an extrovert and enjoy interaction, even if it is through the airwaves. I suppose I could have used the time to reflect more on life, and the goings on around me, but I didn't. I think as a creature of habit, I do those things at other times of the day and couldn't change that in a week.

RADIO ON
When I turned the radio back on, it was WONDERFUL! I was happy and driving/singing-a-long with a smile on my face. I felt like I couldn't get enough, I had to listen to every station on the dial just a little. Then I got back into my rhythm... like Kanye says, "you don't know what you got till it's gone"; true.

I am happy to have the radio back in my life, major lessons learned:

• Appreciate the simple things
• Life can be silent and boring or silent and intriguing, you decide
• I am the same radio listener now that I was then
• Radio is not passive, listeners have control, but I don't know if they realize it?

Now, turn the radio up and sing-a-long... you know you want to!