The Gaga Phenomenon

Upon starting this blog, I never would have imagined that I would be writing a post about Lady Gaga. But last week, something struck me as needing some investigation: Lady Gaga was rated as the most influential person of 2010 in the Time 100 poll.

I've always known her to be an unusual and attention-grabbing celebrity, especially when it came to her performances that seem to constantly push the media's limits. But was this really enough for her to be viewed as more influential than the likes of the Obamas, Oprah Winfrey, the Clintons, and Jon Stewart?

Though I had heard a lot of her music on the radio, I had never really listened to her lyrics or analyzed her music videos' content. I first went to her YouTube channel to see what it is that makes her so "influential." The first video to play was her newest one, titled, "Judas." Despite the title, I did not anticipate for it to have so many biblical references and images throughout the video. Considering some of her work that seems to be the antithesis to biblical, I am surprised she hasn't received more criticism.

Next I watched her "Born This Way" video. I was surprised by the images that were reminiscent of the Matrix. The pairing of the visuals with her title of "Mother Monster" and references to fans as her "little monsters," seems almost cultish to me. However, seeming like a cult, isn't necessarily bad, as in my classes we learned that some of the most successful brands, strive to have a cultish following, to become a Lovemark. But in order for this following to remain, the brand must be ritualized. Lady Gaga's ritual: social media.

I then went on Facebook, where I first noticed that she had over 36 million "likes." President Obama, who attributes a significant amount of his campaigning to social media, only has over 21 million in comparison. More impressive than her 10+ million followers on Twitter, is the fact that she (or her publicists) make an impressive effort to interact with her fans on an individual basis. This interaction is apparent over YouTube, as well. So impressive, in fact, that Google partnered with her for a commercial for Chrome. It features videos submitted from Lady Gaga's fans showing their admiration for the artist's music (shown below), along with the features available with Google and its new browser, Chrome, such as the web apps and image search. This fluid integration reminded me of their "Parisian Love" spot that aired during the 2010 Superbowl.

Starting off a skeptic, after digging a little deeper into what Lady Gaga is really all about, and observing the relationship she has with her fans, I certainly have a better understanding of why she was voted most influential person of 2010.

Vive Le Football Libre

Nike is now the current sponsor for the French National Soccer team after earning the franchise for almost $400 million dollars, according to The New York Times. While I was in Europe, all the Niketown stores, present in every major city, had displays showing off the new kits for the team, along with other gear and collectables. Additionally, they're making a large marketing push across social media, print, and TV.

I really dig this TV spot which supposedly features the words from the duel scene from Cyrano de Bergerac, though I couldn't validate that, as I've never read or seen the play.


Their print ads also feature notable French icons such as La Marianne, Eric Cantona, and french musician Oxmo Puccino.

The site for the entire line of sportswear and campaign can be found here.

FORZA ROMA

One of the things I was looking forward to the most about studying abroad in Italy was being able to finally attend a European soccer match. Being in Europe a few times before, I had always came during the off-season when no games were being played. Finally, I was able to attend a match.


On January 6th, we went to the AS Roma vs. Catania game. We had purchased our tickets in the "South Curve" section of the stadium, where the home hooligans stand. We thought that with assigned seat numbers on our tickets we would be able to find our designated seats easily. This didn't end up the case, as the entire section was already full (we were late) and no one paid attention to their seats. We got stuck standing on the stairs- the only available space.

The first thing we noticed when approaching the stadium was the noise. The chanting filled the air from a quarter mile away. And upon entering the stadium, the electricity was incredible. The passion was undeniable.

Roma had already scored before we arrived, but they quickly lost the lead to trail 1-2 for a lot of the game. After equalizing, the crowd went crazy. To make things even better, with five minutes left, Roma took the lead and scored again in stoppage time- an incredible ending.

The day of the game was actually a holiday, so the stadium was not filled. The enthusiasm was still unrivaled by any I had seen at a game in the states. The passion from the fans was insane: constant chanting, yelling, and whistling. Italians don't "boo" as much as we do. They give a terribly shrill, loud whistle to show their displeasure with a call or a foul instead.

The crowd consisted of almost ALL men. In fact, tickets are more inexpensive for a woman to go, than a male. Our tickets were 17 euros, whereas the girls' were only ten. And I could see why so few went- it was rowdy! During the next match I went to against derby rival Lazio, I saw a few fights break out. When Roma scored, anyone was subject to the potential bear hug of celebration by a random Italian. In fact, when Roma scored the winning goal against Lazio, I was actually kissed on the cheek by one guy, and saw another shed tears of happiness. Wow.

See the video below that I took during the Catania match. I got lucky and just happened to be recording at the right time to see the build up of the goal, the goal, and then the celebration of their third goal in the 85th minute to give them the lead.

Recognize, America

One of the best blogs I've read in a long, long time. (Thanks to my fellow travel abroad-er, Lauren Ginnever, for sending this my way). While reading this, I couldn't stop nodding my head, "yes," while laughing. Yet at the same time, I couldn't help but get frustrated inside with how true it all is. If you're a Seattleite, you'll appreciate this.



P.S. To reiterate: "Give us our NBA team back, dicks."

My Oh My

As most of you know, Dave Niehaus, the voice of the Seattle Mariners, passed away a couple months ago. Macklemore, a Seattle musician who I've mentioned previously on here, created an epic tribute.

When I thought it would be impossible for someone to do such an iconic figure in Seattle sports history justice, I was proved wrong. So many people have so many different memories vocalized by this timeless figure, Macklemore does an excellent job creating a song most in my generation and above can identify with. Hearing Mr. Niehaus' voice incorporated into the track makes it that much more nostalgic.

Download this tribute for free here.

Madison Avenue Today

For Fall quarter, I was fortunate to do some independent research as one of my classes. With professor sponsorship/advising, I studied how the internet is shaping today's advertising industry. My final product was a twenty page paper which I posted on a Wordpress site to make it more engaging and in line with the topic. Please take a look and post some feedback if you want. Thanks!

http://madisonavetoday.wordpress.com/

Hello, Mr. President

To this day, it astounds me how much power a school like the University of Washington has. Next Tuesday, November 2nd, are the primary elections. President Barack Obama made it a point to come to our UW campus to rally votes for the incumbent democrat senator, Patty Murray.

Now I'm not here to talk politics. And to even attend the really, you could be conservative, liberal, green, whatever. The leader of our great nation was at my campus speaking. And speak, he did.

A group of my friends, some who consider themselves democrat, some republican, woke up at 6:00am on October 20th to see our president speak at the Hec Ed Pavillion, where our beloved Huskies play their basketball games. Upon our arrival, there were about 500-800 people in front of us, and we began to worry about getting a seat. If you're familiar with campus, our place in line was right by the entrance to the IMA building. By 9:00am, the line wrapped completely around the IMA fields, coming close to the Washington Aquatic Center, from what I heard. Over 13,000 people lined up. Luckily we got seats instead of having to stand on the general floor for four hours, which was quite a relief after standing in line for three hours.


Regardless of people's left or rightist views, it's hard to deny president Obama's spectacular public speaking skills and charisma. He certainly targeted his speech to a younger audience, but certainly didn't dumb it down. He spoke to everyone. A couple lines, in particular, that stand our were him saying, "I am proud to be a democrat. But more than anything, I am proud to be an American." The crowd went wild. I went wild. Though the speech was politically charged, the patriotism was overwhelming.

I know decades down the road, I am going to be able to boast to younger generations that the first non-white president came to my university to speak to us in hopes of getting the youth vote back for a senator.


If you'd like to view the transcript from his speech, it can be found here.

Mini's huge mobile splash

When I think back on my childhood, some of my most fond memories were playing games, of course. Being an outdoorsy kid, I played a lot on the playground during recess. Tag was my game. Now, as a young adult, I can't remember the last time I got to play. But what If I got to play a elaborated game of tag in an entire city, competing to win a car... in Sweden? Sign me up!

Mini has created a tremendously creative and fun campaign using an iPhone app, harnessing the phone's GPS to track other users in Stockholm. While I wonder how some of the technicalities work, such as what happens if you lose service, I applaude them on this fun, engaging concept. Can we have a Seattle version soon?

55th and Brooklyn

As I've discussed in previous posts, blogging/social media is a great way for aspiring musicians to be heard, discovered, or just share their music with the world. More and more artists are being "found" online by random producers- in fact, MySpace originated as a site for musicians, not for friends to share embarrassing pictures of one another. Since then, more and more sites are popping up allowing users to share what music they like, or want others to see. Apple just released their social music network, Ping, just recently, as a matter of fact, which encompasses the iTunes store, and your iPod/iPhone, as well.

Two good friends of mine just started their first blog, 55th and Brooklyn, to share their music into cyberspace. David Boman and Peter Muller are two talented musicians I have known throughout college. I have been fortunate enough to have seen them perform in a number of settings, both together and with their previous groups. Each time they have blown me away with their talent and energy, so I was naturally excited to hear that they would be releasing some of the stuff they've been working on, online. Be sure to check them out at 55thandbrooklyn.blogspot.com and give them some feedback!

New York, Take Four

I recently returned from a short trip to New York City. This trip had a much different motive than any of my other visits to the Big Apple. Sure, I had some fun on the side, but the main point of this trip was to meet with advertising professionals to learn as much insight on the industry in NYC and gain any advice I could for my final year of college going into my first real year of my “career.”

But of course being in New York on the weekend when the offices aren’t open, I had to have some fun first. Arriving on a game day for the Washington Huskies meant we had to find a good place to watch the football game. We found ourselves at the Rattle ‘N Hum on 33rd street. This bar happens to be designated by the University of Washington’s New York Alumni Association as their official bar to meet up for sports games and functions. I anticipated a good turn out, but I had no idea that the entire bar would be packed full of Huskies. Unfortunately, we lost to BYU, but most of the fans couldn’t be too upset due to the temporary open bar granted to all UW fans.

On Sunday, it just so happened to be the Brazilian festival on 6th Avenue. The entire street was closed for multiple blocks featuring stages with live music, dancing, street vendors and food. It was pretty incredible, but way too crowded for my liking.



We later took the Staten Island Ferry to see one of my good friends from West Seattle, Zach Varce, pitch for the Staten Island Yankees, the New York Yankees’ minor league team. They have a beautiful stadium right on the water with the Manhattan skyline right in the background of the outfield.


After the game we went to Lombardi’s Pizzeria, which is supposed to be the oldest pizzeria in the United States. I don’t know how factual that title is, but the taste sure measured up to it. Either that, or it was the fact that we had to wait over an hour to get a table at the Soho restaurant.


After the fun weekend, came time for the business part to my visit. Over the next three days, I would meet with marketers from JWT, Google, BBDO, OMD, Grey, Razorfish, Wunderman and Taylor. I got a wide array of advice, all of which was extremely helpful. I was learned more info on the agencies themselves, what the industry is like in New York versus Seattle, and the process of moving to a place like New York

What I learned there, combined with the advice I had gained from some of my supervisors at Wunderman made one thing clear: New York is where I need to go. Though intimidating, the rate of professional growth, the competitiveness, and the new-city-experience could prove to be one of the biggest challenges of my life, and hopefully the most rewarding.