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/