When a good idea appears in the Internet space, it attracts people, a lot of idle people and a lot of marketing people. Of course, with marketing comes its shameful brother: SPAM.
This is exactly what is happening right now on MySpace, the virtual social network where teens have been spreading and sharing for months now (nearly 50 million users in this end of 2006). An example that borders on caricature is the appearance of pseudo user Red Passion (not only a user with a pseudo!). Here is how she present herself:
What I adore… Strong and skillful people, tolerance and freedom, the ambiguous side of life, testing… in every sense, excitement and thrill, sharing, seeing and being seen. What I hate… Strictness, simple-minded people, stupidity and foolishness, fear and shame, prejudice, meanness… in every sense and, more than everything, the lack of imagination. This is me, female, from a place you’ll never know. Explore my world…
With such an invitation, on a dating web site (even more than on a social network site), the first contact is virtually automatic. Red Passion is not a real woman (after all, who could blame her for that since false identities are plentiful on those sites – or at least identities that are fantastically more generous than the mere reality), but – more importantly – she is a real advertisment.
Yes! This is an online ad for Campari (the Italian alcohol drink) and HotelCampari.com the accompanying web site.
Some feeble-minded observers would think that this would not stand for long, but no. SPAM – here as everywhere else – uses the proven theories of advertising to extend them to their worst extreme. Isn’t abuse too big? Alcohol beverages advertised in a virtual location obviously crowded with teens.
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