Virgin Mobile plays fun on Eliot Spitzer
Yesterday, I stumbled upon reading the Metro (and possibly the 24 Hours) daily commuter newspaper (both of which are free daily and very popular among commuters) until I stumbled upon an ad from Virgin Mobile Canada. The ad features former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and in the cloud he was thinking, “I’m tired of being treated like a number…” If you people don’t know Spitzer had resigned as governor of New York on Monday because of his involvement in prostitution line (or something like that) talking to a person named Ashley Alexandera Dupre (aka Kristen). He was criticized on his involvement with that person and that’s why it lead to his resignation. Eliot Spizter is known as “Client 9″. The people of the state is not impressed by this.
Anyways, changing gear back to the Virgin Mobile ad campaigns, The ad campaigns also feature Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton as well. The as describes as this:
“At Virgin Mobile, you’re more than just a number. When you call us we’ll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you’re #9 or #900, you’ll get hooked up with somebody who’ll finally treat you just how you want to be treated.”
However to ensure that the good people at Virgin Mobile won’t get sued, they posted this statement: “You probably already guessed this, but no celebrity endorsement intended or implied.” Rest assured, Virgin Mobile is not planning to do a full-scale rollout with the ads featuring Spitzer, but because of that, the former New York Governor caught his attention to those ads.
The viral ads reminded me of when Ontario Colleges did some viral campaign called “Obay“. Some people think it’s a new medication, but in the end the viral ads revealed to be that the product doesn’t exist, but it offers parents to provide some post-secondary opportunities for their kids.
I laughed at the way Virgin Mobile did this, but it’s anyone’s guess if they will plan to do these types of ads if they were to mock Chris Avenir, the guy who got expelled from Ryerson for his alleged involvement on organizing a facebook study group. If Avenir suddenly detected this, he will sue Virgin Mobile for his unauthorized use of his picture. The same thing goes to Billy “Fish” O’neill (if you don’t recall, he got hit by a car when he did a trick during the conference team visit to Barcelona, Spain). He will possibly sue Virgin Mobile – providing if he did not authorize them to use his picture. But, if Virgin Mobile decided to make the ads featuring Billy “Fish” O’Neill, they will most likely get his attention.
As the old saying goes, “Freedom of Speech”.
References:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9893529-7.html?tag=nefd.top
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/14/virgin-mobile-turns-spitzer-scandal-into-marketing-gold/
http://www.adrants.com/2008/03/spitzer-scandal-spun-to-promote-virgin.php
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/03/could_virgin_mo.html
You should read the essay on prostitution “A She-Savior” by the well-known Russian author Mikhail Armalinsky. It was published in Moscow edition of his Selected Works http://www.mipco.com/english/introVozn.html
I will be happy to send you the text as attachment or here is the link: http://www.mipco.com/english/SheSavior.html
The main idea of the essay “A She-Savior” is that the legalization of prostitution must be based on a return of its divine, sacred character, so that prostitution will be considered the most honorable profession, the one closest to God, the holiest.
davbaye
March 18, 2008 at 9:14 pm