Crazy Good Marketing

For the third week in a row the KONY 2012 campaign has made headlines, only this week not for its viral YouTube video. It’s no secret that more and more media outlets are reporting that “KONY 2012 is Not a Revolution”, now focusing on the skewed and oversimplified message presented by Invisible Children front man Jason Russell. So, what has the papers talking now? Last week police in Pacific Beach, San Diego detained Russell after witnesses reported him wandering through the streets and obstructing traffic in only his underwear while screaming incoherently. His wife and family maintain that drugs or alcohol did not induce the incident, and doctors are now reporting that Russell has been diagnosed with brief reactive psychosis.

"Doctors say this is a common experience given the great mental, emotional and physical shock his body has gone through in these last two weeks," Danica Russell said in a statement. With 84 million YouTube hits now, the KONY 2012 video ushered in a storm of critical reactions and responses, many of which were personally directed at Russell himself, eventually triggering his episode. Well, I hate to say this, but he deserved it (not the Psychosis part). The real fault of Russell’s self-narrated video was the voice - it was too personal. The film opens with footage of Russell’s son Gavin being born. He continues to speak to young Gavin throughout the story, explaining to him how Joseph Kony is a “bad guy.” The film then ends with Russell’s wish to leave the world a better place for Gavin, one that he can be proud of.

Ok, he’s really really cute. But let’s be real - this video is supposed to be about the thousands of Africans living under the oppression of Kony’s army. Where is their story? Where are their voices? The video also omits a lot of critical information about the region affected by Kony, presenting an “oversimplified” image. There is no mention of conflict over land and resources, the unstable health and education systems, or the widespread youth illness known as “nodding disease”. Clearly, the video has been skewed to cater to a Western audience, pulling at the heartstrings of Americans by presenting a simplified version of the truth. It’s easy to sympathize with a cause that wants to stop an evil man from abducting children, so that a white American poster-boy can have a better future. That’s marketing for you.

So what does this all say about Social Media? For one, it’s used to appeal to the masses. KONY 2012 was not meant to be educational. If you really want to learn about what’s going on over there, go watch a documentary or read some credible journalists. This campaign was strategically planned to capture the support of American youths … high production value film, pop-culture stars backing the campaign, a trendy bracelet and activism kit to show support, all spread over Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. If KONY 2012 didn’t have all this pizzazz that appeals to college students, do you think it would have become so viral?

Social Media has the power to tailor causes to specific audiences. It can make issues seem “cool”, and play at your emotions. And it can certainly leave a lot of relevant information out of the equation – a Tweet is only 140 characters after all. The point is that the real issues with Kony and the area he’s affecting have nothing to do with Jason Russell or his son Gavin or a cool bracelet. But Invisible Children’s campaign used these factors to manipulate its target audience into sympathizing with their cause and generating rapid awareness. That’s almost absurd enough to make me run screaming through the streets naked.