And it has happened, finally.
When Karan Johar asked, ‘Where is the audience?’ almost an year ago, I had written this, as part of the answer.
So, what can producers do? As I had blogged earlier, this is the opinion economy. Here, opinions by people who are not considered experts matter too. If you think they do not matter and people will use their discretion to see through the lack of knowledge in opinionsâ?¦.youâ??re terribly mistaken. The main reason is that these coarse opinions speak in a language of the masses, without the edge or wit of a critic and that tends to be trusted too. So, the best way is to perhaps amplify positive opinions from people online and not just critics. In critics case, they already have an audience, but these micro/semi critics have a limited reach â?? digging positive reviews and amplifying them in mainstream media or owned properties of the film/producer could sure help! To some extent, producers already do this â?? ads which showcases opinions from people walking out of the theater are not new â?? the same thing could now be done online too!
So, while the makers of Shaitan released this print advert two days after the release of the film,
…they also released this large advert almost a week after the release of the film.
You could say this is no big deal…after all, we’ve seen TV ads where people offer instant reviews as they walk out of the theater. But this is indeed new – the people who chose to write about the film did so for the Facebook page of the film, not for the print advert of the film.
Here are some questions, as usual.
1. Do you feel compelled to see the film just because these opinions hit you when you open your newspaper? Who are these people? You don’t know them and they don’t care who you are; they are talking to the Facebook page of the film and not addressing you either. So, why would you trust these opinions to make your decision? Does the, ‘but they are people like you and me…’ logic work, I wonder!
2. Were these people notified that their opinions – that they so willingly shared in the Facebook page of the film – will be/are being used in a print advert of the film? The same question holds good for the critics’ views quoted in the earlier ad. But in case of critics, those opinions happened in assorted media vehicles and it is possible that the ad agency/film production house that collected these opinions sought permission to reproduce those opinions to benefit the film’s publicity machinery. On Facebook? Should the people who have opined be asked before their views are taken to another medium?
You could argue – the film’s Facebook’s page is public, so why bother asking permission? It is all in the open anyway. But here’s the deal – Facebook is a different medium, compared to The Times of India. And, most importantly, the makers of the film stand to gain financially, by using the views posted in the Facebook in a print advert, using the ‘people like me say this’ logic mentioned in the earlier point. Imagine a celebrity (model/actor – say, Sachin Tendulkar) adding an opinion in the Facebook page of the film…will the makers use that in the print ad? If they do, will they be obliged to ask permission from Sachin’s image management firm? So, why should normal people like you and be treated any differently when we posted that review assuming it to be for the Facebook page alone?
If these people are beaming that their opinions have made it to The Times of India, that’s a different thing altogether! Having said this, the makers of the film may have sought permission from the people quoted in the print advert via private communication like email – I won’t discount that possibility. But, here’s the other, related question, in the next point.
3. The other side of the story – does Facebook’s terms and conditions allow commercial use of content posted on its platform, outside its platform? I’m not so conversant on this part, but here’s a start, from Facebook’s ad guidelines (highlights are mine).
7. Data and Privacy
1. You may not give data you receive from us to any third party, including ad networks.
2. Unless authorized by us, your ads may not display user data — such as users’ names or profile photos — whether that data was obtained from Facebook or otherwise.
3. You may not use user data you receive from us or collect through running an ad, including information you derive from your targeting criteria, for any purpose off of Facebook, without user consent.
So, having read all this, what’s your take?
On a more personal note…yes, I have seen the film and did like most of it. But, there is something that disturbed me terribly – there’s a scene in the film where one of the 5 friends is seen filling his pee in a water balloon (gubbara) and throwing it at the crowd celebrating holi outside his compound. I guess this is the ‘shaitaniyat’ the film makers are referring to, but something that happened last weekend in my own apartment holds a disturbing mirror to this sort of behavior. I noticed my neighbor shouting his guts out at a group of slightly older kids (15+) and I did ask him what was wrong that led him to shout so loudly and excitedly. He said those kids asked his younger son (9 years old) to play with them and he had let him play…when he came down to get him back to do his homework, he noticed the older kids asking his son to fetch the cricket ball from the gutter (where it had fell into) and even asked him to lick the ball…as they enjoyed the scene. This, obviously, enraged the father and he proceeded to let his anger out at the older kids, verbally. What shocked him (and me) was the response by one of the older kids. He’s supposed to have said, ‘What’s the big deal, uncle…we’ve gone through this too and have done it when older kids asked us to do such things. This is how kids become stronger!’. It’s amazing how kids’ standards have come down so disgustingly.
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Related read, from this blog:
1. Online buzz and its impact on a filmâ??s box office performance (December 29, 2010)
2. Will social media be Raavanâ??s Raavan? (June 18, 2010)
3. â??Where is the audience?â?, asks leading Indian film maker! (May 28, 2010)
4. Resetting the reviewer-reader equation using internet (November 8, 2010)
5. Is the current method of promoting films on Facebook fundamentally flawed? (October 29, 2010)
6. Can complete strangers sell insurance effectively? (November 24, 2010)