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gil_crab.jpgBy B.L. Ochman What’s more lame than a fake blog? A fake MySpace page. But ad agencies, those clueless wonders, are creating them in droves. Here’s one created by Honda agency RPA for Gil the Crab, an animated crustacean who has appeared in past Honda Element ads.
Here’s Adweek saying how cool this trend is. Yeah, it’s about as cool as the Captain Morgan’s fake blog or the MacDonald’s Abraham Lincoln-look-a-like French Fry blog that were laughed off the Internet by bloggers.
Like fake blogs, corporation’s fake MySpace pages are the antithesis of citizen created media.
So how can corporations participate in social media?
– Sponsor existing content that relates to your product or service. Sports-related companies would be smart to sponsor this MySpace page content
– Run contests employing social media. Marketing should be fun!
– Use a MySpace page to create a forum for community interaction on a real issue
Just don’t hide behind a fake page that underestimates real people’s intelligence or patience, or willingness to ignore or boycott your products. It’s dumb, it’s not creative, and it’ll bite you on the ass.