Random Acts of Social Responsibility

Bob Garfield had an interesting blog about how disgusted he was with the new Cheetos campaign, RAoC (Random Acts of Cheetos). As you can see from the video, Cheetos is promoting the use of Cheetos as a medium for getting revenge on authoritative figures such as bosses, teachers and so on. The campaign encourages viewers to visit www.orangeunderground.com and post their videos of vandalism (because that's what it is). I have to agree with Bob and say that as marketers we have a responsibility upon society to not be the catalysts of questionable behavior.

So maybe there is an extremist viewpoint I'm harboring because the truth is that most people will probably not spend $500 in Cheetos to get back at someone, but even if the spots were not encouraging user-created content, the spots in and of themselves are not funny. They have destroyed the Cheetos' mascot's image from being the "cool guy" to the evil guy on your left shoulder inciting you to make the wrong decisions. It's meaningless and obnoxious campaigns like this that make consumers resistant to advertising.

I've repeatedly asked myself whether I'm alright with making a living by selling people things they don't need. People hate advertising and then subsequently they'll hate me just as much as they hate lawyers and other professions with negative connotations. I bumped into an article (also on Adage.com) that resonated my sentiments exactly.

"Self-loathing has become all too commonplace in marketing and not entirely without reason.Young marketers or agency executives don't take long to learn they've dedicated their lives to creating stuff people seek to avoid."

The author proposed that marketing with meaning will be the answer for all of us ad execs in need of a way to justify our existence in the polluted Time Square architecture. A company named Bridge is agreeing with that notion and has even started a blog aptly titled www.marketingwithmeaning.com . If we make the actual marketing message the cause of our advertising then it will engage consumers instead of repel them. The concept of an interactive message that people are receptive to is nothing alarmingly new but the actual resurfacing of the issue of morality in our message is what caught my attention.

I don't have to feel guilty about what I love to do because advertising can be used for a good purpose just as a manipulating one. The truth is that advertising is a necessary evil because consumers do need to know what to buy. They may not want to be used as marionettes in a company's selling play but just imagine if good ol' advertisers disappeared. We advertisers have to accept the criticism but realize that we can use our medium to benefit and inform the world. Advertising can theoretically make "going green" cool and save the planet from imminent destruction (dramatic I know). I am not ashamed and I love what I do and if someone doesn't like it then I guess I can fill up their car with Cheetos. (just kidding)