Last night during the #GRAMMYs, the following ad aired as the latest installment of truth’s anti-tobacco campaign, aimed specifically at American youth to “finish” tobacco use in the U.S. and educate about big tobacco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcAj3lOyv3s
The ad shows pop stars Fifth Harmony and Becky G. in an over-the-top music video encouraging people to #leftswipedat, or reject Tinder users who are smoking in their photos.
If all of this sounds a little confusing, and if you have no idea what just happened in that video, that’s because this campaign is all about young people. Many of the actors in the commercial are stars from YouTube and Vine, such as Grace Helbig and King Bach, among others, rapping and dancing along to the music.
We could talk about how truth has attempted to do ALL OF THE THINGS with this ad: music video, memes, comedy, promotion, interactive experience, and satire. But instead, I’d like to focus on Grace Helbig and King Bach. If you haven’t heard of them, there’s a 90% chance you’re not on the Internet. But as it turns out, the Internet isn’t the only place we’re seeing Internet stars these days.
King Bach (known IRL as Andrew Bachelor) is one of the most popular users on Vine with 10.7 million followers, all for his viral six-second videos of making silly jokes with other Viners. Bachelor is an actor, film school grad, and Internet star. In the last few months, he was featured in Paper magazine, The New Yorker, on MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out”, and Fox’s “The Mindy Project.” He’s huge, and major publications are starting to take notice.
Grace Helbig is one of the most successful YouTubers to date. Her focus has been on comedy, as opposed to acting, and her success has led to more traditional outlets. Helbig’s book, Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown Up, was a New York Times bestseller, and she’s expected to star in a comedy talk show on E! this year.
Side note: It’s pretty entertaining to see the hosts of “The Today Show” attempt to understand how Grace got so big in her interview with them.
Even if older generations struggle to understand how people in this newfangled place called the Internet can make money and become famous without day jobs, there are more ways than ever to do just that, although as Grace points out, it is not without hard work. This New Yorker piece reports that some Viners make $20k per sponsored video. Similarly, YouTubers sponsor everything from Netflix to Naturebox to the new Spongebob Squarepants movie.
For those not born famous or with excellent connections, using Vine/YouTube as a platform to boost or supplement their acting, music, comedy, or modeling careers has become a popular solution, and it’s been done by Shane Dawson, Ricky Dillon, Amanda Cerny, and Arielle Vandenberg, to name just a few (and there are many).
“Queen of YouTube” Jenna Marbles hasn’t strayed far from making videos and blogging, but has been quoted saying, “I make more money than I need, ever.”
This community, affectionately called #TeamInternet, is hardcore, innovative, and growing rapidly. They even have their own award show, The Streamys, which Grace Helbig hosted with “My Drunk Kitchen” star, Hannah Hart. A couple weeks ago, a few YouTubers even interviewed the president!
Social media can take people from sitting in front of their computers to primetime television. It is no longer fair to dismiss YouTube and Vine as “just social media” because, as we can deduce from the #leftswipedat ad, this is what young people are watching and who they care about. We need to acknowledge and utilize these alternative pathways to success, or as our motto states, “Get online or get left behind.”
Metter Media LLC is a Boston-based social media management company that implements community-based, localized social engagement strategies for small businesses and corporations alike. Need help with your social media? Email Lauren today.
