The usefulness of parodies

Parodies are pretty fun, they are light, comedic and mock the main message. But what does this mean for brands?

Should you block them? Take legal action? Or join in the laugh? More often parodies tend to be shared more than the actual message, however this always seems to be like an inside joke. After all how do you know what the parody is mocking until you see the real thing?

Case in point, is the latest campaign by Dove on Real Beauty 'Sketches'. Dove has been used as a parody on numerous occasions so it should not come as a surprise that their latest effort is the source of 'Dove real beauty sketches - Men'.

So is this really a bad thing? In my point of view, if parodies (as long as they are not overly offensive, racist or abusive) help create curiosity and spread the real message then why not? Open conversation is the basis of User generated conversation and social media which push the brand to the forefront of people's attention.

Here's the original Dove - Real Beauty 'Sketches'

and here's the parody 'Dove Real Beauty Sketches - Men'

How does Kellogg's Special K make you feel? Emotions Sell

One country (Israel) is finally taking a stand against the false beautifying or photo shopping of models' images which decorate fashion magazines as well as banning those models who are below a BMI of 18.5. This is a bold move for any country to make against the 'glorifying of the skinny' and the question is how long will it last?

One of the main reasons behind this ruling is the self-esteem issues many young girls face which can lead to a variety of psychological and behavioural problems, so does the enactment of this law signal a changing trend in advertising for beauty products? 

Traditional advertising naturally positioned the products to reflect the benefits they could provide to the user. They could make them fairer, or skinnier and generally help them to be more attractive. But with an increasing amount of criticism against such advertising, which aimed to encourage sales purely on the fact that people's appearance needed improvement, some change would be in order. 

The latest campaign of Kellogg's Special K cereal reflects this change. It's not about how much you weigh, or what's your size. An individual should not be defined by a number, instead its about you feel. Confidence, pride, self - esteem this is what counts, and Kellogg's Special K can help you achieve that. So the product still makes you look better, but now also helps make you feel better. Emotions sell. 

Initially started by Dove's campaign for real beauty, which changed the advertising rule book, it seems likely that more products will adopt this positioning to garner a better public image and reputation, and eventually trust.