As sophisticated marketers, we rarely give enough shrift to the notion of delight, perhaps because it’s such a dowager aunt of a word. But people have a deeply ingrained appetite for delight. And as much as technology has progressed the art of communication (and perhaps more negatively, social distraction), it has powerfully advanced the widespread possibilities of delight.
To that end, here are three videos that have been spreading all over the internet of late, each one delivering a different take on delight.
The first is a charming music video from Japanese group Sour called ‘Hibi no Neiro’ (Tone of Everyday) from their first mini album ‘Water Flavor EP’. Artistically, its a technologically powered tour de force with an overlay of innovative fan engagement. To make this, the globally disparate members of the band engaged members of their worldwide fan base, bringing everyone together to perform in their video by using webcams on their Mac laptops to create a fiendishly clever update on the old ‘stadium crowd flashcards.’
The second is an example of simple stop-motion animation that uses pieces of candy to create a fireworks show. Executionally, it’s nothing new but because it’s done so well with the added overlay of timeliness, the effect is magic.
Finally a cautionary tale for corporations in this era of desktop creativity and social media. Perfectly demonstrating Clay Shirky’s principle of organizing without organizations, the band Sons of Maxwell witnessed United Airlines baggage teams manhandling their guitar cases at O’Hare.
By the time Dave Carroll collected his beautiful Taylor, its neck was broken, requiring $1100 in repairs. After spending a futile year chasing compensation, the band produced a video for a simple A-E-G country ditty title “United Breaks Guitars.” After a huge burst of internet response, United settled the grievance and the band earned the biggest hit of their careers.
Opinion has a mass channel. Thankfully, so does delight. Happy Friday.