Beyonce Knowles' Latest Instagram Antics Part 1

I have ALWAYS been fascinated by the process of morphing an ordinary person into something beyond the person him/herself - a "celebrity". Whether an individual has natural singing abilities or not, the music industry has managed to master well the craft of branding a person. After successfully creating an aura/image around such person, the celebrity then begin to make the music, film and dance, and even endorsements, well-praised by their audience. So, one could say that a celebrity is a creative branding process.

It is no wonder many gag at the thought of a well-branded average-vocal artist making more money than a less-branded extremely-skilled ballad singer. It also comes as no surprise famous individuals like J-Lo, Oprah, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and today's hot topic - Beyonce are in the top five of 100 Forbes 2012 Celebrity list. For each of these individuals, skills or talent is hardly enough - image is equally important.

So let's talk about Beyonce.

Queen Bey, as fans call her, as a solo artist can rightfully claim a R&B/pop diva status. That is - a strong, independent and elegant woman who holds her own, has incredible talent, and is exclusive. On a cultural connotation level, she arguably represents a role model for the African American community and for women in general. How did this image grow? Well, back in her destiny child's days, the 'diva' image would be skewed because she would rather have been regarded as a young, talented, fun, flirty, curvaceous, 'hood', femme fatale (see above pic). These of course were what destiny's child lyrics, dressing, music videos and so on, portrayed. Watch Soldier by Destiny's Child. 'Semiotics' anyone?

Current Image of Beyonce Knowles as a solo artist 

1. Strong/ Independent/ Seductress: An image that stuck with her as she moved into solo artistry is that of the pro-women artist (remember Destiny Child's "Independent Woman", "Survivor"), with songs like "Run the World" or "If I Were A Boy" or "Single Ladies". Besides lyrics, her strength shows in her power-house vocals. Her branding of strength is even better confirmed in the invention of Sasha Fierce - her stage alter ego (see below). Beyonce becomes the vulnerable lover while Sasha is the strong-willed mover and shaker. In terms of diva/seductress status, her onstage costumes change - for her older songs such as "Crazy in Love", she would wear more revealing clothes and for mature songs, she would wear elegant gowns - switching between images.

2. Master of her craft: An article I read said that the first step to personal branding is to master one's craft. Beyonce has definitely excelled at that! Every vocal performance on and off stage is delivered with excellence in technicalities - at least that's how I hear it.

3. Powerful/ Wealthy/ Well-grounded: our family members to some extent represent us - especially for celebrities (think Lindsay Lohan's parents or the Kardashians). It could be a coincidence then that Ms Knowles is married to one of the wealthiest and respected artists in Urban Hip Hop today - Jayz. She is also surrounded by a designer, strong-willed and supportive mum Tina, and a fashionista sister - Solange. And of course, she cosigns this image when she sang for the Presidential couple dance at Mr Obama's inauguration in 2008 and in 2012 for the U.N World Humanitarian Day.

4. Spotless/ No-controversy/ Exclusive: I certainly can't recall how many times Beyonce has had bad press regarding her personal life. The only negative word I know of her is the Illuminati accusations floating around virtual space. Oh and Wendy Williams' recent remark about Beyonce's perceived illiteracy. Aside from these, unlike many other celebs whose lives are always in the public eye, she always manages to only mediate her performance life.

These are the most prominent images I have gathered from observing this celebrity so far. So what's with her latest antics on instagram that's got everybody dazed and confused?


Continue on to Part 2...

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21-12-12 Doomsday: An Opportunity for Creatives?

I created this blog a few weeks back and hadn't posted anything, even though I had all these ideas in my big head! Here goes my first post anyway. Thanks for reading. :-)

So the Mayans' (whoever they were) expired calender predicted the world will be ending (again) on the 21st of December, 2012. This, of course, was a golden opportunity for the movie director/scriptwriter of the film 2012 to release a blockbuster about it back in 2009. And they casually bagged in $225 million. Yep.

Fad is not a new thing. Fads and popular culture have always had a loving relationship even before the "Mayans" existed. For all those who don't know what a fad is, see below:

fad

  [fad]  Show IPA

noun

a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group. (Dictionary.com)

Moving on...

Fads and popular culture have one thing in common - they are popular. People pay attention to them. People talk about them. They are mediated - television, radio, newspaper, online, you name it. 21-12-12 a.k.a "Doomsday" is a fad - although I don't hear much talk about it which is odd (maybe because people know there's 99.99% chance it's a false prophesy just like its predecessors). Nevertheless, the 2012 producers were smart enough to snatch it up and capitalize on it. So where does this fit in the world of advertising?

Creatives' primary aim is to create an ad that is Relevant, Original and Impacting. 'Relevant' is the key word here. Most ads are relevant not only because the target viewer needs the offering - for instance, a housewife pays attention to an ad about kitchen appliances on sale - but also because they use slices of popular culture or stereotypes to pass on the message. Creatives achieve that first stage of a communications objective - "Attention" - by connecting the viewer with something familiar.

The movie 2012 was relevant because it was based on a familiar and current idea. This is why I think Doomsday could also be an opportunity for short-term ads. In fact, it could work best with sales promotions. Retail ad clients that consistently work humor into their spots could use Doomsday as the organizing idea behind their current sales promotion. I can totally see Pak 'n' Save doing a Stickman version of it.

A nice example of this is the ad below. I came across it during my regular TV viewing today (20.12.12) - the day before "the big day". It certainly grabbed my attention! Enjoy :)

Without further-ado, have a happy 21.12.12 and Merry Christmas!

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