ouGood article in the Guardian on Saturday, looking at the Snakes on a Plane phenomenon: for a film that has yet to be released, and which those involved are happy to admit is a bit of B-movie fluff, it has taken on an unprecedented life of its own on-line.
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Big blockbusters like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars obviously enjoyed massive Internet coverage. But what's interesting about SOAP is the two-way nature of the dialogue, and the level of co-creation involved - the official site features their fan sites of the day (because there's so many of them); there have been (official) competitions to find SOAP based songs to feature in the film; and an extra scene was filmed (apparently) to incorporate a line of dialogue suggested on one site.
Though very different in form to the online hinterland that has grown up around complex TV shows like Lost (SOAP is anything but complex), this all goes to show how the Internet has fundamentally changed the kinds of relationship brands can have with their audiences (and which that audience expects to have). This needn't be limited to the worlds of media and entertainment, although that is definitely where the bridgehead of the new world is forming.
The Guardian sums the sea change up nicely at the end of the article, also making the point that it is the inherent honestly of SOAP that has engaged people, not the quality of the product. And I think that's really important: we always tell our clients it's better to tell the truth, to embrace it rather than hide it. The truth will always come out (and people respect honesty as SOAP shows). Plus it is in the truth (particularly in the truth you would rather not talk about, strangely enough) that the thing which most uniquely defines your brand will often lie.
Anyway, here's how the article finishes up...
"This interactive aspect is what makes Snakes On A Plane such a significant cultural moment. Previous Internet crazes have been passively consumed - someone forwards the link, you click on it, laugh, and resume pretending to work. However, something about the audacious, defiant stupidity of the Snakes On A Plane concept has tickled a creative nerve. Much of the online response has been clearly laboured over, and wryly witty, from people photographing themselves screaming at jelly snakes on planes, to the mock movie posters transposing the idea to other titles (Hamlet 2: Snakes On A Dane, is your correspondent's favourite so far), to the lovingly crafted songs. As a film, Snakes On A Plane is unlikely to inspire much more than a wish that one had brought a book. As an idea, it has turned hundreds of people into artists. Snakes On A Plane - the actual movie, that is - might be amusing viewing once, if only as the punchline to an in-joke already shared by millions. Its legend will persist, though, and it is hard not to suspect that the reason that Snakes On A Plane has been so warmly embraced is its essential honesty. In an age in which so much of what we consume is spun, marketed or just plain lied about, our natural scepticism is inevitably wrong-footed when something just is what it claims to be....Advertently or otherwise, the producers of Snakes On A Plane have made a singular contribution to the furtherance of transparency in public discourse, by demonstrating the depth of the public's desire for truth, and the affection we will return when it is granted us."
