Retrospect

I thought it would be fitting to do my next blog on some past Chris Crawford concepts and see how it is that they relate to our viral marketing "gender bender"(thanks Emma!) campaign. One of the themes discussed by Chris Crawford that comes to mind is storytelling concepts. One of the most obvious characteristics of story is that it is complex. I feel that the complexity in our story lies in the subject of gender reassignment and in our manipulation of it to the public. Gender reassignment is a concept foreign and inconceivable to many. The fact that we present it to the public in such a way that elicits response and the fabrication it takes to generate such a viral hoax is complex in itself. Another point that Crawford makes is that stories do not necessarily need puzzles(as if complexity wasn't enough!). Stories are about people and the decisions they may make. I feel this is integral in our marketing campaign. Our story is about people and choices they make and how that may affect the reactions of the public. Another important point in the text is that interactivity depends on the choices available to the user. I feel that our campaign is highly interactive on this level. A story like this allows our public(user) to feel, think and respond in any which way they please. There is no right or wrong answer. There is no predetermined answer.