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2090

Abstract

ment. He’s didn’t do it for the LGBT community. He isn’t waging war against Christians. He did it to promote himself. It’s a purple cow marketing stunt. The only thing Lil Nas X wants is views on his music video and shoe sales.He has purposefully positioned his products (his music and his shoes) in a controversial space to encourage the viral spread of his brand. People from around the world began discussing his music video: Did he go too far? Is he an inspiration to the LGBT community? Is he a sign of an anti-religious youth?Throughout every discussion, the name Lil Nas X is mentioned over and over again (I previously didn’t know his name, yet now I do). Views on his YouTube video have increased dramatically, and his shoes sold out within a single minute upon release.The best kind of advertising is free advertising, and Lil Nas X has received millions of dollars in free advertising as his brand spread like a virus through social media. He didn’t need to spend money on advertising, the outraged public did that for him free of charge.The goal of a purple cow marketing campaign is to be so different, so completely outrageous, so dramatically unique, that the world has no choice but to pay attention. Giving Satan a lap dance, putting a drop of human blood in the shoes; these are all geared to achieve exactly this effect.Purple cow marketing ensures that we’re going to continue seeing weirder and weirder shit as we move into the future.<figure id="ce1a"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*lVN42ZS4C28ERb7NA8_VNA.png"><figcaption>One Direction star Harry Styles wears a dress on the cover of Vogue magazine</figcaption></figure>When Harry Styles decided to start wearing dresses, the world lost its mind.Some praised Harry Styles for attacking gender norms. Some criticised him for trying to feminise men. Yet, he deserved neither the praise nor the criticism, because the sole purpose of the stunt was a purple cow

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marketing campaign.Harry got his name back into mainstream news. Vogue sold more magazines. And the public gave them both millions of dollars in free publicity.In today’s social media environment, all you have to do is position your brand in the middle of a heated cultural debate, then sit back and watch the public discuss it endlessly.The public generally focuses on the cultural issues at hand, getting emotional and outraged, while entirely missing the central point: these are marketing stunts. The primary purpose for Lil Nas X giving Satan a lap dance and Harry Styles wearing a dress was marketing and profit.<figure id="c0a7"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*oJiRnuQieqh7woz-mqRw-w.png"><figcaption>Virtual Instagram influencer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/magazineluiza/">magazineluiza</a></figcaption></figure>How is it that a CGI version of an Instagram influencer can amass 5.1 million followers? Because virtual influencers are one of the latest purple cows. They are entirely new, something we’ve never seen before. They get enormous amounts of attention despite their pointlessness.As more and more virtual influencers begin to appear, they will transform from purple cows into normal-looking cows, and the public will move onto the next one.If you’ve recently begun to think the world is going mad, you’re not alone. But don’t be surprised. Don’t be outraged. Don’t feel alienated. It doesn’t mean the world is going crazy.This type of content will continue to appear throughout the rest of our lives, so expect it. It’s simply people trying to get attention in the marketplace, nothing more.A purple cow is still just a cow. Lil Nas X is still just a musician and a shoe seller. Harry Styles is still just a musician trying to sell albums and strike advertising deals. And virtual influencers are still just methods of getting eyeballs onto advertisements. Business as usual.</article></body>

Lil Nas X and the Purple Cow

Why the absurd will keep appearing on our screens

Imagine that you’re driving down a country road through a field. On either side of the road are hundreds of cows, all of them looking identical to one another. Bored stiff, you continue driving down the road paying no attention to the hundreds of cows dotted on the landscape around you.

Suddenly, you see something strange. One of the cows is purple! You stop your car and try to get closer to it. You whip out your phone to snap a picture, immediately putting it on Twitter. Eight of your followers then send it to their own followers.

Nobody can believe such a thing exists. Before long, the purple cow has spread globally. It even gets featured on TV news channels.

Lil Nas X is the latest purple cow.

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or have better things to do than stay up-to-date with pointless celebrities), 21-year-old Lil Nas X has released a controversial music video and some new shoes.

In the said music video, Lil Nas X gives the devil a lap dance, then breaks his neck and becomes the devil himself. On top of that, he’s also selling pairs of Satan shoes that feature a pentagram and supposedly contain a single drop of human blood.

Predictably, everybody has lost their minds.

Conservatives are offended. The LGBT community has labeled it “stunning and brave”. And as usual, everybody completely misses the point.

Lil Nas X isn’t interested in making a cultural statement. He’s didn’t do it for the LGBT community. He isn’t waging war against Christians. He did it to promote himself. It’s a purple cow marketing stunt. The only thing Lil Nas X wants is views on his music video and shoe sales.

He has purposefully positioned his products (his music and his shoes) in a controversial space to encourage the viral spread of his brand. People from around the world began discussing his music video: Did he go too far? Is he an inspiration to the LGBT community? Is he a sign of an anti-religious youth?

Throughout every discussion, the name Lil Nas X is mentioned over and over again (I previously didn’t know his name, yet now I do). Views on his YouTube video have increased dramatically, and his shoes sold out within a single minute upon release.

The best kind of advertising is free advertising, and Lil Nas X has received millions of dollars in free advertising as his brand spread like a virus through social media. He didn’t need to spend money on advertising, the outraged public did that for him free of charge.

The goal of a purple cow marketing campaign is to be so different, so completely outrageous, so dramatically unique, that the world has no choice but to pay attention. Giving Satan a lap dance, putting a drop of human blood in the shoes; these are all geared to achieve exactly this effect.

Purple cow marketing ensures that we’re going to continue seeing weirder and weirder shit as we move into the future.

One Direction star Harry Styles wears a dress on the cover of Vogue magazine

When Harry Styles decided to start wearing dresses, the world lost its mind.

Some praised Harry Styles for attacking gender norms. Some criticised him for trying to feminise men. Yet, he deserved neither the praise nor the criticism, because the sole purpose of the stunt was a purple cow marketing campaign.

Harry got his name back into mainstream news. Vogue sold more magazines. And the public gave them both millions of dollars in free publicity.

In today’s social media environment, all you have to do is position your brand in the middle of a heated cultural debate, then sit back and watch the public discuss it endlessly.

The public generally focuses on the cultural issues at hand, getting emotional and outraged, while entirely missing the central point: these are marketing stunts. The primary purpose for Lil Nas X giving Satan a lap dance and Harry Styles wearing a dress was marketing and profit.

Virtual Instagram influencer magazineluiza

How is it that a CGI version of an Instagram influencer can amass 5.1 million followers? Because virtual influencers are one of the latest purple cows. They are entirely new, something we’ve never seen before. They get enormous amounts of attention despite their pointlessness.

As more and more virtual influencers begin to appear, they will transform from purple cows into normal-looking cows, and the public will move onto the next one.

If you’ve recently begun to think the world is going mad, you’re not alone. But don’t be surprised. Don’t be outraged. Don’t feel alienated. It doesn’t mean the world is going crazy.

This type of content will continue to appear throughout the rest of our lives, so expect it. It’s simply people trying to get attention in the marketplace, nothing more.

A purple cow is still just a cow. Lil Nas X is still just a musician and a shoe seller. Harry Styles is still just a musician trying to sell albums and strike advertising deals. And virtual influencers are still just methods of getting eyeballs onto advertisements. Business as usual.