For the Spoof Advertising project (2012), I, Becca Kang, chose to poke fun at FourSquare. I’ve renamed the popular app to FourStalker and created two print ads as well as an ad that was used as product placement in a music video entitled “Do the Creep” by the Lonely Island Boys and Nicki Minaj.
My specific subject was the FourSquare logo and images. Secondary subjects I added were copy about the images as well as a slogan. The first print ad was a narrative and integrative design that used repetition of images and style to create the well-known background pattern of FourSquare. I tweaked this background pattern using my own tweaked images. I didn’t think it was an effective print ad until I added the slogan: “Anyone, anywhere is possible.” I wanted to relay the idea that no matter where you went in the world, someone was able to find you (according to the imagery, on a plane, in the mountains, at a bowling alley, etc). I used the same color palette as the original FourSquare design.
My second print ad consisted of the numerous badges that one could achieve. I wanted to poke fun at the idea that people were awarded badges on FourSquare for certain check-ins, while inadvertently allowing themselves to be stalked by anyone if they chose to. Therefore, all the badges were tweaked to award “creeper” activities, such as voyeurism, taking pictures of people, following them around, etc. The badges are described in a fun tone indicating that FourStalker is an app for people with no shame. In the same way, FourSquare allows people to be public about their locations without really thinking about how dangerous that could be. This design was geometric, following a clear grid structure and giving hierarchy to the top images down. The images are all set with circles of the same size. All of the type follows the same pattern and are uniform in Gotham.
Although FourSquare has no real advertising campaign, it has become one of the most successful and commonly used social networking applications today. It started a mere three years ago and has already grown to seven million users and counting. I personally chose FourSquare for this project because I wanted to point out how common location based apps have become in our daily lives. To have people know about our exact locations at specific times does not scare us anymore. People can basically find you on the web at any time and for any purpose now, sometimes without our knowledge.
Our class provides a variety of spoof ads. I think FourStalker has the same cultural context as Watch.com. It speaks to the anonymity of the web and how dangerous it can be to meet and interact with strangers via the web. However, it can be subtle and easy to overlook because the web has become a huge presence in our everyday lives. This is the kind of statement I wanted to make with my spoof ad. The web has a huge presence and has proved to be incredibly useful, but we should not overlook the fact that putting our private information on the web isn’t the safest thing to do. We should all be a little more careful about what information about us is out there.
I chose FourSquare specifically for this purpose. FourSquare allows anyone to see the exact address and time where someone is located. These check ins can arrive to someone’s phone as a notification, like a text. Some people have checked in at their home address as well, declaring mayorship, and allowing anyone to know exactly when someone is home and where that home is. It truly is dangerous, but people are not aware of the possible consequences. Also, FourSquare is used mostly because sometimes you can get deals for checking into a certain store (ie., 15% off when you check in at Gap!). However, people just check in to do so now, without any hope for a reward (ie., checking in at home). It's just become so normal. I’ve always had a fascination with technology and how some people have used it as a tool to hurt people in ways that no one really thought were possible until it happened. My audience is for all young and old who use FourSquare as well as other location based apps and social networks. My warning is to be careful.
I think that my final project could definitely be stronger. Because FourSquare had no real ads, I could have been more creative with my content. To be honest though, it was hard to think of ads for an app when you do need to pair FourSquare with another company to make it useful. FourSquare never needed an advertising campaign because other companies used FourSquare as a tool to get more customers to their retail locations. If I could do it over again, I’d make my first ad a little more narrative, such as following a stalker stalking his/her prey through the maze of images on the background pattern. Maybe an ad directed at businesses and companies would have been more effective since they are the ones who choose to use FourSquare as a marketing tool. I don’t think my second print ad works too effectively as a print ad because it is a lot of reading and most people skim over ads in a magazine. It’d be an “ad” more effective on the FourSquare webpage. The inclusion of the ad in the music video was perfect. The song itself is a spoof, poking fun at creepers, making it something cool and funny. FourStalker does the same where I poke fun at creepers, making it something that “everyone’s doing”. It also adheres the rise of product placement in movies and music videos as advertising is growing away from television and more towards other forms of ads. *I'd also like to point out that you can add a location to this blog post....creepy...
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