FROM VIRAL MEDIA TO SPREADABLE MEDIA
This assignment stresses on the concept of “spreadable media” designed by Jenkins. Within his theory of spreadable media, and Rushkoff’s previous text on “media virus”, I will be analysing a Volvo’s viral marketing campaign. According to Rushkoff, we live in a “mediaspace”, where data, images and ideas replaced physical materials (1994, p. 3). In order to better understand what he means by this concept, he compares it within biology. Rushkoff (1994) claims that the mediaspace looks like a biological organism, where ideologies and information spread from one place to another one. In this sphere, media viruses are the information, namely events, images, or thoughts, which disseminate and “stick” wherever they are perceived (Rushkoff, 1994, p. 10). As a consequence, Jenkins advances Rushkoff’s notion of viral while claiming that it might induce confusion among media studies (2008, p. 2). Hence, Jenkins (2013) introduces a new model which explains the way media circulate. Jenkins’ “spreadable model” understands the public not anymore as consumers of media content previously created, as Rushkoff would interpret it (2008;2013). On the contrary, Jenkins’ spreadability conceives participants in a large networked community, that enables them to construct and share messages (2013, p. 2). In this networked society, the initial producer of the spreadable message, or text, does not have any more control of it, as its meaning has been modified by different agents (Jenkins, 2008).
Moreover, Jenkins (2008) argues that the condition for a message to spread is to express the needs of a community or group. Hence, Jenkins (2008) claims that corporations do not shape communities through their products and for their consumers. Contrarily, companies allow their consumers to build communities while interpreting the original meaning of the product (Jenkins, 2008). More specifically, Jenkins (2008) talks about mass and popular culture. Whilst the former refers to mass produced media texts which are under control of the producer, the latter stands for a culture which is created by the consumer (Jenkins, 2008). An example could be a viral video marketing campaign, considered by Jenkins (2008) as a cultural product. According to Jenkins (2008), this cultural product can change into popular culture when used to express certain socio-cultural meanings of a community, which are not necessarily meant by its creator in origin. “Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split feat. Van Damme” is a viral marketing campaign by Volvo Trucks, created in 2013. The video was strategically shared on YouTube in order to promote Volvo Trucks and show the stability of their steering (youtube.com, 2013). It shots a famous Belgian actor, Van Damme, who, at the top and in between two trucks, flexes his legs as they go towards different directions (youtube.com, 2013). The campaign was directed by Andreas Nilsson, and shared by “Volvo Trucks” channel on YouTube within a post asking for shares and comments on the video (youtube.com, 2013).
This is a clear example of viral media, as the video reached many users’ attention who commented on it. Indeed, it can be noticed how many participants wrote their personal opinion and even answered to each other when creating a proper conversation among them. Comments such as “Van Damme is a leaving legend childhood movie hero”, or “Dont be fooled, this is not the precision of Volvo Dynamic Steering. But simply Van Damme’s legs, keeping the trucks in line” were posted on the campaign YouTube page (youtube.com, 2013). Furthermore, Jenkins’ concept of spreadability can be applied to this video, as it was idealised by a specific creator, in this case the director, and then modified by other users. Indeed, many videos responded to the original by making parodies of it, as it can be seen in “EPIC SPLIT FAIL Feat. Van Damme – Volvo Truck Split Commercial”, where Van Damme crashes into a pole. Another parody is “The Epic Plit feat Chuck Norris vs Van Damme – Volvo ★ Merry Christmas!”, performed by another character, such as Chuck Norris, and claiming that the video was made to test Chuck Norris capacities, and not the engine’s ones, which in this video are substituted by two airplanes (youtube.com, 2013). Concerning Jenkins’ notion of spreadable media, it can be noticed how people built their own meanings in response to the original marketing campaign. Hence, in this networked culture which Jenkins (2008) talks about, it is the user who controls and transforms the concepts and purposes behind the cultural product, namely the Volvo Trucks’ viral video. Users built a sort of community while interacting and commenting on the video, discussing how they are attached to the figure of the actor, or whether the shot is fake or not. Thus, the original concept of the video might be transformed by the participants, according to their socio-cultural meanings, and might not be the same of the creator’s.
List of References
Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Introduction: Why Media Spread. In
Spreadable media: creating value and meaning in a networked culture.
New York; London: New York University Press.
Jenkins, H., Li, X., & Domb, A. (2008). If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead. Creating
Value in a Spreadable Marketplace. Retrieved from:
http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2010/04/conver gence_culture_consortium.php
Rushkoff, D. (1994). Introduction. In: Media virus! Hidden agendas in popular
culture (1st ed.). New York: Ballantine Books.
The Epic Split feat Chuck Norris vs Van Damme – Volvo ★ Merry Christmas!
(2013, December 19). Retrieved June 04, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZuTdVeZsg
- (2013, November 13). Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split feat. Van Damme (Live Test). Retrieved June 04, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10
- (2013, November 21). EPIC SPLIT FAIL Feat. Van Damme – Volvo Truck Split Commercial. Retrieved June 04, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4URm-dRVvzE