this is not exactly new but i've only come across a picture of the oh-so-adorable petite lap giraffe (PLG) on Facebook over the weekend via a friend of a friend's profile picture.
the utter cuteness and intriguing (tiny) size of the giraffe made me stop and instantly google for answers... i just had to find out for myself, whether a giraffe that tiny really exists in this world.
and here's my answer - the petite lap giraffe - nothing but another make-believe story spun off as the anchor of a viral marketing effort of DirecTV.
read all about it here - Petite Lap Giraffe Story Controversy - and visit the website to see how unsuspecting audiences worldwide fell in love with the cutest little fictional creature, and fell into the marketeers' trap :) even more remarkably, there is a 24/7 live feed of the farm on the homepage, if you're lucky, you might even spot the PLG strutting around right in front of your eyes!
in today's buzzling world of social media and citizen journalism, it is getting increasingly difficult for one to differentiate between real vs. fiction. there is often controversy around such tactics and the unorthodox engagement of social media marketing. but if you asked for my take on it, i'd say that's the beauty and power of the social media today. it's the flexibility, the possibility of creating anything out-of-the-box, things so bizarre and unbelievable, and actually making it convincing and viral. the onus is on you and i, to have an open mind, to question and investigate, to understand what's real and what's not, and while at it, take time to enjoy the ride, and appreciate some of these "how does anyone come up with something like this" kind of strange ideas and marvels :)
enjoy! and perhaps indulge in the thought that somewhere out there, in some far far away land, there could really be a colony of petite lap giraffes, yet unknown to the rest of the world...
No comments:
Post a Comment