Third Bit of Media—This is Not a Commercial for Tumblr

So I was casually YouTubing, as you do, when I came across one of my favorite musicals by AVbyte, a channel devoted to making mini-musicals based on popular culture. But this one struck me because it seemed to be a commercial, even though it was not.

This musical was, first and foremost, an advertisement for the AVbyte channel. While not explicitly so, most videos created on YouTube channels are created to get users to watch more videos on those channels, thereby giving the creators money through ads. So what make this particular commercial unique? In this musical, AVbyte used the power of reification of a person, either knowingly or unknowingly, to promote their video. Hank Green, the first man to sing in the video, is the co-founder of the Vlogbrothers channel, a channel which, through its alliances with other similar channels, has brought together perhaps the largest community of nerds on YouTube. Consequently, Hank is a very prominent figure in the YouTube nerd community. He means more than himself; he is symbolic of a larger community and its values of acceptance, intelligence, and quirky fun. And knowingly or not, by having Hank Green in their video, AVbyte have brought Midas onto their team. Thousands of people who wouldn't take a second glance at the channel before have now flocked to it because if Hank likes it, it must be something they would enjoy.

One of AVbyte's crew smiles down at her computer in
what is definitely not a commercial for Tumblr.

But the musical also advertises the website Tumblr, in a more abstract way than it does its channel. The musical is primarily a satire of common occurrences on Tumblr, from popular slang like "feels" to the preponderance of celebrities like Emma Stone and Benedict Cumberbatch. It uses these experiences, which are assumed to be like those of the viewer, to draw the viewer in and make the viewer enjoy the musical. But, as I have said, this assumes the viewer has had these experiences. It's amazing how hateful the nerd community is to those who they feel aren't as obsessed with the things they are obsessed with as they should be. Hank Green is singing in a musical and you don't know what he's singing about? And you call yourself a nerd? says the voice in the head of the poor soul who doesn't use Tumblr who just watched the video. Or says the commenter responding to this person as they seek clarification. But how to solve this problem of being on the outside looking in? Go in. So essentially this video says, "Hank Green goes on Tumblr. We all go on Tumblr. You should too, and then you'll be like us and be part of our community." That may sound a bit extreme, but then I never cease to be amazed by the lack of acceptance in the nerd community. And by the semi-intentional plugging of nerd lovemarks that is somehow everywhere.

So by making this video AVbyte essentially made an advertisement not only for their channel, but for Tumblr itself. And, I'm saddened to say, these tactics worked. I subscribed to AVbyte because of this video. I found myself nodding in agreement for half the song the first time I listened to it, not even paying attention to the singing or scenery but instead trying to match each lyric to my own experience. But not only that. Despite the fact that this is not an ad for Tumblr, I found myself wanting to go on the website more after I watched this video, to get the jokes and experiences mentioned in the video that I couldn't relate to.

THIS IS CRAZY!

How did it get to the point that small, independent "content creators" (whatever that means) are advertising for large, wealthy corporations that can do that for themselves? Are we this close to the scenario in The Persuaders in which we persuade ourselves to buy things? How did we get here so quickly? How did I not see this the first, third, fifteenth time I saw this video?

How much of our minds are our own?