youtube’s lonelygirl15 causes a stir

It turns out that the widely popular lonelygirl15 on YouTube is a concoction made up by Hollywood. Lonelygirl15 (a.k.a “Bree” on her video posts) began posting her videos in early June 2006, and quickly became a phenomenon, jumping to the second most subscribed channel on YouTube, and people even started to respond with their own video responses to lonelygirl15’s video posts. While the details of who really is behind the posts (and why) are yet to unfold, there are plenty of upset fans who feel duped.

The discovery was made by lonelygirl15 fans who as internet sleuths detected that the IP address from emails sent by lonelygirl15 were coming from CAA (Creative Artists Agency) fueling speculation that the video posts were a viral campaign for an upcoming horror film release. Furthermore, the creators posted a message on a fan website for lonelygirl15, where they admitted she was an actor, but failed to provide any further information, stating:

Right now the biggest mystery of Lonelygirl15 is “who is she?” We think this is an oversimplification. Lonelygirl15 is a reflection of everyone. She is no more real or fictitious than the portions of our personalities that we choose to show (or hide) when we interact with the people around us.

Regardless if CAA is behind this new approach of marketing, the real question is should marketers consider this to be an appropriate way of reaching their audience. When it comes to advertising, there has been a current debate on whether it is ok to essentially hide the true origin of a campaign in a online teaser or viral component, or whether the true intent and message should be transparent to the audience. The repercussions of keeping the true intent (i.e. marketing campaign, advertisment for a movie, etc.) from the audience could include the potential of the viewers feeling alienated or angry by being duped. And that, could cause serious brand management issues.