Big Brother's failed marketing experiment
Once labelled a social experiment by its producers, Big Brother really is nothing more than a manipulative attempt by a network to win ratings. Unfortunately, for Channel 9 this 2014 incarnation is losing viewers. And any marketing expert will tell you there are several very apparent reasons why.
Firstly, if it is a social experiment, it is a failed one. The best experiments take time. They are designed so that empathy is created with a product or person; we develop a taste or distaste, we feel engaged, we want to see success and feel part of a character’s growth. In reality it takes longer than three months to be able to do any of this. I think most people are attuned to the fact the people within the house are potential DJs, or television hosts playing with a false sense of identity. Don’t try to tell us otherwise.
Firstly, if it is a social experiment, it is a failed one. The best experiments take time. They are designed so that empathy is created with a product or person; we develop a taste or distaste, we feel engaged, we want to see success and feel part of a character’s growth. In reality it takes longer than three months to be able to do any of this. I think most people are attuned to the fact the people within the house are potential DJs, or television hosts playing with a false sense of identity. Don’t try to tell us otherwise.
Secondly, cynics would say the Big Brother contestants are merely eye candy (beauty is in the eye of the beholder – noted), put in the house to attract particular demographics – teenage girls perhaps. But let’s give teenage girls a little more credit. Once the visual aspect has worn its welcome, what is left? That question may be answered in the numbers who have tuned out since it first aired a few weeks ago. Those numbers tally around the 400,000 mark, which is a significant drop within this small population.
Thirdly, the house dynamic just doesn’t work. A real experiment would be to put people of all walks of life, age brackets, religions and races in the house and watch them interact without the contrived games they have to play. No games would probably make for even more boring television, but at least it would give us a true indication of how people interact with each other in confined spaces.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Debi Enker made an interesting observation about the show in a recent column. She wrote: “The notion of power on Big Brother is an illusion. No one has it, except the producers: not the housemates and not the audience, despite Nine's promise of "you decide". It's all about keeping the game lively: the rules can change at any time and Big Brother – represented by a disembodied, preternaturally calm voice – doesn't have to justify anything.”
Big Brother is not a social experiment, it is a game show developed for a specific demographic. And, just as it is with marketing campaigns, when the demographic becomes bored, the show is over.
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