by Men in Pink on February 24, 2010
“It’s most fun to watch when it’s unexpected and random.” (Woman, 22)
From ancient indian text Kama Sutra to New York Times bestseller He’s Just Not That into You – dating has always worried, fascinated…and entertained us.
And just as there are rules of dating, there are rules of creating entertainment based on dating. In a discussion with a 22-year-old woman, we discovered these three rules for creating entertainment:
Rule No. 1: The unexpected is your friend
Rule No. 2: Use humor whenever possible
Rule No. 3: Understand differences between small town and big city mentality
Sure, these rules are the basics of any good entertainment. But what do they mean when it comes to creating a dating program? To illustrate, let’s use the rules to answer a few specific questions!
In a studio or outdoors? A studio means a more controlled environment. Good for you – bad for the unexpected. Rule No. 1 says go for outdoors.
Stiff and shallow – or down to earth and happy-go-lucky? Both could work if you follow Rule No. 2 and use humor. However, stiff and shallow would need a lot more humor to avoid creating awkward feelings for the viewer (Woman, 22:”I hate shallow and stiff”). And down to earth and happy-go-lucky needs a bit more of Rule No. 1 (the unexpected) to create suspense.
Dating only one person or many at the same time? This one is tricky, because it depends on the target audience. Dating many at the same time might feel too shallow for a small town person dreaming of “the one”. As our interviewee says:
“If you’re living in a small town – and want to settle there – you’ll be dating one at a time. And after two dates you’re a couple.”
Rule No. 3 would suggest being careful with dating many if you’re targeting a mass audience.
But aren’t rules made to be broken? Sure they are. So maybe a show with a small town man dating many women in the big city could be fun to watch? We think so.
Image credit: madelineyoki
by Men in Pink on January 25, 2010
Debate article published in Swedish magazine Dagens Media. Men in Pink co-founder Hordokht Moravejzadeh encourages the TV industry to give advertisers more value in AFP (advertiser funded programming) by: putting viewer needs first, and requesting more creative freedom in production.
Read the full article (in Swedish)
Hordokht Moravejzadeh. Image credit: Men in Pink
by Men in Pink on April 12, 2009
In the world of TV-shows “girlylicious” means stuff like love, beauty, sex, glamour…oh and a perfect finish. Usually it boils down to a show like America’s Next Top Model.
That’s great of course. But some women seem to think it’s a bit too shallow, and a much too stereotypical view of what “girly” is to them.
As a women in her mid 20’s said:
“I feel bad when I watch these shows. It feels like I’m pounding myself with my bad conscience and envy. Too fat, too…whatever I’m not and they tell me I should be.”
Another woman, also in her mid 20’s, said:
“Seems like our only interest is to get approval from guys. That they should like us. It never works well. We should find our own interests, be more self confident.”
A quick look around us would suggest that the need for stereotypical girly stuff is filled quite well. But there’s not enough to make women feel good and self confident – without having to have “a perfect finish”.
If you find a way to do that, there are consumers who want your business.
Redefine “girlylicious”
Who are you targeting? The much crowded segment of stereotypical girly stuff, or the women looking for something new? If you decide to go for the latter, here are two ideas to get you started.
- Explore new themes. An American study found that 51% of the female population are Gamma Women (1). What does gamma mean? For example, Gamma Women in the age group called Gen Y (women born 1982-2000) feel empowered by information and new media tools, are leaders and activists, and have an entrepreneurial mindset. To these women “girlylicious” TV could be something in line with…Tech Power!, How I Changed the World in Three Days, and Women Who Made it Big-Time.
- Set the tone right. Love, beauty and sex are all interesting topics, and we shouldn’t through the baby out with the bath water. But the tone matters a lot. Mixing surface and lighter aspects with more integrity, humor and down-to-earthiness could do the trick.
Half the women population might be understimulated by traditional TV targeted to them. It’s high time we redefine “girlylicious” and give them something exciting to watch.
(1) Lisa Finn and Lisa Johnson.The Gamma Factor: Women and the New Social Currency. 2008, Meredith Corporation, www.gammawomen.com
Image credit: x-ray delta one
by Men in Pink on March 31, 2009
In a recent interview with a 33-year-old women, we discussed the train wreck phenomenon. By that we mean something utterly distasteful yet fascinating – you don’t want to stare, but you just can’t look away.
Why do we reject staring? Our interviewee said it made her feel ashamed, and “I don’t want to revel in other people’s misery”. She still wanted to have a quick look at the TV program with the “1000-pound fatty”, but would then switch to something that didn’t make her feel ashamed.
Even if she might not belong to the target group, it shows problems with this type of entertainment. When it comes to “train wreck” TV you could face at least two risks:
- Viewers simply switch channel
- Viewers stay with the program, feel ashamed, begin to associate the channel with negative feelings, and become less likely to tune in in the future
Obviously, none of them are good.
Both risks are related to decorum, a principle in classical rhetorics. Basically, it says you should talk about nice things to be seen as a likable person. Instead of talking about the horrors you want to put an end to, describe the shining future you want to bring about. An example are ads for charity. What do you think works best – showing starving children, or showing happy children playing in the school your money can build?
Keep the train wreck – avoid the shame
But sometimes you must show impropriety and through away all decency. Because neat and nice is not always what makes a show fun to watch. The challenge then is to help viewers feel good about watching the train wreck. This can be done in many ways.
Give a nice and decent reason for watching. For example, the explicit goal of the program could be to educate the viewer in some way. Then the person watching can say: Yes, I’m watching crap but it’s for a good reason, ‘cause otherwise I won’t know how to … (lose 600 pounds in 3 months, avoid going bankrupt, fix my stereo without starting a fire etc).
Enjoying the misery is OK, because they want us to. If our “train wrecks” want to be watched – then it is actually no longer a train wreck but rather pure entertainment. That is why programs like America’s Funniest Home Videos and Jackass have more in common with a circus than a train wreck. Laughing at the clown do not make us feel ashamed.
Create a fairy tale. If you could show how bad becomes good, you’ve got the best of both worlds. You get the drama of misery, the excitement of transformation and the great feeling of a happy ending. In the transformation state you might even be able to through in nice and decent “how-to” reasons for watching (see “Give a nice…” above).
Of course, some viewers don’t give a damn and will just enjoy other people’s misery. But if you target more sensitive viewers – try one of the strategies above to keep the train wreck and avoid the shame.
Image credit: thelearnr
by Men in Pink on November 7, 2008
The project employed workforce constitute a largely untapped source of viewer insights. This source is unfortunately often separated from the company’s main innovators and format developers. Involving project workers in gathering and sharing data is a challenge with potentially high payoffs, as it may decrease the distance between innovator and consumer.
The study examines in what ways and to which extent a high proportion project employment could influence the companies’ innovation processes.
In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants within the same business group in the TV production business.
The results show that project employment is highly related to creative apartheid – a separation of innovation and production personnel – and that this separation of types of personnel has a negative impact on the innovation process.
To benefit from project workers’ innovation potential particular attention could be needed for managing project employments.
Download full study (in Swedish) and abstract (in English) here.