I already touched on this subject when I wrote about the Taylor Swift effect but I recently saw this ignorance strike again and decided to expand on this subject.
The image game
Coincidence or not, this episode also involves a pop celebrity. This time, it was Olivia Rodrigo.
I don't know much about her and I don't believe I have ever listened to any of her songs but the mere fact I even know her name, being someone who is not really into pop music, already tells me she is very famous. Otherwise, I would have no idea who she was.
Olivia Rodrigo is currently doing her "Guts" World Tour, which, apparently, has been very successful so far.
During one of the concerts, Rodrigo was seen playing Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent Goldie electric guitar and pictures of that were published on many major guitar-oriented websites.
Needless to say that it really pissed off a lot of people.
Olivia Rodrigo is not known for her prowess as a guitar player, and the fact that she was seen playing a rather high-end instrument by a traditional maker was taken as a serious offence by many in the guitar world.
Comments saying things like how the bar is set so low these days, and "anyone can call themselves a guitar player" started popping out.
I felt an urge to drop some words of wisdom to people right there in the comments section of some of the sites and forums I visited, but fortunately, I know very well how a waste of time it is to discuss with people who make angry comments on anything so I decided to write this article instead.
I find it uncanny that a lot of people still don't understand how businesses plan and execute their marketing initiatives. Are people really that naive to believe that their favourite brands care about their feelings at all?
If you are in that group, I'm sorry to break it for you, but they don't. They see you as a number and their only goal is to make "number go up".
Olivia Rodrigo may not be a great guitar player, maybe not even average, but she is out there selling out stadium after stadium and that's the only thing that matters.
Let's face it, the golden era of rock gods and guitar heroes (from a marketing perspective) is gone and now it's the Olivia Rodrigos and the Taylor Swifts of the world who are on the spotlight.
And before you rage quit on this post, I don't mean rock is dead and it's never coming back. Not at all, there are many great bands out there carrying the torch of rock and roll music. All I'm saying is, right now, market dynamics are flowing in a different direction.
The wild emotional reaction that most people have when facing publicity stunts such as this one is highly incompatible with the rational and, why not, mathematical approach businesses have while designing it. As I mentioned in the Taylor Swift article, they want you to react. They want the attention. Any kind of it.
They will not stop doing it unless they see a drop in sales or a major backslash by people with enough influence to make them look bad. Your emotional rants in the comment section of an Instagram post accomplish none of that. If anything, it does the opposite, boosting the algorithm and making the post reach an even broader audience.
Next time you get mad about some product being advertised by a celebrity, think twice before losing even a minute of your day on it because it's just not worth it. If you are really bothered by something, keep in mind that, in the internet era, your indifference is way more powerful than your hatred.
Final thoughts
Publicity stunts are designed entirely to make people react to it. Nearly nothing about them is a coincidence or accident, and, in most cases, the result is exactly in line with what was expected.
Off-topic
As a guitar player, I must admit that the guitar in question is super nice! I don't own any Music Man guitars but there are quite a few models in my list and the St Vincent is definitely one of them.
Check it out and see it yourself.