During a number of long car trips recently, I had the chance to listen to the radio quite a bit.
At times it seemed like almost every commercial was for some venture that ended in the suffix “.com.” And most of the spots ran over and over and over – much like the way top 40 radio repeats hit songs ad nauseam.
As I listened to William Shatner extol the virtues of Priceline.com for what must have been the 10th time in half that many hours (must – fight – urge – to – purchase – trip – to – Klingon – Empire – online), I wondered if pop stars were making as apt use of the Web as a marketing tool as Web marketers were of the radio as a branding medium.
Lots o’ Tears
Since “Livin’ La Vida Loca” has become my own unofficial theme song – if only because I’ve heard it so many times it haunts my dreams – I pointed my browser to RickyMartin.com. (Notable online quote to inspire young minds: “I am a man who cries, and I cried a lot.”)
I resisted the urge to add my name to the Latin Elvis’ mailing list and skipped right to the store area. Disappointingly, no T-shirts, posters or Ricky Martin Pez dispensers were there for the clicking. The store was simply a page where European fans could purchase a variety of CDs and singles, and American fans could link to a Sony site where only his current album was available.
I moved next to 98degrees.com, the site of – ohmigawdnoway – 98i. (Notable quote: “We’re a group first and individuals second.”) I’ll admit it openly: I couldn’t identify these lads in a lineup if my life depended on it. My subscription to Tiger Beat expired sometime between the careers of the Bay City Rollers and Rick Springfield. But I’ve seen their name bandied about enough to know that, duh, they’re like, HOT!… whoever they are.
The site gets interactive right away, as fans are urged to request the band’s latest video on MTV. Visitors also are invited to mail in $21.98 to join the official 98i fan club – no online membership link available.
But e-commerce is alive and well in this climate. By clicking on the “98i Gear” icon, I found all sorts of paraphernalia, including a “lifelike” poster, T-shirts, an Australian import CD, a tour program ($15) and a laminated tour badge ($20). It struck me that it’s an expensive proposition to be a properly outfitted teenybopper these days. (Note to self: Make sure Mom hasn’t thrown out Shaun Cassidy doll.)
Calling All Tutors
Enough with the boys. Think of Tiffany without the mall tour or Debbie Gibson without the vocal chops and you’ve got Britney Spears, the reining teen queen of the minute. (Notable quote: “I need a lot of help on geometry and Spanish.”)
A search on Yahoo! brings me to Britney-Spears.com, a fan site, which helpfully directs me to the singer’s official page through www.peeps.com, a hip-hop site. (Fans of the squishy yellow Easter candy must be tearfully disappointed when they reach this domain.)
Whether or not one appreciates Ms. Spears’ dulcet tones, one can respect her marketing moxie. Multiple attempts are made to get fans’ e-mail addresses, either for “Britney Beat” fan club info or a music or merchandise news mailing list. And the Britney Spears Official Store offers what the singer herself says is “lots of neat stuff,” like a stuffed toy lamb, jewelry, key chains, T-shirts and purses – all emblazoned with her logo, of course.
Staring at a Britney logo shiny purple backpack (keen!), I had a sudden epiphany that if I were found slumped over dead at my keyboard with this on my screen, I’d be eternally embarrassed. It was a relief when my computer froze, forcing me to turn off my Mac, restart and visit a new site.
Slow as Goo
I typed in Googoodolls.com, mainly because it’s fun to type “Goo Goo Dolls.” (Notable quote: “We needed to retreat from everything for awhile and get ourselves centered again.”) Sadly, the destination wasn’t as fun as the journey.
As the brooding,sensitive band’s slow-to-load site appeared onmy sceen, the first discemiblelink (with a pink heart next to it-awwwwww)was “By this album.” I tried several times,but was unable to access where the GooGoos wanted me to go go.
Other links-including a message board where 90% of the posting were from two girls named Kiwi and Amber did work.And yes, they’re building aGooGoo e-mailing list.
But in the end,itjust wasn’t interactive enough to keepme from being-c’mon, you knew this one was coming-gone gone.
