Serious Prank or Viral Marketing?
March 28th, 2011 by Caleb Booker
Some are debating whether or not this recent proposal by “Rachel Sequoia” is an actual pitch to VCs at Venture Capital Fundraising Club of Silicon Valley (VCFC), or if it’s just a prank.
To me, that’s not the real question. The character of “Rachel Sequoia” is obviously not genuine and neither is the presentation. The real issue is whether:
- This is an activist prank to comment on the constant quest of capitalism to make us pay for what we once got for free. (See The Yes Men for a good example.)
- OR… is this some marketing group trying to create a viral video business?
- OR… is it just some wacky kids having some fun?
I wonder… does it matter?
If so, why? How does that knowledge actually change the content?
One thing that makes me lean toward #2 is that the supposed founder of the VCFC shares the name Raj Abhyanker with the president of Spiral Moon Media, which produced the video — advertised very prominently in the middle of the screen during the video.
True, but I’m still torn. If you look at their YouTube page the only link they’ve favorited is to a protest.