Beauty and the Beast

LG and Billboard get blogged down

What?: Billboard magazine and Korean electronics firm LG are partnering up to enable teenage writers to compose concert blog reviews on billboard.com. Some 30 bloggers will take part in the Mobile Beat contest utilising LG enV camera phones. Visitors to the site will chose the three finalists who will then compete to receive a trip for two to a Billboard Music Award show.

You can view the video for the campaign here

So what?: Could the wannabe viral video accompanying this campaign be any cheaper? A perky brunette – with her hands firmly glued in her pockets – engages in some of the most blatant blue screen use ever. Is the QVC nature of this ad meant to be ironic or not? Unsure. Why does she open the phone like it’s a compact mirror? Is this really supposed to make someone want to write 100 words for a blog?

You can almost smell the campaign pitch:

• Target YouTubers – I know, lets use a load of badly shot footage

• Target the Text Generation – how does “Compete 2 Blog 4 Billboard W/LG Phone” sound?

• Make it sexy – promo girl

• Give it an 80s feel – hmm, lets use blue screens like in Superman

“The front row is never close enough” says the campaign.

We’ll take a back seat thank you.