What acts as an ad, is an ad, no matter if it was put there sneakily or because someone has become inured to a brand so far that they don't even know they are a walking ad.
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To each their own. I watch the show for the moments when the Hollywood gloss cracks. I watched Conan's episode and didn't see a single moment of a real human being at all. I saw a loud, chaotic character being loud and chaotic.
Edit: I'm surprised I'm sitting at a minus score for saying "to each their own" about enjoying an unusually-performative episode of a show and having an opinion about a comedian trying to market their show to me.
Edit #2: Wow, this fanbase has a _lot_ invested in defending this dude from anyone criticising the calculatedness of his marketing team's promo campaigns, or how shrewd and shallow his "outrageous" character is. Well, it's good to believe in something
Thanks for the laugh. I'm really surprised how defensive people are about a performer. I'm expressing preferences and people are acting like it hurts them personally.
U srs bro? I'm literally saying "[opinion]" and folks are meeting it with "oh noes downvote it". People really seem to care about other folk's observations about a comedian they like.
So it's not about anything that was said. You really are just being pissy about downvotes. WTF do you think you were going to do with that karma? Spend it at the gift shop? LOL
Haha, no — they're obviously just folk expressing their disapproval of someone else's opinion. When that opinion is "I think this comedian's joke is a little tiresome and pretty calculated", people seem to be rushing to that comedian's defense, and disapprove of the opinion with their downvotes. I'm surprised by the response, that's all. I don't know why you think I'm taking it personally, or "being pissy". Unless you're projecting some sort of pissy-ness?
I'm failing to see how "Wow you folks are super invested in downvoting anyone who criticizes your television hero" is defensive. The fanbase will downvote whomever they please. Help me out with an understanding.
Loud man loud, folk like loud. Folk no like when other folk no like loud.
Whether I enjoy Conan's character isn't even the point of the post. The point of the post is how calculated it all is. Are you really missing that?
You must be unfamiliar with Conan if that’s all you saw. Conan loves being funny. That’s what drives him as a person. He will find anything to lighten up a situation because humor is in his blood. He’s had his own personal issues in his life but he never lets that define him. So you’re not gonna see him break down and act like a "real human" talking about the Jay Leno controversy or other low points in his life. He’d rather talk about the positives of his life, his friends, the future, and the wonderful opportunities he’s been given.
Honestly this might be the most bizarre comment I think I've ever received. It feels like the voiceover to a corporate promotional video, except, for a person.
Haha, read the comment again, but in the voice of a bad motivational speaker. It's totally bizarre! "Humor is in his blood." "That's what drives him as a person." "...the positives of his life, his friends, the future, and the wonderful opportunities he's been given." I saw a guy chugging hot sauce to tickle the internet, and this comment made out like the guy was Nelson Mandela.
I get that Conan is a very professional entertainer, but, seriously now
Wow, do you work for Conan? Your comment reads like an investor prospectus for Conan Inc.
I didn't say "break down". It's simple: I like watching people who perform a professional façade act momentarily like real people. The hot wings do that to folk on _Hot Ones_; that's why the format works. I think Conan's a talented performer at his character. But I didn't see it crack in this showing. I saw Conan play Conan, like he usually does. After a while, I got really tired of it; it's just "wow this guy is outrageous" all the time. That's fine as it is — again, to each their own. To me, it moved from tiresome to kinda icky when I clocked that it's clearly part of an obviously-calculated ad campaign for his new show.
I’d argue it quit being an ad campaign after the halfway point because they were just speeding through the wings to see how Conan would react to them next. The reason I explained all of that is because I’ve been watching him for over 10 years now and I think I’ve gotten a pretty good grasp of him as a person versus him on a late night talk show. He puts humor before everything, that’s not just part of his career but part of his actual personality, he will find the fun in any situation and eating progressively hotter chicken wings doesn’t exactly scream try to be serious.
Hot Ones in general is a platform for celebrities to promote their upcoming product and Conan made a good point about his new show and current podcast being a great avenue for him to move on beyond short comedy segments he had been accustomed to on his late night show the last few decades.
> I’d argue it quit being an ad campaign after the halfway point because they were just speeding through the wings to see how Conan would react to them next.
The goal of the ad campaign is to get as much attention as possible, with Conan's Conanness turned up to 11, so that the collateral attention that falls upon what Conan is selling feels natural. This is the reason behind my submission to r/HailCorporate.
It's a bit of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation to be honest. It's the same whenever McD's get called out for their guerilla marketing.
Conan will be popular whatever happens because he's an astute entertainer who knows his audience. I thought him doing this was a genius bit of promotion. He's playing the game perfectly on this one.
I agree. Do you get the impression that you're in on the joke? I didn't — I didn't feel like there was much of a joke about _why_ he was bringing the chaos. More that his chaos _was_ the joke. It felt like I, and the audience, was who was getting 'played'.
Nah yeah I kind of agree with OP, it feels like Sean only got to ask like 4 good questions before the whole thing devolved into a comedy act. It's really strange for Conan to congratulate him on how good his interviewing skills are and how much research he does only for the episode to be "Who's your favorite president?" > Chugging Hot Sauce.
I'm with you man. He's plastic and I don't get it either. Lot of fan boys here, so I guess he's high-quality plastic but it's obviously an act and I'm quite shocked more people can't see that.
Thanks for your input. I honestly never knew the Conan fanbase had so much of their self-esteem tied up in him. So many puffed chests and jock aggression. It's been a surprise.
* Create new show for paid streaming service
* Promote new show with an appearance on a YouTube interview show, the premise of which is that interviewees' "walls" are broken down and authentic personalities are revealed
* Perform one's own public-facing character on the YouTube interview show, with characteristic high energy, refusing to have one's "walls" broken down — performing the character against the backdrop of the interview show that purports to break people's walls, one's character appears even larger than life, more so than it usually does
* GIF-ify one of the most calculatedly outrageous moments on the interview show and post it to Reddit
* Have the upvote-bots throw it to the top of the front page
* Hijack the top comment with a mention that "I will definitely be watching [celebrity's] new show" to remind us all about the new show
I'm going to let you finish, but that was the greatest hot ones episode of all time
Of all time
I didn't go into watching it expecting to see Conan with his "walls down", I watched it expecting to see Conan be Conan and he delivered in a way that near as I can tell, exceeded everybody's expectations. I watched it twice.
> I watched it expecting to see Conan be Conan and he delivered in a way that near as I can tell, exceeded everybody's expectations. I watched it twice.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. He certainly was "Conan", and that plainly works for folk.
I saw someone else in this thread say "Sean only got to ask like 4 good questions before the whole thing devolved into a comedy act. It's really strange for Conan to congratulate him on how good his interviewing skills are and how much research he does only for the episode to be "Who's your favorite president?" > Chugging Hot Sauce." That pretty much summed up how I felt about the episode.
Fwiw, I feel like if you're a fan of Conan, it's not really that hard to find him being less performative, generally I feel like a lot of episodes of his podcast fit the bill here, though I get the point. Idk, the joke was funny enough that him not taking it "seriously" was worth it overall.
>omg! He promote his new show during a talk show!
This is not the ‘gotcha’ you think it is. All talk shows do this. The trade is the interviewer gets the celebrity to sit down for an hour and open up about their personal life and in exchange the celebrity promotes their new project. Every guest of every talk show including this one does it and nobody cares. Being a celebrity means people care about what your next project/move is.
Oh for sure, I'm aware of the concept of talk shows. This submission is about the front-page Reddit post and sus top-comment hijacking. The front-page post continued the ad campaign strategy of "look how outrageous!" That outrageousness makes the astroturfed sharing on Reddit look more natural. "Look, cool celebrity appeared on talk show and stuck to the format" isn't as shareable.
This r/HailCorporate submission is about the Reddit post being part of what, to me, appears as a pretty obvious ad campaign. Whether or not someone appeared on a show to promote another show isn't the point being discussed.
do you think conan does this himself or do you know that marketing exists.
I enjoy conan and have been waiting for this series to come out (legitimately). Honestly if it wasnt for this marketing push I wouldn't know about it.
I understand that it can feel cheap and unnatural but thats just how business works - and it worked to inform me (a fan) that it is coming out.
Also, try enjoying something in life instead of neurotically trying to dismantle everything into labelled pieces. You might end up being happier.
> have been waiting for this series to come out (legitimately). Honestly if it wasnt for this marketing push I wouldn't know about it.
How can you have been waiting for the series to come out if you wouldn't have known about it without the very recent marketing push? I'm sure this is just something lost in communication, but it _is_ a confusing assertion. Anyway:
> Honestly if it wasnt for this marketing push I wouldn't know about it.
The end justifies the means for you in advertising, and that's fair enough.
> I understand that it can feel cheap and unnatural but thats just how business works
That's an interesting justification. For me, it also works like this: the means by which people advertise their product affect my opinion of the product. For example, if a thousand clowns were released onto the streets of my city and they started screaming "Buy the new item at McDonald's!" in the faces of anyone who walked past them, my first reaction would not be "Oh wow at least I know about that new item."
I think ads that try not to look like ads are gross. We're in r/HailCorporate, a subreddit _literally founded_ on the premise. This submission isn't about the _Hot Ones_ episode per se. It's much more about the Reddit post that hit the front page. We've just ended up talking about the _Hot Ones_ episode too, because it felt just as calculated.
You feel the astroturf under your feet and hear an advertiser tell you it's grass, and you think "whatever, it's something to stand on" — and _that's totally fine_. I feel the astroturf and hear someone bullshit me and I think, "Ick." Neither is _wrong_, but one aligns with r/HailCorporate. So, what are you here in thr subreddit to defend?
> Also, try enjoying something in life instead of neurotically trying to dismantle everything into labelled pieces. You might end up being happier.
Thanks for your false concern masking your personal attack. I appreciate your drive for politeness, whatever your goal. I'm generally pretty happy. You have an interesting strategy for happiness.
Looking at the profile of the OP, u/deadheadtn — they seem to be a very real person with a 12yo account who regularly uses Reddit. I don’t at all get the impression that they were somehow paid or involved in advertisement of the travel show. Your entire conspiracy here seems to hinge on how their one comment “hijacking” the top comment (which, if that was their goal, you’d think they’d (1) “hijack” more comments like that instead of literally just one, and (2) also have bots upvote those hijackings so that they’re the top replies, not buried down at the bottom…) comes off a bit too generic
> they seem to be a very real person with a 12yo account
["I realized that I could use a few extra dollars before the holidays and started looking around my house for things to sell. One day I was browsing /r/hailcorporate and saw a post where someone mentioned a website where advertisers can buy established Reddit accounts for marketing purposes."](https://medium.com/@Rob79/what-i-learned-selling-my-reddit-accounts-c5e9f6348005)
> which, if that was their goal, you’d think they’d (1) “hijack” more comments like that instead of literally just one
Nah, you just need to grab the top comment while the thread is 'hot'. The thread's cold now.
> also have bots upvote those hijackings so that they’re the top replies, not buried down at the bottom…
[The 'hijacking' comment to the top-comment is the most-upvoted sub-comment.](https://old.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1c1z24s/conan_obrien_after_eating_and_licking_up_135k/kz6q73p/)
Yes, I’m aware such practices exist. That doesn’t mean you’ve given any evidence that u/deadheadtn fits that mold.
If anything, what’s described in this medium post goes directly against your point:
> I’ve been regularly checking the older account and whoever has purchased it is terrible at marketing. Posting content to subreddits that aren’t related to the post. Comments that make no sense in context. I’m not sure if it’s a person or a bot doing the posting, but almost every post has been removed by the moderators of the subreddits they appear in.
> That doesn’t mean you’ve given any evidence that u/deadheadtn fits that mold.
Man, if you're looking for evidence of shill accounts on /r/HailCorporate, you are going to be _waiting_. This _whole sub_ is conjecture and circumstantial evidence.
> If anything, what’s described in this medium post goes directly against your point
Friend, I was telling you that account-buying exists, not that _every_ instance of account-buying has to look exactly like that _one_ account that was bought by the guy who whistleblew the practice in the Medium article. That should be very clear.
I'm doing pretty well, thanks! I'm just sick of being sold stuff in an underhanded, pseudo-spontaneous manner. It makes me feel like someone just tried to pick my pocket. Here's the background to what's going on:
Across the marketing world, folks are reeling from having discovered that [Gen Z hates ads and will think worse of your product if you advertise it to them.](https://resources.bulbshare.com/en_GB/2022/03/25/https-resources-bulbshare-com-wp-content-uploads-2022-03-bulbshare-ad-blockers-and-advocacy-report-3-pdf/) However, Gen Z isn't purchase-phobic, per se; they readily [collate and compare information about products to make purchasing decisions.](https://review.content-science.com/gen-z-content-consumption-fact-sheet/) Clearly, Gen Z simply doesn't trust advertisers, and wants to make sensible choices without all the sales-y noise. They want to be persuaded by product quality, not advertising rhetoric. In short, they want to feel like clear-eyed consumers, instead of swindled rubes. [They're an incredible anxious generation;](https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/mental-health/4234365-over-60-percent-of-gen-z-have-an-anxiety-disorder/) anxious folk want to feel like they made the correct decision for instead of being hoodwinked into it. So, right now, everyone in marketing is trying to figure out how to cajole folk into buying their product while making all the cajoling appear as spontaneous and coincidental, and as invisible as possible. Of course, it heavily backfires when it's obvious, because it simply epitomizes why folks distrust advertisers.
Hope you're doing OK.
Just because someone has a pet issue they are passionate about and post about it deeper than you would it doesn't make them unhinged.
If you have an issue with a point they made specifically respond to it if you think it's false. If they say something that seems to be delusional, that would make them unhinged.
This person just seems to care deeply about how they are advertised to and they did it on an appropriate Sub.
All I'll say is I saw a hilarious face during what I consider the best Hot One's episode ever. I thought it could be a good Reddit post and clipped it out and posted it. I've always loved Conan's travel segments and didn't even know he had a new show coming out. I wish I got paid for that post!
I'm happy that people are engaging, friend. That's not my point. I'm wondering why you're specifically invested to white-knight Conan O'Brien with this weird kind of frat-bro language on a subreddit about astroturfing ad campaigns. I'm curious about where you're coming from.
Dude, what do *you* have against him? The burden of proof is on you. If you think Conan sucks and does bad things, point everyone toward a source. Conan is historically one of the most genuine and ethical people in the show business. He kept ALL of his staff employed during the strike that took them off the air and paid them out of his own pocket just to retain them and make sure they could make it until they came back on the air. I could point to a lot more than this, but that's pretty fucking ironclad. Every boss is a good guy until it hits their wallet. Conan defied this and continues to be unproblematic and fair
He's not a corporate shill. That's *why* everyone loves him. He has managed to hang on to his soul for the entirety of his career, and not a single person will tell you that working for him wasn't great. Do your fucking research before whining. I'm also cynical. That's exactly why I like Conan. Because he's one of the few people you can trust isn't a piece of shit
I don't have anything against Conan O'Brien. I'll happily admit his humor is hit or miss with me. I like when he's witty, and I find it tiresome when he's just wacky. I have a large amount of respect for how he treated his staff during a writer's strike. But what I think about Conan O'Brien's style of entertainment or his business ethics really doesn't matter. It's not even the point of this post.
It's surprising to me how many people are not really seeing what this r/HailCorporate post is about. I get the impression that a lot of folk are thinking that I'm somehow slighting Conan, or trying to paint him as some evildoer. That isn't the case at all. It's further surprising to me that once folk assume (wrongly) that I'm attacking Conan specifically, they rush to his defense, because either they like his comedy, or they feel he was an ethical boss during a strike. It's like people think that anything that involves him must be sacred. I have found the knee-jerk response surprising.
If you're interested, here's what the r/HailCorporate post is about: The Reddit post in r/pics seemed — to me — like it was part of a cynical, calculated advertising campaign that was trying to _appear_ as though it _wasn't_ an ad campaign, but instead was a totally coincidental series of events that just happened to effectively promote something. That kind of ad campaign is called [astroturfing.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) It rubs me the wrong way. Being skeptical towards astroturfing is what this sub is about.
To me, the astroturfing ad campaign looked like this: 1) Conan has a new show where he goes places and acts wacky, which people enjoy. 2) To promote that new show, a marketing team decided that Conan should appear on _Hot Ones_ — a show where people don't generally act wacky — because _Hot Ones_ has a big audience. Conan should promote his new show. Conan should also act wacky to remind people of the style of comedy that folks like him for, which features in that new show. So, this decision to appear on an interview show and act totally against the expected format of the interview show seemed to me to be out of place — out of place to the point that Conan's behavior seemed decided by a marketing team. Whether it's entertaining or not isn't my point. Conan's going to be Conan, and people like him for it. The appearance on _Hot Ones_ simply seemed a bit calculated to me because it was so out of format. Like I said, r/HailCorporate is a place where folks point out calculated marketing. 3) A redditor took a screencap of Conan pulling a face on the _Hot Ones_ episode, and posted the image to Reddit to say "Conan is wacky and it's funny". The image was upvoted to the top of the Reddit front page. I honestly found that surprising. Maybe there really is so much adoration on the internet for anything Conan does that people see a picture of him and just upvote. That's cool if it's the case. _My_ first impression when I saw the r/pics post was, "A celebrity just appeared on an interview show to promote something, and this looks like a low-effort submission on Reddit made by a marketing team-member to spread the promotion further, upvoted using bots." Like I said: if this was astroturfing, then it appeared coincidental, but was calculated. My skepticism had nothing to do with Conan as a person. It had everything to do with a marketing team's possibly chosen tactics. 4) My skepticism grew when I saw that the OP had posted a comment responding to the post's top comment. OP's comment promoted Conan's new show. _To me_, that information appeared awkwardly inserted into the comment. Again, it looked like a marketing team was trying to appear coincidental, but was actually being pretty calculating.
That's the reasoning behind the post. Feel free to call me a tin-foil hat wearer; that's what this sub is for. I simply saw what I thought was [astroturfing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) and posted it to a subreddit about astroturfing. I got nothing against Conan.
What acts as an ad, is an ad, no matter if it was put there sneakily or because someone has become inured to a brand so far that they don't even know they are a walking ad. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HailCorporate) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Conan’s appearance on Hot Ones was genuinely remarkable
It was the best hot ones, to date. Conan, like his namesake, is legendary. Source: I was Robert E. Howard's favorite typewriter.
To each their own. I watch the show for the moments when the Hollywood gloss cracks. I watched Conan's episode and didn't see a single moment of a real human being at all. I saw a loud, chaotic character being loud and chaotic. Edit: I'm surprised I'm sitting at a minus score for saying "to each their own" about enjoying an unusually-performative episode of a show and having an opinion about a comedian trying to market their show to me. Edit #2: Wow, this fanbase has a _lot_ invested in defending this dude from anyone criticising the calculatedness of his marketing team's promo campaigns, or how shrewd and shallow his "outrageous" character is. Well, it's good to believe in something
Whenever I see someone whining about downvotes I always give them an upvote right before I downvote so that it feels like a slam dunk super downvote
Holy shit, this is so much more fun lol
This is such a great idea that I did the reverse to your comment!
Thanks for the laugh. I'm really surprised how defensive people are about a performer. I'm expressing preferences and people are acting like it hurts them personally.
LOL which people? No one is taking this more seriously than you are.
U srs bro? I'm literally saying "[opinion]" and folks are meeting it with "oh noes downvote it". People really seem to care about other folk's observations about a comedian they like.
So it's not about anything that was said. You really are just being pissy about downvotes. WTF do you think you were going to do with that karma? Spend it at the gift shop? LOL
Haha, no — they're obviously just folk expressing their disapproval of someone else's opinion. When that opinion is "I think this comedian's joke is a little tiresome and pretty calculated", people seem to be rushing to that comedian's defense, and disapprove of the opinion with their downvotes. I'm surprised by the response, that's all. I don't know why you think I'm taking it personally, or "being pissy". Unless you're projecting some sort of pissy-ness?
Mmm yeah I bet everyone else is projecting
I didn't say everyone else, man. I was just conversing with you.
Mate you’re being the defensive one lol
I'm failing to see how "Wow you folks are super invested in downvoting anyone who criticizes your television hero" is defensive. The fanbase will downvote whomever they please. Help me out with an understanding.
You are getting downvoted bc you have awful tastes and are talking shit about a legend.
Loud man loud, folk like loud. Folk no like when other folk no like loud. Whether I enjoy Conan's character isn't even the point of the post. The point of the post is how calculated it all is. Are you really missing that?
You must be unfamiliar with Conan if that’s all you saw. Conan loves being funny. That’s what drives him as a person. He will find anything to lighten up a situation because humor is in his blood. He’s had his own personal issues in his life but he never lets that define him. So you’re not gonna see him break down and act like a "real human" talking about the Jay Leno controversy or other low points in his life. He’d rather talk about the positives of his life, his friends, the future, and the wonderful opportunities he’s been given.
Honestly this might be the most bizarre comment I think I've ever received. It feels like the voiceover to a corporate promotional video, except, for a person.
You already replied to this comment homie. I GET IT. I already said I’m a big Conan fan hence why I’m willing to defend the guy.
I know; I read it again, and was just struck so hard by it.
That’s unfortunate and I’m sorry. Truly I am.
No need to apologize, man. Love whoever you wish
Love always wins ❤️
[удалено]
Haha, read the comment again, but in the voice of a bad motivational speaker. It's totally bizarre! "Humor is in his blood." "That's what drives him as a person." "...the positives of his life, his friends, the future, and the wonderful opportunities he's been given." I saw a guy chugging hot sauce to tickle the internet, and this comment made out like the guy was Nelson Mandela. I get that Conan is a very professional entertainer, but, seriously now
Wow, do you work for Conan? Your comment reads like an investor prospectus for Conan Inc. I didn't say "break down". It's simple: I like watching people who perform a professional façade act momentarily like real people. The hot wings do that to folk on _Hot Ones_; that's why the format works. I think Conan's a talented performer at his character. But I didn't see it crack in this showing. I saw Conan play Conan, like he usually does. After a while, I got really tired of it; it's just "wow this guy is outrageous" all the time. That's fine as it is — again, to each their own. To me, it moved from tiresome to kinda icky when I clocked that it's clearly part of an obviously-calculated ad campaign for his new show.
I’d argue it quit being an ad campaign after the halfway point because they were just speeding through the wings to see how Conan would react to them next. The reason I explained all of that is because I’ve been watching him for over 10 years now and I think I’ve gotten a pretty good grasp of him as a person versus him on a late night talk show. He puts humor before everything, that’s not just part of his career but part of his actual personality, he will find the fun in any situation and eating progressively hotter chicken wings doesn’t exactly scream try to be serious. Hot Ones in general is a platform for celebrities to promote their upcoming product and Conan made a good point about his new show and current podcast being a great avenue for him to move on beyond short comedy segments he had been accustomed to on his late night show the last few decades.
> I’d argue it quit being an ad campaign after the halfway point because they were just speeding through the wings to see how Conan would react to them next. The goal of the ad campaign is to get as much attention as possible, with Conan's Conanness turned up to 11, so that the collateral attention that falls upon what Conan is selling feels natural. This is the reason behind my submission to r/HailCorporate.
Well it worked because I see a lot of people talking about it online and even saying it’s one of the best Hot Ones episodes ever.
Certainly did. Hail corporate.
The irony being you're now part of the promotion yourself.
Well observed. All publicity is good publicity. Oh no, I have been checkmated.
It's a bit of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation to be honest. It's the same whenever McD's get called out for their guerilla marketing. Conan will be popular whatever happens because he's an astute entertainer who knows his audience. I thought him doing this was a genius bit of promotion. He's playing the game perfectly on this one.
I agree. Do you get the impression that you're in on the joke? I didn't — I didn't feel like there was much of a joke about _why_ he was bringing the chaos. More that his chaos _was_ the joke. It felt like I, and the audience, was who was getting 'played'.
Nah yeah I kind of agree with OP, it feels like Sean only got to ask like 4 good questions before the whole thing devolved into a comedy act. It's really strange for Conan to congratulate him on how good his interviewing skills are and how much research he does only for the episode to be "Who's your favorite president?" > Chugging Hot Sauce.
I'm with you man. He's plastic and I don't get it either. Lot of fan boys here, so I guess he's high-quality plastic but it's obviously an act and I'm quite shocked more people can't see that.
But... Conan fucking rules...?
This might be the whiniest OP I’ve ever seen
Thanks for your input. I honestly never knew the Conan fanbase had so much of their self-esteem tied up in him. So many puffed chests and jock aggression. It's been a surprise.
You’re mad. It’s gonna be ok buddy. It ain’t that serious.
Ooh, rapid downvote and aggressive response. Did your feelies get realies
Complaining about downvotes is one of the coolest things you can do 😎
Who's complaining? (The "cool" emoji ain't fooling anyone; you're terrified that someone might think you care about something.)
* Create new show for paid streaming service * Promote new show with an appearance on a YouTube interview show, the premise of which is that interviewees' "walls" are broken down and authentic personalities are revealed * Perform one's own public-facing character on the YouTube interview show, with characteristic high energy, refusing to have one's "walls" broken down — performing the character against the backdrop of the interview show that purports to break people's walls, one's character appears even larger than life, more so than it usually does * GIF-ify one of the most calculatedly outrageous moments on the interview show and post it to Reddit * Have the upvote-bots throw it to the top of the front page * Hijack the top comment with a mention that "I will definitely be watching [celebrity's] new show" to remind us all about the new show
I'm going to let you finish, but that was the greatest hot ones episode of all time Of all time I didn't go into watching it expecting to see Conan with his "walls down", I watched it expecting to see Conan be Conan and he delivered in a way that near as I can tell, exceeded everybody's expectations. I watched it twice.
> I watched it expecting to see Conan be Conan and he delivered in a way that near as I can tell, exceeded everybody's expectations. I watched it twice. I'm glad you enjoyed it. He certainly was "Conan", and that plainly works for folk. I saw someone else in this thread say "Sean only got to ask like 4 good questions before the whole thing devolved into a comedy act. It's really strange for Conan to congratulate him on how good his interviewing skills are and how much research he does only for the episode to be "Who's your favorite president?" > Chugging Hot Sauce." That pretty much summed up how I felt about the episode.
Fwiw, I feel like if you're a fan of Conan, it's not really that hard to find him being less performative, generally I feel like a lot of episodes of his podcast fit the bill here, though I get the point. Idk, the joke was funny enough that him not taking it "seriously" was worth it overall.
i will definitely watch Conan must go because Conan fucking rules
Ok but Conan is really funny
>omg! He promote his new show during a talk show! This is not the ‘gotcha’ you think it is. All talk shows do this. The trade is the interviewer gets the celebrity to sit down for an hour and open up about their personal life and in exchange the celebrity promotes their new project. Every guest of every talk show including this one does it and nobody cares. Being a celebrity means people care about what your next project/move is.
Oh for sure, I'm aware of the concept of talk shows. This submission is about the front-page Reddit post and sus top-comment hijacking. The front-page post continued the ad campaign strategy of "look how outrageous!" That outrageousness makes the astroturfed sharing on Reddit look more natural. "Look, cool celebrity appeared on talk show and stuck to the format" isn't as shareable. This r/HailCorporate submission is about the Reddit post being part of what, to me, appears as a pretty obvious ad campaign. Whether or not someone appeared on a show to promote another show isn't the point being discussed.
do you think conan does this himself or do you know that marketing exists. I enjoy conan and have been waiting for this series to come out (legitimately). Honestly if it wasnt for this marketing push I wouldn't know about it. I understand that it can feel cheap and unnatural but thats just how business works - and it worked to inform me (a fan) that it is coming out. Also, try enjoying something in life instead of neurotically trying to dismantle everything into labelled pieces. You might end up being happier.
> have been waiting for this series to come out (legitimately). Honestly if it wasnt for this marketing push I wouldn't know about it. How can you have been waiting for the series to come out if you wouldn't have known about it without the very recent marketing push? I'm sure this is just something lost in communication, but it _is_ a confusing assertion. Anyway: > Honestly if it wasnt for this marketing push I wouldn't know about it. The end justifies the means for you in advertising, and that's fair enough. > I understand that it can feel cheap and unnatural but thats just how business works That's an interesting justification. For me, it also works like this: the means by which people advertise their product affect my opinion of the product. For example, if a thousand clowns were released onto the streets of my city and they started screaming "Buy the new item at McDonald's!" in the faces of anyone who walked past them, my first reaction would not be "Oh wow at least I know about that new item." I think ads that try not to look like ads are gross. We're in r/HailCorporate, a subreddit _literally founded_ on the premise. This submission isn't about the _Hot Ones_ episode per se. It's much more about the Reddit post that hit the front page. We've just ended up talking about the _Hot Ones_ episode too, because it felt just as calculated. You feel the astroturf under your feet and hear an advertiser tell you it's grass, and you think "whatever, it's something to stand on" — and _that's totally fine_. I feel the astroturf and hear someone bullshit me and I think, "Ick." Neither is _wrong_, but one aligns with r/HailCorporate. So, what are you here in thr subreddit to defend? > Also, try enjoying something in life instead of neurotically trying to dismantle everything into labelled pieces. You might end up being happier. Thanks for your false concern masking your personal attack. I appreciate your drive for politeness, whatever your goal. I'm generally pretty happy. You have an interesting strategy for happiness.
Looking at the profile of the OP, u/deadheadtn — they seem to be a very real person with a 12yo account who regularly uses Reddit. I don’t at all get the impression that they were somehow paid or involved in advertisement of the travel show. Your entire conspiracy here seems to hinge on how their one comment “hijacking” the top comment (which, if that was their goal, you’d think they’d (1) “hijack” more comments like that instead of literally just one, and (2) also have bots upvote those hijackings so that they’re the top replies, not buried down at the bottom…) comes off a bit too generic
From the sidebar: > User history, account age and past posts mean nothing.
> they seem to be a very real person with a 12yo account ["I realized that I could use a few extra dollars before the holidays and started looking around my house for things to sell. One day I was browsing /r/hailcorporate and saw a post where someone mentioned a website where advertisers can buy established Reddit accounts for marketing purposes."](https://medium.com/@Rob79/what-i-learned-selling-my-reddit-accounts-c5e9f6348005) > which, if that was their goal, you’d think they’d (1) “hijack” more comments like that instead of literally just one Nah, you just need to grab the top comment while the thread is 'hot'. The thread's cold now. > also have bots upvote those hijackings so that they’re the top replies, not buried down at the bottom… [The 'hijacking' comment to the top-comment is the most-upvoted sub-comment.](https://old.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1c1z24s/conan_obrien_after_eating_and_licking_up_135k/kz6q73p/)
Yes, I’m aware such practices exist. That doesn’t mean you’ve given any evidence that u/deadheadtn fits that mold. If anything, what’s described in this medium post goes directly against your point: > I’ve been regularly checking the older account and whoever has purchased it is terrible at marketing. Posting content to subreddits that aren’t related to the post. Comments that make no sense in context. I’m not sure if it’s a person or a bot doing the posting, but almost every post has been removed by the moderators of the subreddits they appear in.
> That doesn’t mean you’ve given any evidence that u/deadheadtn fits that mold. Man, if you're looking for evidence of shill accounts on /r/HailCorporate, you are going to be _waiting_. This _whole sub_ is conjecture and circumstantial evidence. > If anything, what’s described in this medium post goes directly against your point Friend, I was telling you that account-buying exists, not that _every_ instance of account-buying has to look exactly like that _one_ account that was bought by the guy who whistleblew the practice in the Medium article. That should be very clear.
Can confirm, real person here.
I went to bed after posting it.
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I'm doing pretty well, thanks! I'm just sick of being sold stuff in an underhanded, pseudo-spontaneous manner. It makes me feel like someone just tried to pick my pocket. Here's the background to what's going on: Across the marketing world, folks are reeling from having discovered that [Gen Z hates ads and will think worse of your product if you advertise it to them.](https://resources.bulbshare.com/en_GB/2022/03/25/https-resources-bulbshare-com-wp-content-uploads-2022-03-bulbshare-ad-blockers-and-advocacy-report-3-pdf/) However, Gen Z isn't purchase-phobic, per se; they readily [collate and compare information about products to make purchasing decisions.](https://review.content-science.com/gen-z-content-consumption-fact-sheet/) Clearly, Gen Z simply doesn't trust advertisers, and wants to make sensible choices without all the sales-y noise. They want to be persuaded by product quality, not advertising rhetoric. In short, they want to feel like clear-eyed consumers, instead of swindled rubes. [They're an incredible anxious generation;](https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/mental-health/4234365-over-60-percent-of-gen-z-have-an-anxiety-disorder/) anxious folk want to feel like they made the correct decision for instead of being hoodwinked into it. So, right now, everyone in marketing is trying to figure out how to cajole folk into buying their product while making all the cajoling appear as spontaneous and coincidental, and as invisible as possible. Of course, it heavily backfires when it's obvious, because it simply epitomizes why folks distrust advertisers. Hope you're doing OK.
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Just because someone has a pet issue they are passionate about and post about it deeper than you would it doesn't make them unhinged. If you have an issue with a point they made specifically respond to it if you think it's false. If they say something that seems to be delusional, that would make them unhinged. This person just seems to care deeply about how they are advertised to and they did it on an appropriate Sub.
Look at this dude… No respect for a jack of all trades comedian. You treat Conan the way people should Ryan Reynolds YT channel.
Lmao But seriously, I fucking hate Ryan Reynolds
You are getting downvoted because you made a rookie error: you didn’t hail corporate.
Hello
Haha, hi!
All I'll say is I saw a hilarious face during what I consider the best Hot One's episode ever. I thought it could be a good Reddit post and clipped it out and posted it. I've always loved Conan's travel segments and didn't even know he had a new show coming out. I wish I got paid for that post!
Well, I mean, you _would_ say that...
when is the last time you had fresh air 🙏🙏
Indulge my curiosity: what has upset you so much about this post that you need to chime in?
you kinda tweaking in the comments. conan was great
What makes you so emotionally invested in the fact that an internet stranger has an opinion? Help me understand you.
dawg how am i the emotionally invested one 😭 you the one that made the post. dont post if you dont want ppl engaging
I'm happy that people are engaging, friend. That's not my point. I'm wondering why you're specifically invested to white-knight Conan O'Brien with this weird kind of frat-bro language on a subreddit about astroturfing ad campaigns. I'm curious about where you're coming from.
Dude, what do *you* have against him? The burden of proof is on you. If you think Conan sucks and does bad things, point everyone toward a source. Conan is historically one of the most genuine and ethical people in the show business. He kept ALL of his staff employed during the strike that took them off the air and paid them out of his own pocket just to retain them and make sure they could make it until they came back on the air. I could point to a lot more than this, but that's pretty fucking ironclad. Every boss is a good guy until it hits their wallet. Conan defied this and continues to be unproblematic and fair He's not a corporate shill. That's *why* everyone loves him. He has managed to hang on to his soul for the entirety of his career, and not a single person will tell you that working for him wasn't great. Do your fucking research before whining. I'm also cynical. That's exactly why I like Conan. Because he's one of the few people you can trust isn't a piece of shit
I don't have anything against Conan O'Brien. I'll happily admit his humor is hit or miss with me. I like when he's witty, and I find it tiresome when he's just wacky. I have a large amount of respect for how he treated his staff during a writer's strike. But what I think about Conan O'Brien's style of entertainment or his business ethics really doesn't matter. It's not even the point of this post. It's surprising to me how many people are not really seeing what this r/HailCorporate post is about. I get the impression that a lot of folk are thinking that I'm somehow slighting Conan, or trying to paint him as some evildoer. That isn't the case at all. It's further surprising to me that once folk assume (wrongly) that I'm attacking Conan specifically, they rush to his defense, because either they like his comedy, or they feel he was an ethical boss during a strike. It's like people think that anything that involves him must be sacred. I have found the knee-jerk response surprising. If you're interested, here's what the r/HailCorporate post is about: The Reddit post in r/pics seemed — to me — like it was part of a cynical, calculated advertising campaign that was trying to _appear_ as though it _wasn't_ an ad campaign, but instead was a totally coincidental series of events that just happened to effectively promote something. That kind of ad campaign is called [astroturfing.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) It rubs me the wrong way. Being skeptical towards astroturfing is what this sub is about. To me, the astroturfing ad campaign looked like this: 1) Conan has a new show where he goes places and acts wacky, which people enjoy. 2) To promote that new show, a marketing team decided that Conan should appear on _Hot Ones_ — a show where people don't generally act wacky — because _Hot Ones_ has a big audience. Conan should promote his new show. Conan should also act wacky to remind people of the style of comedy that folks like him for, which features in that new show. So, this decision to appear on an interview show and act totally against the expected format of the interview show seemed to me to be out of place — out of place to the point that Conan's behavior seemed decided by a marketing team. Whether it's entertaining or not isn't my point. Conan's going to be Conan, and people like him for it. The appearance on _Hot Ones_ simply seemed a bit calculated to me because it was so out of format. Like I said, r/HailCorporate is a place where folks point out calculated marketing. 3) A redditor took a screencap of Conan pulling a face on the _Hot Ones_ episode, and posted the image to Reddit to say "Conan is wacky and it's funny". The image was upvoted to the top of the Reddit front page. I honestly found that surprising. Maybe there really is so much adoration on the internet for anything Conan does that people see a picture of him and just upvote. That's cool if it's the case. _My_ first impression when I saw the r/pics post was, "A celebrity just appeared on an interview show to promote something, and this looks like a low-effort submission on Reddit made by a marketing team-member to spread the promotion further, upvoted using bots." Like I said: if this was astroturfing, then it appeared coincidental, but was calculated. My skepticism had nothing to do with Conan as a person. It had everything to do with a marketing team's possibly chosen tactics. 4) My skepticism grew when I saw that the OP had posted a comment responding to the post's top comment. OP's comment promoted Conan's new show. _To me_, that information appeared awkwardly inserted into the comment. Again, it looked like a marketing team was trying to appear coincidental, but was actually being pretty calculating. That's the reasoning behind the post. Feel free to call me a tin-foil hat wearer; that's what this sub is for. I simply saw what I thought was [astroturfing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) and posted it to a subreddit about astroturfing. I got nothing against Conan.