Magic Mike Does a New Kind of Show
This week on Mindshare's Culture Vulture Live, Alexis Fragale talks about the world's first non-verbal talk show! Actor Channing Tatum recently appeared in the first episode of "Speechless with Carly Fleischmann," a new online talk program hosted by blogger and author Carly Fleischmann, a woman with autism who can't speak. While Fleishmann is non-verbal, she used her tablet to ask Tatum all sorts of questions about his career and his personal life. The interview has been a hit: Episode one drove over three million views and garnered rave reviews across media outlets.
"Speechless" is believed to be the world's first non-verbal talk show. (Fleischmann and Tatum are pictured below on the set.) But its popularity follows a couple of trends that we've been tracking at Mindshare: Accelerated Empathy and the Rise of Good Intentions.
We mentioned Accelerated Empathy last month when IMG Models signed on their first plus-sized male model. Now as we move further into 2016, more and more brands are finding ways to drive inclusivity for various groups in culture. For example, grocery chain Asda launched quiet hours to make things easier for shoppers with autism. And for Sign Language Day, Burger King asked fans to come up with an official sign for the Whopper sandwich.
The Rise of Good Intentions is a similar trend. As consumers use social media to broadcast that they care about the world, Millennial audiences today often choose to buy or boycott brands based on their cultural values.
With both trends, the big takeaway for marketers is that it's important for brands to show that their intentions are noble. There's a big opportunity right now for brands to make a positive statement; to show that they empathize with their wide range of consumers and the world at large.
The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated bloggers.
