Deliciously Fake (from: Buzz Marketing with Blogs)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BuzzMarketingWithBlogs?m=177
Thanks to Hugh at Gaping Void, I’ve discovered Delicious Destinations, the blog of GourmetStation, latest entry in the fake blog field. GourmetStation is a provider of upscale prepared cuisine, the kind of thing that makes sure you have the kind of food on the table that takes all day to make despite the fact that you work 14-hour days.
Delicious Destinations is written by T. Alexander, “a fictitious character created by GourmetStation, it’s creative partner, Blue Marble Media, and marketing partner, Bloomberg Marketing. T. A. is our icon, who through reflections about food, customs and travel, adds a bit of spice to our website and newsletters.”
The blog is written in first person. On March 27, T. Alexander blogged about a brunch thrown by his neighbor Clarissa. On April 1 the topic was garlic. Innocuous stuff, supported by a pretty generic design.
I’m interested to see where GourmetStation takes the blog, and how successful it will be in supporting their business. I’ve said before that I’m not fundamentally opposed to fake blogs, as long as the intention is to be creative—and as long as the intention isn’t to trick readers. But in the case of GourmetStation, I’m curious: Why is a fictitious blog author necessary? T. Alexander isn’t a potholder or a cow. He’s positioned as being a knowledgable foodie—is there really no such person at GourmetStation who could be a more authentic voice sending the same kinds of messages?
As the thinking about fake blogs evolves, my expectation is that appropriate use will revolve around humor and perhaps the ridiculous. Take, for example, the Jack character of Jack in the Box. A blog written by Jack could be entertaining, and of course everyone realizes that a man with a head made of a very large ping-pong ball isn’t meant to be real or taken seriously. But the character of T. Alexander just appears to be a fake person, and though it’s hard to tell in the four posts to be found on the site right now, he doesn’t seem to be exaggerated, ironic, a parody or a stereotype. He seems less a character than just… well… fake.
UPDATE: Found some more discussion of the Delicious Destinations blog from Paul Chaney, Tris Hussey and BLOGthenticity .