Why does it seem that something may flop in one place but when placed elsewhere, may potentially take off? Perhaps it goes back to a trite phrase I've heard my mother say my entire life: location, location, location. I was recently reviewing an article in Wired Magazine called the Biggest Loser as they talked about Kevin Smith. Maybe your initial reaction to that name was similar to mine: Kevin who? Or depending on where you look, the exact opposite; something more along the lines of "How do not know Kevin Smith!?" Apparently Kevin Smith is an actor, screenwriter and film director who worked on the movie Clerks (Heard good things, haven't personally seen it). The article discussed how after the making of Clerks, Smith has had a very difficult time rekindling old flames and creating another successful production. Wired actually interview Smith to get a first hand update of his current status. Smith stated how he has been very successful recently thanks to use of a different medium, the internet. With the recent debut of sites such as twitter, Smith believes he has finally found "his thing" with over a million followers on Twitter. Smith accredits his filthy conversation as his only means success. How can the same R-rated dirty mouth flop on the big screen yet prosper on the internet?

The first thing that came to mind was a discussion about ad placement we had in one of my classes. We basically talked about how certain products, services, etc. are advertised or "placed" in specific areas to attract the desired audience. For example, Ralph Lauren (though worn by a wide variety of people) is typically advertised in upscale locations where they know it will be seen by people with enough disposable income to buy their product. In the same way that ad placement works to attract a certain audience, the same principles apply saying that if a product is placed in the wrong environment, it may not yield successful results. Although there are plenty of popular movies with dirty jokes, if the coarse joking exceeds the generally acceptable level, it may lose readers. Because Kevin Smith admits to having such a filthy mouth and the boldness to make bold statements that nobody who was the least concerned about being politically correct would dare make, it is possible that he has been more successful through online feeds such as twitter and podcast because this type of placement is more accepting of his...style!

So what- some guys sucked at making movies but is a big-shot online? Ad placement is an extremely underestimated force in the media and is capable of doing just as much good as it could bad. In Kevin Smith's situation, it was discussion and movie feedback that ad placement affected; however, there are instance when valuable information is at stake. Occasionally, reputable newspapers will raise the cost of their paper in lower income areas and lower the cost in higher income areas in order to target audiences. This can potentially limit a certain area from to only being exposed to a certain amount of knowledge (at least through that medium) which can inadvertently have a snowball effect. Please feel free to share your thoughts.