Carrotmob Makes It Rain

Check out the first ever Carrotmob campaign! (You can choose between 2 videos. The first one is the way better video, and it's 10:48 long. The second one is a quick version that cuts some corners to come in at 4:25.)

 

FULL VERSION:


SHORT VERSION:

Wow, that was great! What should I do now?

Sign up for our mailing list in the margin on the right. Post this link somewhere (Digg it here), and pass it along to friends. Check us out on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. Then, explore the site using the links on the right. Scroll down for credits, FAQ about this video, and comments.

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CREDITS:
Camera work: Tyler MacNiven, Heidi Quante, Finnegan Kelly, Brent Schulkin
Everything else: Brent Schulkin

Big thanks to all the musicians who have contributed to making this happen:

1865
Blue Turtle Seduction
Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers
Fat Joe and Lil Wayne
Hot Chip
LCD Soundsystem
Method Man
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Nice Guy Trio

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QUESTIONS:

Should I watch both videos?

If you've watched the long one, you've seen it all. Congrats. If you just watched the short one and skipped the long one, you have led a trite and meaningless life.

Where can I find out more about this particular event?

Photo gallery here. To read how this campaign developed, read through the Carrotmob blog, starting at the bottom. There have been 2 recaps posted, here and here. Here is the page we used to promote the event.

What is Carrotmob going to do next?

You tell me.

How did you pay for this event?

Out of my own pocket, with the help of small donations (Paypal me here), including a $5000 donation from Yahoo! for Good. Here's an amazing post in which we debated whether or not to accept a corporate donation for this...

I'm an environmentalist who doesn't approve of promoting mass consumption, no matter what your reasons.

That wasn't a question? I wanted to push the envelope with the materialism image to emphasize the irony of this novel idea: consumption for the sake of sustainability. I made a special video just for you.

You remixed the "Make It Rain" song, and recontextualized much of the crass materialism on display in the video to create an interesting new meaning. But I think the original song is misogynistic. Do you agree, and isn't that a problem?

I agree. The original video for the song (available here, although we don't recommend it) does seem to objectify women in an offensive way. The implication is that rich men get hot women because they're rich, and that the women are vapid, obsessed with money, etc. It's all too typical of mainstream hip hop, and I don't approve. But art is multi-faceted, and artistic value often comes in the same package as junk. The image of raining money is compelling. Did you ever wonder why Lil Wayne has a forklift full of cash? It's because his art resonates with gazillions of people. Wouldn't it be nice if those same gazillion people started shopping where Carrotmob told them to? Maybe that can happen if they watch this video. (This is not representative of Carrotmob's PR strategy for mainstream society, by the way...I'm just starting out with a certain niche market...) So yes, that part of the video was made from some offensive raw materials, but I think context is everything. The context here is celebration that we can "throw up more cash, and change the forecast," whether you take that to mean an "economic forecast" or the climate itself. In this context, any offensive messages from the original video should be long gone.

Ask me any more questions about the video in the comments below...for general questions about the idea, look around the site first and you'll probably find most of what you're looking for...

Comments

[mei]

love the video! informative, funny, concise, smart, educational, and daaaamn you look good getting showered in cash money by hot backup dancers in a smooth blue suit . wooohooo carrotmob!!!

[matty]

Brilliant! Can't wait to be one of millions!

[megan]

congrats on a succesful first campaign! can't wait for you to come to ny!

[Myles]

I think maybe the best detail of the whole operation is the food bank donations for those who want to buy stuff but it isn't stuff they need. That kind of thinking is what is going to make Carrotmob a big, long lasting success. Well done Carrotmobbers! And if you haven't gone to Paypal to make a donation, you are a piker.

[treehugger]

Brilliant idea! Just a thought tho... maybe you could have skipped the part where you threw tons of paper around the store. How many trees did you kill printing that fake money? Not very green behavior imho.

[Mia]

Wicked! Love it...Keep this going folks..ingenious.
x

[jt]

definitly brilliant, including the production of the video to sell the idea -- agree it would be great if that type of campaign could be duplicated all over the u.s. at the local/ regional level, and also - like mentioned in the video - begin to apply itself at the international level to leverage conscious-consumer influence on global society.

tree hugger: the green money can be reused on the next campaign -

[Kim Harrison]

Extremely excellent - I have a friend who is LEED-certified; I am going to send the video to him (the long one) : )

Live close by on the Monterey Peninsula. What you are doing is so creative; let's keep it going -