RadioShack Attempts To Shock Itself Back Into Relevance Using Dumb Tactics From Five Years Ago

from the cannon-ball-run dept

As you Techdirt readers know, we regularly publish posts on the weekends taking a sweet look back at what was going on on our pages in past years. The powers that be around this joint never let me get my hands on that post, probably either because I'd simply fill up the space with my own comments from the early days of Dark Helmet's existence, or because I dedicate my weekends to getting really, impressively drunk and scaring my neighbors. But a quick trip down memory lane brings up a thing tech companies used to do some years back that we used to have some fun with: appointing artists and celebrities as Chief Creative Officer, Chief Creative Director, Chief Creativity-Gasm Producer or some such nonsense. There was a rash of these announcements in 2010 and 2011, tapering off before it appeared like the world generally acknowledged that all of this was a giant waste of time and money, roughly around 2014. Sort of, oddly, like RadioShack, which found itself making some wildly bad financial decisions around 2011 or so before falling into disrepair and bankruptcy in late 2014 and early 2015.

Did you know RadioShack still exists? No? Neither did several of my Techdirt compatriots when I mentioned the company to them. But, yeah, RadioShack is still a real company with real aspirations to once again become relevant to the real world in the hopes of making real money. And, to accomplish this, the company has boldly decided to go back to the 2011 well and hire its own Chief Creative Officer: Nick Cannon.

Does this "hire" mean anything more than seeing Cannon's face on advertisements, as has been the case with many other major tech company celebrity hires? RadioShack certainly wants us to think so, as the company's announcement gave a vague list of Cannon's CCO duties, the biggest of which appears to be the "development of RadioShack-exclusive products." Cannon will also be tasked with in-store music curation, event promotion, and helping the company "continue to grow" its educational and STEM-specific initiatives. RadioShack didn't specify what existing educational initiatives it is running, and its home page currently offers no official information about such initiatives.

Now I had the same reaction as my fellow Techdirt writers had to "RadioShack" when Nick Cannon's name came up: "That still exists?" But, it turns out, that isn't Cannon's fault, as he's been fairly relevant to the current music and television scene, including a role in Spike Lee's film "Chi-Raq." And I can't say I know a whole lot about Cannon's business acumen, or his ability to develop RadioShack exclusive products, or grow educational initiatives. What I do know is that seems like an awfully diverse list of big responsibilities to place on the shoulders of a singer/entertainer who happens to have a decently known name and not much else notable in terms of a corporate resume. He is, I have learned, the chairman and creative consultant for TeenNick, the Nickolodeon outlet, but does that really prepare one to direct a zombie-retailer that refuses to die back into relevance?

However, while Cannon has launched tech ventures over the past few years, the results have spoken less to RadioShack's maker mentality and more to its modern, suffering incarnation, including budget-priced tablets sold on QVC and Beats-like headphones. Cannon previously served as an "entertainment ambassador" for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, apparently to promote a line of "Ncredible" tablets. Those devices included a built-in multimedia sharing app designed to let aspiring entertainers pitch their acts directly to Cannon's production company.

That sounds like a pitch-man and peddler of low-budget electronics, not a creative force for a retailer that nearly found its previous involvement with budget electronics to be fatal. Much like the surprise that RadioShack was still alive, I can't believe this entertainer-as-creative-director thing is still going on.

Filed Under: celebrity, chief creative officer, creative director, nick cannon
Companies: radioshack

Now That Alicia Keys Is No Longer Blackberry's 'Creative Director' Can We Stop Using Pop Stars As Fake Creative Directors?

from the please? dept

Three years ago, we called out the stupid trend of big tech companies pretending that they'd hired some pop star as "creative director" after Intel had named Will.i.am to that role and Polaroid had done the same with Lady Gaga. A year later, we repeated what a dumb idea this was when Blackberry named noted iPhone user Alicia Keys to the same role. As we said, if this was, say, an actual music service, and the person was really involved, it might make sense. But the truth of all three of these situations was that they were little more than a promotional sponsorship deal pretending to be a "hire." And, this really discounts the hard work that actual creative directors do for these companies.

Either way, it should come as little surprise that Blackberry -- a company on the verge of not existing -- is now admitting that Keys is "leaving her role" exactly a year after it started. Let's be frank here: she's not "leaving her role." She had a one year endorsement/promotional contract, and that deal is now ending. The idea that she was actually employed as a creative director is clearly bogus. What did she do?

She appeared at numerous corporate events throughout the year and in some promotional material.

Right. Same exact thing as a typical celebrity endorsement deal.

For whatever reason, tech companies always seem to announce these things in January (often in conjunction with CES, which is taking place next week). Hopefully, this year, we can avoid such silliness. I don't want to hear about Justin Bieber becoming "creative director" at IBM or Miley Cyrus' new "job" as "creative director" at Microsoft.

Filed Under: alicia keys, creative director, endorsement, lady gaga, will.i.am
Companies: blackberry, intel, polaroid

Still A Dumb Trend: Pop Star Endorsements Pretending To Be 'Creative Directors'

from the how-often-will-she-be-at-the-office dept

Almost exactly two years ago, we mocked the ridiculous trend of big companies hiring famous pop stars as "creative directors." Polaroid had hired Lady Gaga to be "creative director" while Intel had named Will.i.am as "director of creative innovation." The latest example of this trend is Blackberry (they're no longer RIM!) announcing that known iPhone user Alicia Keys has been "hired" as "Global Creative Director." She claimed that she'll be working with app developers and providing various ideas.

As we said two years ago, it is a good thing that celebrity endorsers actually become more involved with the products they're endorsing, but it's somewhat insulting to suggest that these pop stars are actually being hired on as "creative directors." In fact, it's insulting to actual creative directors and the amazing work that they do on a daily basis. The value from a Lady Gaga, Will.i.am or Alicia Keys is in the publicity they bring, not in any sort of creative direction they provide (if any). It's also insulting to the intelligence of the public and the press who follow these things. If these were, say, music services, the position might be real, but in the three most high profile cases, it seems abundantly clear that this is just a way to make an endorsement seem like a bigger deal than it really is.

Filed Under: alicia keys, creative director, endorsements, lady gaga, will.i.am
Companies: blackberry