It is has become commonplace for students to take to new media to express their feelings about their school, their education, or anything going on in a very open and public manner. However, it seems like like student-created videos were the theme for the last couple weeks in higher ed marketing. Here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of student-created videos. Also be sure to provide your input to the questions below – I would like to hear your opinion.
The Good
Oregon State University’s (OSU) Student Philanthropy unit held a contest asking students to create a "thank you" message to donors called OSthankU. Students were to create a 1-2 minute video thanking donors for their contributions to OSU. After judges reviewed the videos, the winner was announced recently – Darryl Lai, a senior in Business Administration. Here is the winning video.
According to the OSU Student Philanthropy Facebook page, the winner received an iPad and basketball tickets. The two runner-up videos in the OSthankU contest can be found here, the makers of the runner-up videos both won iPod touches for their efforts. (note: I originally heard about this via Eric Stoller’s blog on the subject).
The Bad
Bad, as in bad*&? (you get the point). These next videos meet that criteria. After hearing a joke insulting his university on a British TV show, Tom Ridgewell got his camera and started filming. He created three TV recruitment ads for the University of Lincoln that he listed as banned. The three videos are below.
According to Seth Odell over at Higher Ed Live posted that David Sleight, Dean of the Faculty of Media, Humanities & Technology at the University of Lincoln, issued the following statement.
As producer of the University of Lincoln’s official TV adverts he is spoofing his own professor’s work – but I work on the basis that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! So long as he stays within bounds of public taste and decency he’s doing exactly what he needs to impress the media and creative industries, and I have no doubt he will secure future opportunities by being recognised for his work.”
Here is a video interview between Seth Odell and Tom Ridgewell that gives a bit more insight into the video commercials.
The Ugly
A UCLA student went on a video taped rant regarding the actions of Asian students in the University library and around her during finals week. Here is a copy of the video – it is not pretty (that is your warning).
This video prompted a lot of video responses on YouTube by students, alumni, and others who saw it. The video has also received national news attention.
After the UCLA student posted the video on March 19, 2011, she quickly removed the original video. Unfortunately, the video had already gone viral and was copied and spread even further. Since then, the video has created a lot of controversy. According to a New York Daily News article, the student has since provided this statement.
In addition, shortly before this statement was posted, UCLA announced they would not punish her. Here is a quote from the Huffington Post.
It also prompted a one-minute video response by UCLA’s Chancellor, Gene Block. The Chancellor’s response is posted below.
So after reviewing the good, the bad, and the ugly of student-created videos, here are some questions for you. The only bad answer to these questions is no answer at all – so be sure to share your thoughts.
- What would be an appropriate way to handle the UCLA issue? (Please don’t post on here any direct responses to the original video itself).
- What are your thoughts of the recruiting commercials created for the University of Lincoln? Would you perceive them as positive or negative if you were the University of Lincoln’s brand manager there? Would you ask the student to make an offficial TV commercial using the same basic concept?
- Any comments on the OSthankU contest or the videos created? Were the rewards for the contest enough? Should the rewards be more or less then what they received?
- Any other comments on any of the videos?
