Linden Lab Launches Direct Assault On "Fat Naked Guy in a Basement" Anti-Second Life Meme

The Lindens recently announced a new advertising campaign that matches screenshots of Residents' avatars with photos of their real world owners. (Example at left, featuring cute San Francisco indie rockstar Keiko Takamura.) Similar to New World Notes' mixed reality profile series, the campaign is (intentionally or not) a frontal assault on the second most corrosive meme directed by detractors at Second Life. The first being, "Second Life is for people without a first life", which as I've said before, is not accurate in any meaningful sense. A related meme is about as inaccurate, and goes something like this: "Attractive Second Life avatars are really just fat naked guys in their parents' basement." (Or any number of unpleasant variations.) Eg., this smirky viral video.

To be sure, there's no doubt any number of nude porcine gentlemen currently logged into Second Life at this very moment; but then, there are far more of them, say, watching television, playing video games, reading the New Yorker, showcasing their cellulite on Chat Roulette, etc. etc. These activities are not particularly noteworthy in themselves, but for many people, an attractive avatar immediately triggers suspicions of deception. This is understandable to a certain extent, but in my experience, the relation is far more complex. Second Life avatars often look like stylized versions of the real life person, or appear entirely different, but even then, it's rare that "deception" is the primary reason for choosing a beautiful avatar. In fact, I've noticed a far more interesting twist is often the case: Women who are attractive in real life, but prefer to have a non-human/fantastic avatar, in Second Life. (Sometimes, as one of them told me, to momentarily escape the social expectations being beautiful brings.)

Anyway, matching appealing real people to their avatars is a solid step in shifting these assumptions. I do wish the Lindens were more explicit with their messaging, and took some inspiration from the famous old Rolling Stone magazine ad campaign contrasting the perception of its readers to the reality of who they really are.

Using my mixed reality profile of Brazilian graphic designer/Second Life screenshot artist Laurah Oh, it might look something like this:

What do you think?

Comments

[jjccc coronet]

every one on second life is fat ugly and lives in there mothers basment http://tinychat.com/jjccc the web cams dose not lie

[Jimmy]

Laurah would you please meet me on Chatroulette?

[Earth Primbee]

The simple fact is I have met an astounding amount of real life women in Second Life who have female avatars or non human avatars. I would venture to say the ratio of rl female to sl female is higher than any other virtual world.

When I do meet the occassional rl male in a female avatar it is usually about seeing how the other half lives rather than a practice to deceive.

Whatever the case, the heart and mind of the individual is far more important to me than the rl body they live in. It seems to me the only real reason to even consider this is if you are looking to hook up with that person in real life. In that case, I can see some cause for suspicion but that's not me so why does it matter?

Both the misconceptions you name are important to correct.

Cheers

[Bettina Tizzy]

I'm mostly indifferent about what people look like in real life. This wasn't always so, so I understand (remember, even) the freakout over the idea of someone who is actually hideous pretending to be anything else.

In virtual worlds, I'm far more interested in the chameleons and shape shifters who embrace the notion that they can be anything they want to be: animal, human, humanoid and even objects. A favorite series of avatars I own are glistening interactive art sculptures. This sure does give new meaning to the song "I feel pretty!"

The real reason I am commenting here is to tell you that this piece cracked_me_up, Hamlet. It was like having a good visit with you, which is a very appealing idea. Hope you and Tezca and Evonne and all the good virtual world folks had a good time in Austin for sxsw 'cause y'all need to come back next year, ya hear?

[Pappy Enoch]

"Fat Nekkid Feller in the Basement?" It's a dang lie!

1) I are in a trailer
2) I are a-wearin' boxer shorts

Dang stereotapes! Mistophur Hamlet, tell Ms. Oh that her hunk-o-burnin' luv am a-waitin' for her! Hoo whee.

[Mitch Wagner]

I think a "who's using Second LIfe" campaign would be brilliant, but it shouldn't even *acknowledge* the stereotype. Why give any additional mileage to it?

[soror nishi]

/me laughs long and hard with Pappy...:)) v cool.

[Mab MacMoragh]

My avatar usually reflects my RL persona somewhat, especially in the way she dresses and never changes her hair, but in the past month, due to a filming project, has taken the form of all the library avatars, a robot, Gazira Babeli, a tattooed aboriginal fantasy amazon, a faery princeling, a beefy man with animated letters on his naked skin, a dragon baby, a beachball, an Alpha Auer creation, a black mannequin in both male and female shapes, a chicken, a tree, and a tiny, among other things. Although it's fun to look at these alternate forms I tend to not identify with them except as manipulated pixels. And others seem to find it difficult seeing them as me.

Stereotypes will always be around but more attention should be paid to the people who consider virtual worlds with open minds. Edward Winkleman has one of the most highly regarded and most-read contemporary art blogs in RL. He posted this yesterday:

http://edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/2010/03/second-life-and-art-of-motor-cycle.html

Disclaimer: Mab posted the final three comments so there is a personal interest

[c3]

Sadly. the other banners for this ad campaign , dont have the same "visual appeal" as that one.

beard guy- just dosent work as well...-- ART-Visual DIRECTION - something youll never find at a lab;)

and why labs dont sell burgers;)

[Kaseido Quandry]

This campaign doesn't "launch a direct assault on the stereotype;" it completely buys into it.

Launching a direct assault on the stereotype would celebrate *human* diversity along with avatar diversity.

SL used to have a culture that held you didn't have to be young, thin, pretty, white and able IRL to matter in SL.

This campaign undoes that.

[L Knoller]

On the face of it this seems fair enough.

Of course, if you replace "fat naked basement guy" with "a person with a degenerative disease that is confined to a wheelchair" it may give a little perspective, to the sallowness of some people that have a fixation on the difference between avatar and account holder and list it as a reason why they wont use SL. Will the ad campaign feature disabled people, along side their avatars, or will we be treated to a a parade of pretty people next to their pretty avatars?

If the campaign wants to address concerns about RL identity, that all seem to stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of SL, perhaps "We aint facebook." might work too.

SL takes a bit of getting used to, I never felt worried about the difference between avie appearence and account holder myself, (perhaps I'm more worried about if the account holder is a nice human being than what they look like) I do remember taking pause when I found out there was such a thing as an ALT, but I found generally that ALTs just can't wait to out themselves.

As was said above, the only time it could really matter is if you were thinking about "hooking up" in RL

There is a great deal of depth that could be gone into with this subject of identity. I always think of this painting "The Treachery of Images" by René Magritte then the topic comes up:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/MagrittePipe.jpg

Coincidently I was watching an old address by Mitch Kapor yesterday where he apparently thought its was a fantastic thing that he could stick a photo of his RL face onto his avatar. Perhaps it is, for him, but a that does not make him a pipe either.

[Ann Otoole]

LL would get a helluva lot more traction if they got some actors to do that. Like Drew. Maybe some others. With the byline "You never know who you might be talking to in SL". Oh wait that breaks Kingdon's drive to eliminate SL as a haven for people with real lives to get away from paparazzi and leeches for a while. Smooth move.

[Jura Shepherd]

I like Keiko's hair.
I hope she got paid.

[Melponeme_k]

And what will be the ad campaign that addresses that other misconception about SL. That we are all freaks who are into strange practices at X rated virtual establishments?

[Fogwoman Gray]

"but for many people, an attractive avatar immediately triggers suspicions of deception"
The vast majority of avatars on the grid are "attractive", which is why people are using them. Human avs are almost universally 20 something which is a rant for another day.
What triggers assumptions of adolescent males or basement dwellers are the avatars with the sliders turned up to WTF on breasts and buttocks, or the hairless silverback look.
When a grossly fat, cartoonishly ugly avatar hits your event you are generally just about to be griefed.
This is of course my experience, YMMV.

[Extropia DaSilva]

>"Second Life is for people without a first life", which as I've said before, is not accurate in any meaningful sense"<

Maybe so. But is it always the case that the RL person behind the avatar is as or more interesting than the character they have created? Not many people are fortunate enough to have a great career, and since work fills most of the day, that means most people's real lives are fairly dull. So why not have an hour or two of escapism where you forget all about the colorless world of RL and pretend to somebody a whole lot more interesting?

Implying that the average SL account holder is some gorgeous male or female with a high-flying career is, I suspect, no more accurate than the implication that we are all fat losers in mom's basement. Most of us are probably average types that you would not even notice if you passed us on the street. We are not super ugly or superfit, just normal folk living the dream of a better life.

[Johnny]

I thought the whole point of SL was that you could reinvent yourself, and be judged on the image you chose to present, rather than being constrained by the predjudices people held about the body you had inherited.

I'm not sure that "Second Life - it's for the cool, attractive, popular kids" is a marketing strategy that's going to chime with SL's core demographic.

[FlipperPA Peregrine]

So they're back to Echo Omega advertising? Cool, it has come full circle!

[Sidney Smalls]

Johnny that may be one point, but it's hardly the "whole" point, or even the main point. And I don't think "Fat? Ugly? Smelly? Socially unacceptable? Join SL and continue to live as a shut in!" makes for much of a marketing angle.

[Mitch Wagner]

These are all great comments about making sure that a "who uses Second Life" campaign focuses on a cross-section of people in Second Life, no matter how pretty they are.

I think the point is that Linden Lab should be getting more stories out there about the positive benefits of Second Life, to counteract the two main threads in the mainstream media: "Second Life destroyed my marriage!" and "I made a million billion jillion US$ using Second Life!"

[SecondLie]

Mitch -

This is why they should combine the two ideas.

At least with a million billion jillion dollars, Fat Naked Guy won't be waiting long in the basement of his mansion for Mrs. Fat Naked Guy #2, right?

[Monkey Nuts]

"Linden Lab Launches Assault on Fat Naked Guys in their Basement and as a Result Loses all Customers."

[Pappy Enoch]

Let me tell ya'll sum'fin, Mr. SecondLie. Get me that million billion jillion dollars and I would marry me that fat boy in the root cellar.

Heck, I'd move in and be his lovin' man. Hoo whee that am a heap o' money.