

How we are using 'Hitler reacts' video to convey our startup's positioning - abhimir
http://blog.priceshred.com/post/18002692485/how-we-are-using-hitler-reacts-video-to-convey-our

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SimonB86
You're using copyrighted content in a commercial/promotional video. Did you
get permission from the copyright holder (ie. the movie studio/company)?

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abhimir
There are now thousands of video which use this content, and the copyright
holder Constantin Films chooses to not strictly enforce its copyright, due to
the publicity the movie itself gets from these parody videos. Youtube asked us
to sign a declaration stating that we are using this content in a totally
different context, under fair use rules, this is allowed. So like thousands of
other Hitler reacts videos, we hope we are in clear.

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SimonB86
Firstly the other videos are non-commercial parodies, whereas your video is a
promotional video for commercial purposes.

Also even if Constantin Films does not enforce it's copyright, you are still
breaching their copyright. Constantin Films have previously enforced the
copyright on this video, and a quick check of Wikipedia shows there was a
report yesterday that they have started doing so again.

You're actively and obviously breaking copyright laws.

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abhimir
Agreed. If Constantin Films take us to the courts, then we will have a very
slim chance of winning, just as every other video creator. They can enforce
their copyright if they want, and make it stand in a court of law, with all
the resources they have. About commercial usage, we believe we are just
sharing our view on the Indian E-Commerce and ReCommerce industry through a
humorous take. So whether this is a commercial/promotional video or not, is
something, I believe, we can agree to disagree.

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laserDinosaur
So by admission of your own guilt, you are: A) Stealing copywritten material,
and B) Don't care

Also, just fyi, jumping on a joke that is many years old, doing a pretty poor
job of repeating it, then dedicating an entire PR move to pointing at said
joke and explaining to everyone how witty it is just comes across as sad.

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bradleyland
Fun idea, but I think you guys might have missed the mark.

Humor only works if it's funny, and what's funny varies based on the
individual. Humor based on the "Hitler reacts" video works because the videos
frequently feature some product or scenario that the viewer is deeply attached
to.

The most successful (judged by number of YouTube views) parodies involve some
massively popular product (XB Live), person (Michael Jackson), or scenario
(meta-rant about "Downfall" parodies being removed from YouTube). The people
viewing these parodies are involved somehow, so they feel some
attachment/empathy to Hitler's reaction. My analysis of the humor: in this
case, it is derived from the cognitive discord resulting from identification
with such a horrible human being.

When I watched your video, the subject matter was selling a mobile phone. This
is a chore. I'm not particularly attached to the method I use to sell my
mobile phone. I felt some empathy with Hitler's reaction, because I've felt
the frustration of selling something online before, but I didn't find it
funny, because my emotional involvement in the task/scenario was too low.

I think this quote explains why you guys would find it much funnier:

"So we decided to make a video, a humorous take on answering the simple yet
profound question ‘Why PriceShred.com?’"

You consider the question, "Why PriceShred.com" to be profound. I don't
consider the selection of an online merchant in any way profound. I consider
it mundane. Selecting an online merchant is so mundane, that I'll continue
using current channels, even if they're sub-optimal, just to avoid the
drudgery of evaluating a new channel. Not to mention the risk.

Humor might still work for you as an advertising strategy, but sadly I think
this particular example just won't hit home with your audience.

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abhimir
I agree with what you are saying about the involvement in the task/scenario
being low. And that is the reason, a lot of people do not even bother selling
used electronics, they just throw it away. We are trying ways to educate
people that selling online does not have to be a chore, it can be simple,
easy, and fun (in the sense of 'making some easy money' fun). It is a learning
process for us, and we will keep trying till we get the right mix of humor and
involvement.

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RyanMcGreal
I enjoy an over-captioned Hitler Reacts video as much as anyone, but it seems
somehow in poor taste to use it to promote a business.

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hsuresh
And calling out other businesses(FlipKart, LetsBuy etc) when promoting their
own business makes this video unwatchable.

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abhimir
Our main aim with this blog post was to create awareness about our market, the
'online selling' market in India. To depict the problems that customers which
are trying to sell online face, we used an adjacent market, the 'online
buying' market to compare and contrast, and to show how 'online buying' has
been made easy by FlipKart and Letsbuy, and why their is need for a similar
revolution in the 'online selling' side. Also as Flipkart is the pioneer in
E-Commerce in India, we have a lot of respect for them, and this is our hats
off to them. And Flipkart took in in good humor, and even tweeted about the
blog and the video, to its followers. So I think we did that part right.

