Good morning class. Today’s lesson is marketing in the 21st Century. We all know classical marketing strategies, advertisements, branding, promotions, etc. But what are some newer strategies used to market a product? You all watched How I Met Your Mother last night for homework, so let’s use that as an example.
I’m seeing some blank faces out there. Did everyone watch How I Met Your Mother last night? Be honest. Okay, a few of you. That’s not great, but it’s better than my 8:30 class. Let’s take a moment to review the episode so we’re all caught up. And you, is that a bagel? Put it away. Eat on your own time.
Fresh from last week’s break-up with Robin, beloved womanizer Barney Stinson is back in full swing. In order to prove his skills and compensate for lost time, Barney proudly introduces his close circle of friends to a leather-bound tome dubbed “The Playbook.” Nestled inside are hundreds of “scams, cons, hustles, hoodwinks, gambits, flim-flams, strategems and bamboozles,” all of which Barney willingly endorses in order to conquer New York, one lady at a time.
These strategies include mild deceptions such as “The Don’t Drink That,” in which Barney targets a mark with a drink, then swoops in claiming somebody dropped a mickey in her glass, thus appearing as a knight in shining armor. The Playbook also includes complicated tasks such as “The Mrs. Stinsfire,” in which Barney dresses as an elderly British housekeeper and serves as a house mom for a sorority on probation for explicitly lewd behavior. The Playbook also includes horrifically convoluted productions such as “The Lorenzo Von Matterhorn,” which Barney will enact this evening, proclaiming it will be his grand return to the stage. By which he means his bed.
The Lorenzo Von Matterhorn involves creating a very unique fake persona, in Barney’s case, Lorenzo Von Matterhorn, spelled exactly as it sounds. Second, knowledge of webpage design and construction is required. Next, select a target with a nice phone, and act charmed when she does not recognize you or your fake persona. If all goes according to plan, she Googles your name, discovering the many websites you have created boasting you and many imaginary achievements. Needless to say, Barney’s scheme goes according to plan.
Viewers at home, especially those within arms reach of a computer, would most likely Google the phrase “Lorenzo Von Matterhorn” out of curiosity. They would then be surprised to discover not only are the websites mentioned in this episode real, but they contain numerous jokes and references to the show; an added bonus for savvy websurfers. This is viral marketing. I’m writing this on the board class, make a note of it.
In the past, How I Met Your Mother has frequently created webpages corresponding with internet-related jokes. Such websites include TedMosbyIsAJerk.com, CanadianSexActs.org, and GuyForcesHisWifeToDressInaGarbageBagForTheNextThreeYears.com. All of these sites lead viewers to fictional webpages containing text or videos further detailing the episode and delivering more jokes in a new medium. These sites then link back to the official How I Met Your Mother webpage at CBS. Why go to the trouble? Simply, it increases awareness of the show, it creates a unique identity amongst other sitcoms, and it’s much simpler to introduce new potential viewers to a webpage than a TV program.
Despite Barney’s expertly executed scenario, a single detail ruined the otherwise perfect triumph: Barney’s mark was actually a coworker of Lily’s, who was at the bar for a blind date with Ted. Tired of Barney’s history of deception and his lack of sympathy for ruining a perfectly matched blind date, Lily wreaks revenge by stealing The Playbook.
As mentioned in the episode, this The Playbook is Barney’s second book. The first was the legendary Bro Code. Mentioned jokingly in the first few seasons, The Bro Code was a list of societal rules to be followed when engaging with male peers. Barney religiously adhered to these rules, insisting they were requisite for society to function. Such rules include immediately pointing out catfights to other bros, putting an inflexible ban on crying and outlying the rules regarding dating another bro’s sister. The Bro Code transcended into reality in 2008 when Fireside Publishers printed a canonical book, endorsed by CBS and actor Neil Patrick Harris.
This is an example of a tie-in, in which corporations attempt to capitalize on a product’s popularity while increasing revenue and promoting visibility. Typically cartoons are associated with tie-ins in the form of toys, video games, breakfast cereals, and the like (Action movies also have numerous tie-ins, but the overabundance of CGI more or less makes them cartoons). However, any movie or TV show can generate tie-ins if successful or popular enough. In this episode, it seems apparent CBS is trying to capitalize again on Barney’s oddly engaging character, and the dead-tree format of “The Playbook” should appear in bookstores soon.
But back to the episode. Desperate to be unshaken by Lily’s underhanded ways, Barney begins a plan called “The Scuba Diver,” which involves a barcrawl in full scuba gear. Marshall discovers, much to Lily’s dismay, no such tactic exists in Barney’s Playbook. Rushing to stop the plan before its fruition, Barney reveals he ripped the plan from The Playbook as a precautionary measure. Undaunted, Lily approaches Barney’s chosen mark, explains the situation, and warns her.
Despite all the possible dangers, the cast and the mark succumb to their morbid curiosity, and approach Barney, demanding an explanation of the scuba gear. Rather than attempt to go through with the ridiculous charade, he breaks down, claiming he was depressed from his break up with Robin, and just wants to be with someone. Sympathetically, the young blonde mark leaves the bar with Barney to discuss his feelings over coffee, still adorned in full scuba regalia.
Once separated from Lily’s harpy-like clutches, Barney reveals the location of the missing page. As Ted reads aloud, it is revealed “The Scuba Diver” was a lengthy scam played through the entire episode. Barney intentionally introduced Lily to The Playbook, knowing she would be offended. He knew Lily would steal the playbook out of anger. He knew a completely ridiculous plan involving a scuba suit would attract attention and curiosity, but still somehow seem legitimate. He knew revelation of the absurd plan and a chosen mark would cause Lily to intervene. He knew Lily would tell the mark everything about Barney and The Playbook. Finally, he knew despite his tainted character traits, curiosity about the scuba gear would force a one-on-one engagement, wherein Barney would fake a spiel about heartbreak, creating an eclipsing sympathetic persona with which the girl will happily identify with.
This episode included practically everything that makes How I Met Your Mother a great show. A plethora of idioms created by Barney, novel character interaction, jokes stacked upon jokes, engrossing storytelling, all five main characters getting hilarious moments, and a shifting, three-tier story timeline that rivals Memento in complexity. This episode easily ranks among the greatest HIMYM episodes, and makes me wonder what sort of wonderful the producers plan to air during Sweeps Week.
Well, there’s the bell. All right, class is dismissed. I’m not doing this every week, people. If you don’t start coming prepared to class, I’m going to start issuing daily quizzes.
