Social Media Experiment: American Airlines & John Legend

It all began so well. We were in the Meatpacking District on a fashion photo shoot. Next to us, in front of Hogs and Heifers, a New York dive bar, three guys in blue American Airlines t-shirts were handing out free concert tickets for John Legend & The Roots to those 'fans', who found time and location on AA's facebook page. So far so good. Word spread, a constant flow of frequent fliers came to pick up the tickets, and I managed to disguise myself as part of the in-crowd as well.

Two weeks later. Brooklyn. Williamsburg. Hipsterland. Getting off the L-Train at the Bedford stop, you could feel the cool factor coming. American Airlines seemed to have gotten this one right. A legitimate artist, the right location, some mystery surrounding the hunt for tickets - makes you feel special. Enter the venue. Crowd check. Style check. Positive. A nice mix of people. A good vibe. Surprisingly exciting for a Tuesday night.

The tension rises. The place is packed. The crowd is pumped up. Then, finally: stage lights on. Final sound check. The spot light pointing to the stage entry... the crowd gets louder... the stage door opens... and here he is - no wait, here he's not - who the f... is that?

Onto the stage walks a stocky guy in his mid-thirties, worn out blue jeans, square tip bulky black leather shoes, ill-fitted business dress shirt, the collar tips curled up, the top button casually unbuttoned, sporting a goatee and square black eye-glasses.

"Hello everybody! My name is John Smith (name altered by author), and I'm the Director of Social Media for American Airlines..." What follows are ten minutes of CAMS - Corporate American Marketing Speak. "... 10% off your next flight with the coupon handed to you at the end of the show...", "... make sure to tweet and post about this event on your facebook...", and so on and so forth. One could feel the cool vibe that had filled the music call being sucked out the door with every second he kept on talking.

Advice to American Airlines: If you pay John Legend and The Roots tons of money to have some of his vibe rub off on you, you should at least throw in a few bucks to pay a professional VJ, actor, or even one of those uber-cool Brooklyn hipsters to give the intro. Put them in skinny jeans if need be, add some Chucks to it, and for Christ's sake even a trucker's hat. Let him talk for two, three minutes, max. Keep the excitement level up. Mold the energy, before handing it over to Mr. Legend.

When the artist finally appeared on stage, one could read his thoughts in his eyes. To John Smith: "Yes, I'm taking your money. But I'm not going to bed with you. Now get the hell off my stage" To the crowd: "Sorry guys. I'll have my manager rewrite the contract so things like this won't happen in the future. Now let's play some music, and have some fun."

The lesson here: If you're a Director, stay in the background, and direct. Unless you have the talent, and the charisma of a Richard Branson, a Donald Trump or a Karl Lagerfeld, stay in the background, and hire a professional.

Oh, and that coupon, with the 10% off, I must have lost it somewhere. John, if you're reading this, would you mind sending me another one?