American Idle: The Celebrity Machine

I wish American Idol would let you vote AGAINST some one. Bucky beat Ayla? And people actually like Ace?? I mean, come!! For real!

It definitely feels like the "success" of American Idol is getting to these kids quicker. When it first came out, in Season 1, everyone seemed pretty genuine at the start. But now we have contestants yelling "Let's make some good TV!" It flies in the face of the show's credibility as a real talent show.

(The self-reflexivity of that statement makes up for this, though. That line is a symbol of the media-savvy participants and demonstrates how the younger generations are becoming much more aware of their environment and the messages that shape their consciousness. But that's beside the point.)

The show created a system of celebrity, a structure/machine that spits out disposable media stars willing to put their faces across multiple media platforms for little-to-no money. They become cultural sensations for “15 minutes of fame” and get their images plastered on TVs, cell phones, even board games. In turn, the networks get a new stable of “stars” every new season that are willing to give away their images just for the chance to be famous.

Think of the show like a revolver. The hard part has been done, the infrastructure is already there. The show got popular enough to pull in a decent ad revenue on the show. As the demand for product got bigger, while still being offset buy a significant publicity and promotional budget, it was free to extend to other media formats (remember the board game?).

American Idol is a case study in the development and sustainability of media franchises. We live in an exciting time. While people used to go home and "watch the tube" all night, consumers are now more likely to surf the web, read a magazine, and chat on the phone...all with the television on quietly in the background. There is more territory for a multimedia brand to expand. And American Idol is a pioneer in this new media wilderness.