Bad Interviews Gone Animated

Golden Grahams. They've already been squared, toasted, kissed with honey and coated in brown sugar. After accomplishing so much, what could possibly be next on their bucket list? Could it be championing an underappreciated, yet growing, segment of the population? Or combining new media platforms in a way that's never been done before? Perhaps they’ll set out to provide not only entertainment, but a useful service?

 

Playing off the hot mess that is our nation’s economy, Golden Grahams seem to be doing all of the above by offering the public the Golden Grant Stimulus Package.

 

Before diving into this digital experience from Mekanism, let’s take a look at the insights that would convince Golden Grahams to turn their sugarcoated backs on conventional cereal advertising. I wasn't privy to any actual internal comings and goings, so here's my best guess at the thought process that might have happened:

 

1. The Unemployed, desperate to put off job hunting, are eager to kill time online.

2. The Unemployed, being unable to secure work, are probably horrible interviewees.

3. The Unemployed, forced to get by on a tight budget, prefer free sustenance to paid sustenance.

 

From these very insights, or something like them, the Golden Grant Stimulus Package was born. The site asks visitors to submit their worst interview story. For life loafers in need of fuel for their job search, there’s the chance to win 12 boxes of Golden Grahams. For couch surfers trying to turn a frown upside down, the site offers animated clips based on handpicked story submissions. Since Golden Grahams interprets and produces the content, the murky cesspool of user-generated content is avoided while maintaining the authenticity of real situations.

 

Story submissions are limited to 122 characters, making them perfectly sharable when combined with a link. Requiring submissions to be short and sweet keeps things simple for translating them into animations. Combining a Twitter-style feed with animated videos allows for different levels of interaction. Pink slip collectors can passively watch a few animated videos or actively submit and share their own story. This site doesn’t force the one-size fits all approach that can limit the reach of a social media campaign.

 

Aiming for such a specific target keeps the content focused and thus more likely to spread ("Wasn't Ted laid off? Send him this link. Loser.") as well as making it more tempting to participate ("Ooh, she thinks her interview horror story was bad? Listen to my shit!"). Here's one of the animations. It features an easily recognizable sketchy style, great use of awkward pauses, and limited VO that lets the animation breathe. It almost makes me want to experience an interview horror story myself. Almost.