Authenticity is king. It’s easy to know this is true by looking at the way everything from juice to cat food is advertised. Juice must come from “real” fruit, pet food is made with “actual” meat. Heck, even Miller beer knows this. They went so far as to brand their draft beer as “genuine.” It’s in the freakin’ title on every can.

And why not? I mean, the reason you pay $150 bucks a crack to see the Rolling Stones is that you want to witness the genuine remaining animated cadavers themselves lurching about the stage with your own eyes. If it was just about the music you’d see a tribute band for free at a Native Casino, but it’s the authenticity of the genuine article that allows those geriatric reprobates to continue touring.

Knowing this, any product or brand is obligated to make its personal case of authenticity because the more real or genuine something is the better it has to be. In a way this tends to mean ever more these days as we are subjected to so much unreality on a daily basis.

Our television and movies regularly feature things so impossible that we simply cannot trust our eyes any more. Magazines splash ads that have been so photo-shopped that nothing as pedestrian as a “picture” even exists anymore. Every ad we see is so scripted, so prepared, so flawlessly perfect that we have almost come full circle in now craving things raw or unpolished, if only to believe for an instant that we have finally found some kernel of truth in the world.

The current version of “truth” in advertising seems to come from the viral video. The “viral video” is created solely to be passed around from friend to friend or person to person in a manner that matches a disease but that in a way adds to the credibility of the video in question (Dude, you have got to see this!). It’s an ad pitch that is irresistible because it most closely approximates the power behind a recommendation that comes from a friend. And you’re way more likely to buy something if your buddy raves about it than some stranger.

As can be expected, Nike is right up front in this category too.

Kobe Bryant, who it seems has sufficiently dusted aside his personal scandals of late, is back with a brand new viral video that started moving just a few days ago. It’s raw, it’s fun as all get out and it’s so shamefully commercial that you just have to appreciate the boldness.

The video opens with Kobe looking into a video camera. We see his face full-screen as he shows us his hip new Nike shoe. It becomes apparent really quick that we are watching a single shot camera – set up on a tripod, unblinking – in a parking lot with Kobe and his buddies. His on-camera friend is ragging at Kobe. “Don’t do it, man” and “It’s crazy dude.” We still don’t know what’s going on. Kobe tells him to relax, to chill, that everything will be fine. Still on camera Kobe walks to the middle of the parking lot and yells for someone far away to come. He gets into a ready position and then suddenly jumps high into the air so an Aston Martin convertible can speed by underneath him. Kobe lands and everybody starts yelling and jumping around celebrating. It’s shocking, crazy and totally faked – but you’d never know it from the video. The video looks as real as anything you’ve ever seen those “Jackass” rejects attempt.

It’s made even more believable in that it’s an image most folks are bound to have of Kobe already. He’s a young guy worth a few hundred million beans – who would doubt for a second that he and his friends spend time hanging out and fooling around doing goofy stuff with expensive cars to impress each other? Plus we know Kobe sports a recorded 40 inch vertical leap so it’s not beyond the pale to think he could actually pull it off. This video could not appear more authentic if it tried.

But it’s not. It’s a fake.

You see, Nike will be releasing its all new Hyperdunk basketball shoe - endorsed by Kobe – slated to go on sale this July. To get the kids talking, Nike filmed this viral to show off their new summer must-have. You can see the video here at:

youtube

and judge for yourself. I won’t tell you how they did it other than to remind you that cameras have real issues with depth perception.

So does it matter that it isn’t real? I guess not. Even Kobe freely admits that “Hollywood” was responsible for his super trick. The viral is way cool and still worth showing to everyone you know, whether it’s horse-hockey or not. Still, I can’t help wonder if we will ever find a way back to real, genuine, true-blue authenticity someday.

Where’s a legend like Evel Knievel when you need him.