Netflix and Spotify Ask: Can Data Mining Make for Cute Ads?

Netflix and Spotify Ask: Can Data Mining Make for Cute Ads?
Another says, “Eat vegan brisket with the person who made a playlist called ‘Leftist Elitist Snowflake BBQ.’”
But companies are also taking a bit of a risk when they turn those findings into marketing, whether through conversational social media posts or advertisements
from Spotify with lines like “Take a page from the 3,445 people who streamed the ‘Boozy Brunch’ playlist on a Wednesday this year.”
A message that one person might see as clever and unexpected can just as easily be seen by another as an ominous reminder
that Big Data is often lurking just around the corner.
“Behind the ease of being able to access video and audio content are very sophisticated customer surveillance
and analytics applications, and there’s nothing funny about that.”
Others scoffed at such concern last week, saying Netflix’s joke was harmless and noting
that people were complaining on a social media platform that engages in similar data collection practices.
People and publications such as AdWeek and AdAge called the campaign “amusing,” “playful” and “hilarious.” While
that has largely continued this year, there has also been criticism that some of the messages veer too close to making fun of users.