How Elmo and Katy Perry may have fooled us all

You know, I really think we might all have been had over this Sesame Street, Katy Perry story. Surely the whole thing a stunt dreamed up in unholy alliance between the show’s producer and Google’s YouTube.

Consider the evidence:

- Elmo is waving at us from the YouTube logo today, to drive traffic to the site’s Sesame Street channel and an “exclusive interview” with the character.

- That interview includes not one but two plugs for Moderator, a bit of Google technology for soliciting feedback and questions from web users.

- Moderator is not aimed at 3-year-olds. It is aimed at the sort of tech savvy folk who get whipped up in a viral sensation.

- The only thing more likely to generate a viral sensation than a video of a half-naked Katy Perry singing with Elmo is a video of a half-naked Katy Perry singing with Elmo which has been dubbed TOO HOT FOR TV.

- Sesame Street is produced by people whose job it is to know what is appropriate for kids TV.

- Sesame Street is publicised by people whose job it is to know how to generate a viral sensation.

- The statement announcing the supposed cancellation of the Hot N Cold parody concluded by saying: “Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube.” Note, it didn’t say “on the internet” or “on the singer’s website”.

A conspiracy theory of Ahmadinejadian proportions? Maybe.

But whenever I start to worry that I’ve become too cynical in my old age, I just go for a beer with people in marketing.

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• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HAKI362E5MRMOCCQM7XWNNPNOE Network woman

  Sesame Street turned ghetto.

• ViatcheslavISobol

  Not for much longer. Ours is a very resilient and dynamic society constantly readjusting and reinventing the strategy depending on circumstances. Go USA!

• BrunoDiderot

  She gets banned because of showing cleavage.

  But Elmo runs around with no pants on ! Yikes . . . Double standard, here . . . ?