Introduction
Fyre Festival, directed by Chris Smith, is a documentary on Hulu that investigates the unsuccessful Fyre Music event produced by Billy McFarland and American rapper Ja Rule. The festival was supposed to occur in April 2017 on the Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas. However, it was fraudulently advertised on social media by several celebrities, including Emily Ratajkoski and Kendall Jenner (Baggs, 2019). The event promised hundreds of people a lavish, once-in-a-lifetime experience and was one of the greatest frauds. The film is considered highly credible for its in-depth examination of the event, with many reviewers praising the filmmakers’ efforts to tie together a complicated topic from different angles. It includes interviews with a number of people who participated in the festival’s organisation and implementation, as well as participants who witnessed the festival’s devastating outcomes first-hand. The objective of this review is to evaluate the shortcomings of the FYRE event and identify the reasons that resulted in the event’s catastrophic ending. This work is divided into two primary sections. The first section covers the marketing principles employed in the documentaries, while the second section discusses the marketing and consuming practices’ implications.
Contemporary Marketing Concepts in the Documentary
The documentary interviews event planners, festival participants, and industry professionals. It features interviews with festival personnel, participants, and others associated with the event’s preparation and operation, providing behind-the-scenes insight into the causes of its collapse. It emphasises various concerns, such as the abuse of unpaid labor in the Bahamas, the lack of preparation and planning by event organisers, and the influence of social media on contemporary marketing tactics (Cohn, 2019). Nevertheless, the film omits some topics, such as the participants’ involvement in fueling the festival’s excitement and the absence of responsibility for those who marketed the event. The film mainly serves the participants and the broader public, adversely impacted by the festival’s demise. The documentary concludes with a critical analysis of the festival, focusing on the marketing themes used to advertise the event, including celebrity culture, social media marketing, and ethical marketing techniques.
Celebrity Culture
Celebrity culture has existed for several decades and has risen to prominence in marketing. Celebrity endorsement is a marketing approach that employs a celebrity’s reputation and image to advertise a business or product (Kaltura, 2022). The documentary demonstrated how extensively event promoters depended on endorsements from famous people and social media influencers. Numerous prominent celebrities and social media influencers received reimbursement to post about the event on Instagram, boosting buzz and curiosity among young individuals who wished to live the luxurious lifestyle portrayed (Ayres, 2019). The engagement of celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, and Bella Hadid in promoting the event on social media helped the festival’s atmosphere of exclusivity and luxury (FYRE, 2018). Later, it was discovered that a number of these influences were uninformed of the festival’s actual character and the terrible preparation that preceded it.
Ethical Marketing Practices
Several fascinating aspects led to the ethical dilemmas in this instance. The root of the problem is Billy’s choices and the same character trait that first persuaded young people to purchase costly tickets. In this circumstance, Billy thought he was above the law and that stealing from clients was required to support himself (FYRE, 2018). Throughout the process, he was always looking for methods to deceive others to make up for earlier financial responsibilities and shortcomings. Billy himself displayed a number of characteristics that made him an obsessive liar. His past unsuccessful business endeavours were founded on his fervent desire to succeed and be acknowledged for his contributions. He seems to have started engaging in minor acts of dishonesty as things began to go downward (Prentice, 2019). The falsehoods eventually became too significant to be hidden at some time due to this tendency. The documentary raises several additional issues, such as whether the workers were conscious of the ethical infractions occurring at work and whether they were concerned about losing their jobs if they reported the violations.
Implications of the Marketing and Consumption Practices
Individual freedom is affected by the Fyre Festival in the near term, especially because of how the internet and celebrity culture affect individual decision-making. Many festival-goers were attracted to the event by the glitzy pictures and footage they viewed on social media platforms, yet they did not conduct their study or engage in critical reasoning. The event’s planners faced severe legal and financial penalties, and participants were left trapped on the island without adequate lodging, food, or water (FYRE, 2018). Numerous locals lost their employment as a result of the festival’s environmental devastation, and the neighbourhood as a whole suffered greatly. This demonstrates the necessity for improved media awareness, critical thinking abilities, and the value of individual accountability in making wise decisions (Ayres, 2019). The festival’s planners also seriously harmed the island’s nature and local people while putting their interests and financial gain ahead of the security and welfare of its visitors. There may be long-term effects on the local society and the world.
Conclusion
The FYRE event’s flaws have been assessed in this critical review, along with the factors that led to the event’s disastrous ending. The video showed how many event planners relied on celebrity endorsements from celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner. Moreover, Billy McFarland’s harsh decisions and dishonesty toward the consumers were the cause of the issue’s core. The video raises several other questions, such as whether the employees were aware of the unethical behavior taken on at work. Participants were stranded on the island with no access to proper accommodation, food, or water, and the event’s organizers were subjected to harsh legal and financial fines. In addition to significantly harming the island’s natural resources and inhabitants, the festival’s organizers prioritized their financial interests above the safety and well-being of the island’s guests. Nevertheless, the video offers insightful information that may be used in future festival planning initiatives since it is crucial to put the well-being and security of attendees above the desire to produce a spectacular fashionable event.
Reference List
Ayres, L. (2019) Fame and false advertising: the fyre festival fraud. ACFE Insights. Web.
Baggs, M. (2019) Fyre Festival: inside the world’s biggest festival flop. BBC News. Web.
Cohn, W.H. (2019) ‘Council post: how social media led to the rise and fall of the Fyre Festival,’ Forbes, Web.
FYRE: The greatest party that never happened(2018) Directed by C. Smith. [Film] Web.
Kaltura. (2022) Celebrity endorsement: how to use a celebrity for your campaigns and events [+ examples]. Web.
Prentice, R. (2019) Under Fyre – Ethics unwrapped. Web.