Did you know dogs love to say curse words? I didn’t either until a dog told me himself. No, I don’t hear dogs talking to me. But a new approach for Vid Angel, which is a service built to filter language and content from shows and movies via streaming brings a hilarious approach to marketing a service that otherwise would scream SAFE SPACE. The concept is that though you never realized it, all that barking would make 80s Eddie Murphy and Howard Stern blush. And one dog, in particular, does not want his humans to be corrupted unsuspectingly.
The idea behind Vid Angel sort of fills in the space between streaming and the almost old-fashioned traditional TV network airings of popular movies. Do you remember when movies would start with a message that the film had been edited for content and formatted so that it would fit on that square TV when it was originally seen on a giant rectangular screen? One of the most unintentionally funny things I ever saw was the first 5 minutes of Harlem Nights, which featured foul-mouthed Red Fox, Eddie Murphy, and gnarly a cast of characters cussing up a storm. But since it was on TV they kept saying things like forget you, you stupid buster!
That all happened because the public airwaves (Radio and Broadcast TV) are regulated by the FCC and there are standards that have to be maintained. If they are not, a station can lose its license and be fined. Streaming services on the other hand are not regulated at all. While Showtime once reserved its adult content for the late-night it is available 24-7 via its on-demand streaming platform. But it doesn’t have to go that far to leap past a family’s basic standards. PG movies from the 1980s turn out a lot more lude than you might remember when you want to sit down with your 8-year-old and see an old favorite. Streaming, even freely available ad-supported fare can include nudity, violence, rape etc.
Vid Angel allows viewers to fill in the gap between what is out there and what they want to see. It acts as the editor that the networks used to, without having to turn modern films into little squares. And now they are bringing humor to the table with a dog, who has seen too much. By approaching a service that could otherwise be seen by some as over-protective with humor it explains itself without sounding like it’s wagging its finger at you like a Sunday School teacher. See the ad for yourself and try not to laugh.
