Spinning Grasshoppers and Ants

I came across a video this morning that at first I thought was an inspiring message, calling adults to remember the creativity of their youth, and to unleash their inner entrepreneur to change the world.

Thinking this was quite fabulous as it tied into my own ideas about the power of creativity, I decided to investigate the organization behind the video.

With a slogan like, “Entrepreneurs can change the world,” and a request for followers to “join the movement,” anyone would think that there was a nonprofit empowerment-type organization behind the message, right?

Well, I was well and truly taken in.  The Grasshopper group turned out to be a media savvy business selling an “advanced phone number.”  Gotcha!

Feeling like a fool, but not done questioning the whole scenario, I started wondering why this group would even want to call themselves “grasshopper.”  Wasn’t the moral of the fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper, that the hardworking ant survived, while the grasshopper died because it failed to prepare for the winter?

Wikipedia to the rescue, I discovered that there is a whole world of variations of the ancient fable including:  ants showing compassion for the foolish grasshopper, a grasshopper eating the ant, or an ant suffering the consequences of working too hard.

I guess this business was channeling the notion of the grasshopper as the artist, serving a role that is as vital as that of the hunter/gatherer.

Well, I could get lost researching and discussing the nuances and underpinnings of possible interpretations, but I’ll save that for another article.

For now, it’s enough that I can share this experience with my children, pointing out how branding affects how we think about things.  That’s the important lesson here.

And, yes, media literacy learning is an ongoing pursuit.

P.S. For those of you who would like to share a media literacy lesson with gullible friends, consider creating your own viral video campaign using these tips from Amy Jussel at Shaping Youth.

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