As it has gone viral over the last couple of days, Take This Lollipop has been causing a good deal of concern about the amount of information people share on Facebook – and has opened the debate on privacy to a wider audience.
Once a user clicks on the link and agrees to Facebook sharing the data (the same way you agree to use any facebook app), they are confronted with a disturbing and sweaty gentleman pouring over their personal details and photos, and even their home address.
If there was a brand protection brand behind it, it would be a very clever piece of viral marketing, but it appears it is more of a public service announcement (PSA) to get people thinking about privacy online – and it works. There’s nothing quite like watching a deranged individual enjoying your personal details to make you think yuou may have over-shared over the years.
In fact, the man behind it is none other than TV/digital/music director, Jason Zada, who is famous fpr creating the “Elf Yourself” Christmas app that puts your face on a singing and dancing elf and allows you to send it to friends with a Happy Christmas message – a meme that seems to pop up and entertain every year. The actor playing the person we all hope never to meet online is Bill Oberst Jr.