The age of the reality series is definitely here and now. MTV’s Real World and Road Rules truly launched American teens into a certified frenzy.
I can’t quite explain why watching people in their 20’s get drunk, fight and get arrested is quite so interesting but I have to say: Once I start I just can’t stop!
The shows are edited in such a way that they leave us begging for more. There is always a building tension or a naughty love affair and if we don’t watch nest week’s episode we’ll never know how it ends.
The Real World and Road Rules series both featured a cast of mixed genders – as do many of the reality series which have emerged. However now there is a cast of all females, who are creating drama and disruption on the air.
The Bad Girls Club is a reality show on Oxygen Network. The show follows seven women aged 18 to 30 who live together for several months in a LA (at the Bad Girls House). The women are continually filmed partaking in promiscuous activities at parties and in the Bad Girls house. They are also caught fighting each other over a variety of mundane things.
The reality series has a page on Oxygen’s website which is advertised during the shows commercial breaks.
The Website Features:
Biographies: There are links to biographical pages for each woman. These pages feature a brief description of each woman, and embedded media and links that highlight them. This includes pictures and videos.
Pictures and Videos: The pictures and videos show highlights from the show as extra scenes and confessionals from the girls.
Blogs: Each woman has a blog so their fans can follow them during and after the shows airing. Fans can post comments about the blogs as well.
Extras: This gives links to other means of following the “bad girls” including a link to the Facebook page. There are also games (Bad Girls Solitaire), weekly recaps, Bad Girls competitions for fans and registration to receive Bad Girls media via ones cellular device.
Message Boards: On the message boards fans can communicate opinions about the show and the women amongst themselves. Fans start forums and other members post comments and opinions.
An “About the show”: This section provides general information on what the show is about.
A Shop: The shop has a “Bad Girls Collection” which uses the girls as models for clothes, jewelry and accessories which they are featured in throughout the episodes.
Information on Casting: This link is opened at the end of each season so that new girls can apply to be on the next season.
Profiting from the Bad Girl Image
Bad Girls Club acts as a one hour advertisement for its clothing line and jewelry. It also features the girls drinking ONE water.
ONE water believes that clean drinking water is a fundamental human right and is engaging the media to raise awareness about a global water crisis. Bad Girls Club is oone if ONE waters outlets for product advertising.
The show has entered into its cross-production stage after successfully airing for four seasons and having a thriving online store. The spin-off to the series is entitled Love Games: Bad Girls Need Love Too and is similar to the dating show Real Chance of Love. It follows three former “bad girls” who are “looking for love.”
The new series is a potentially profitable line extension as it adds depth to the Bad Girls “empire.” The show is expected to keep viewers interested between seasons of Bad Girls Club.
The Bad Girls Club website does not incorporate enough of the new series on their page. There aren’t enough strategically placed links to information about the spin-off.
Furthermore, Bad Girls Club has been a featured topic on the Tyra Banks Show. Tyra Banks is potentially the next Oprah and what happens on her show carries alot of weight and provides alot of publicity (whether good or bad). The website fails to give links to the episode.
Bad Girls Club is a slowly building phenomenon. With the new series and the continued convergence between television and the internet, the production continues to grow. The websites e-store and the featured media keeps the Bad Girl image embedded in viewers minds. After all, who doesn’t like a Bad Girl?
