The Black Eyed Peas have taken over MySpace in an effort to improve its social entertainment offerings.
Hijacks is a project that involves allowing celebrities — like the aforementioned Peas — to “take over” MySpace. Fans will have the opportunity to learn more about these celebrities’ particular interests, while also receiving access to new products and exclusive content.
So in the case of the Black Eyed Peas’s MySpace Hijack, fans can do things like play a new 8-bit game, view the band’s featured playlist and learn more about chanteuse Fergie’s love of Italian fashion house Emilio Pucci. Non-MySpace users will be able to view some of the content from the hijack, but actual MySpace membership is necessary to receive access to items like a limited edition Black Eyed Peas badge. This promotion is taking place just a little more than a week after the Black Eyed Peas released their last disc, The Beginning.
Next week, Jack Black will take over with his own hijack for three days, shortly before his next film, Gulliver’s Travels, hits theaters. More as-yet-unannounced celebrities and musicians will be participating in the program in 2011.
MySpace SVP Sam Wick says Hijack is designed to use the “power of celebrities” — especially global ones — to introduce the social network’s audience to a deeper content experience. He views it as a chance for users to check out the site’s new content hubs and topic pages.
“The way we think about it is, in essence, as the virtual equivalent of Saturday Night Live,” Wick says, pointing out that celebrities typically do such programs in order to promote a project. “But it’s really a personification of who they are — and we look at it in the same way. So the artist is really deeply involved in the programming aspects of Hijack itself.”
The program’s being promoted both on MySpace and off — for instance, anyone visiting the Black Eyed Peas Facebook Page will view a tab informing them about Hijack. Wick says a number of celebrities, like Chris Brown, have tweeted out information as well.
Hijack has launched just a little more than a month after MySpace first announced plans for a completely overhauled design, with the intention of being “the leading entertainment destination that is socially powered by the passions of fans and curators.”
