My roommate and good friend has been a dedicated listener and fan of The Howard Stern Show for 20+ years. We bought blinds for our house from an advertiser on his show. “Howard says…” is not an uncommon thing to hear around our place. I asked him once if he considered the characters from the show his friends, and he said, “Absolutely.”
I started watching the West Wing nearly 25 years after it debuted, I’m on season 7 and it’s a hoot to watch an election year during an election year. I text my boyfriend at night when he asks what I’m doing, that I’m hanging out with my friends. He knows what I mean. They’ve been my friends for a while now as I work my way through the seasons.
The Howard Stern characters are real people, the cast of The West Wing are not. This doesn’t mean that they are not our friends. Strong one-sided connections are made all the time. How many execs at Apple know all the loyal Apple fans?
Strong brands are created and followed and the followers know they are not followed back. They are okay with it. There’s enough in it for them. Quit being worthy though and all bets are off.
