Ana Nelson

Scientists for Better PCR Is Not Funny

Bio-Rad, your song is not funny. In fact, it’s creepy. Let me guess, some marketing company told you it would be a good idea to make a video and stick it up on YouTube. Just look at EDS and those cat herding commercials, I bet they said. It’s all about web traffic, baby, sticky eyeballs. It’s a piece of cake, throw together a video, stick it up on YouTube. People love to have songs written about their profession. ZOMG they just said POLYMERASE in a SONG and it’s on YOUTUBE!!1! I’m not a geeky lab assistant any more, I’m COOL!! I feel good about myself!! I’m going to go out right now and buy a 1000-Series Thermal Cycler so I can continue to feel good about myself!

The EDS cat herding ads are funny. The Amateur Transplants are funny. The Rails Envy mac ads are funny. The what if business meetings were like blog comments videos are funny.

Sadly, some poor people seem to feel that your video is, in fact, amusing. So, maybe I’m just not in your target demographic of people who find saccharine, over-produced, trite, predictable drivel to be hilariously funny. I’m in the demographic of people who think it’s creepy to use a name like “Scientists for Better PCR” as though it were an independent organisation. I’m in the demographic of people who thinks it’s pathetic to try to be funny by committee.

And yes, I’ll be the first to admit that your video has probably already worked. Has probably already paid for itself. It just disappoints me to see opportunities like this gone to waste.