Social Investing, Social Marketing, and Gossip Girl

I was recently catching up on Gossip Girl (an American TV show that I absolutely adore) and to my surprise they have made an attempt to mirror and connect with the real world by weaving in stories about the economic downturn and the financial challenges that people face. And, during one recent episode, a character by the name of Gabriel seeks out investors for his wireless access initiative for the developing world and BOP communities. I was absolutely pleasantly shocked. There were clearly spoken scripts, with the character, Rufus, saying "doing well by doing good." And the main star, Serena (Blake Lively) jokes about giving the "poor" the ability to post on Gossip Girl.

This probably went in and out the ears of most, but I was excited about two things: 1) the mention of rural access initiatives and the idea of giving the BOP access to sites such as social networks and 2) the mention of social investing.

As a former student and colleague of Jay Winsten and a general fan of social and cause marketing, especially when woven into mainstream media, I wonder: who is behind the scripting? Did someone sit on set, as Jay Winsten did, and coach the writers and actors about the concept of social investing and it's allure in the current economic climate? Who inspired the inclusion of the ideas in the show, how did they hear about the ideas, and who made the final decisions about their inclusion? I'd love to see more of this happening across mainstream media. Just as in public health we try to get people to adopt healthier behaviors through such modeling, perhaps we can do the same to get more people interested in and excited about the concept of rural access, social entrepreneurship, and investing in social entrepreneurs.