Kittens Attack Desktop to Promote TNT's 'The Closer'

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While we certainly don't need any more useless widgets clogging up our precious and limited laptop memory, apparently some do and Crew Creative, with work for TNT's The Closer, is filling that need with downloadable desktop kitty in a nod the the show's lead actress Kyra Sedgwick's reluctant affinity to kittens. To wallow in desktop cuteness, click the kitty on the lower, left-hand side of the site.

While we've never watched the show, our two seconds of research leads us to believe this show is watched by an older crowd, not exactly the crowd which loves to clutter it's desktop with functionless widgets. We could be wrong. We could just be in a cranky mood right now. Or, we could be completely clueless and this cat will become the Internet's next Star Wars Kid.

by Steve Hall    Feb-22-06    
Topic: Cable, Desktop, Promotions



Guinness Brewmasters Open St. Patrick's Day Season

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Continuing its "Brilliant" campaign, Guinness has launch a new commercial, called Dance, promoting the St. Patrick's Day season. Yes, it's a season, now, not just a day. In the ad, the famed Brewmaster's dance a rendition of an Irish step dance until it becomes too mch for the floor to withstand and they figure they're better off just drinking a Guinness. The spot kicks off this weekend on cable networks such as ESPN, USA and F/X and continues through St. Patrick's Day March 17.

The "Brilliant' campaign has 11 spots in it so far, each one featuring the goofy but enjoyable-to-watch Guinness Brewmasters. The campiagn and this Cance commercial were created by BBDO New York.

by Steve Hall    Feb-18-06    
Topic: Cable, Campaigns, Commercials, Good



HBO's 'Big Love' Gets Wedding Cake Love

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To promote HBO's upcoming series, Big Love, a drama starring Bill Paxton which centers on polygamy, HBO online agency Deep Focus sends along a unique, in-house promotion HBO is doing that places little signs promoting the show atop wedding cakes in display windows of bakeries. Pretty nifty if you ask us. See a close up image here.

by Steve Hall    Feb-13-06    
Topic: Cable, Good, Outdoor, Specialty



MediaCheck Expands Commercial Effectiveness Metrics

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When we wrote last summer about the test launch of The PreTesting Company's MediaCheck, a passive, digital television commercial viewership measurement service, we knew a new world of television viewership was upon us. Following a test launch in 2,500 Omaha homes, MediaCheck plans to have its measurement service in 35,000 homes in up to seven cities. The company is also in talks with cable operators to embed the system within set top boxes. Bye, bye archaic program ratings measurement systems. Bye, bye Nielsen. Hello commercial viewership metrics that will allow buyers to properly price television buys.

Responding to Strawberry Frog's Scott Goodson who said metrics such as MediaCheck could "rob commercials of edgy creative," AdJab's Chris Thilk took the words right out of our mouths writing, "You're [Goodson] the problem. Advertising is about selling, not entertaining. If you want to entertain go to Hollywood."

by Steve Hall    Jan-22-06    
Topic: Cable, Good, Research, Television, Tools



Oxygen Gets All Sexy On Us

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It happens to the best us us. We come up with a great idea. Get all high and mighty about how we're not going to be like everyone else. We promise not to sink into the gutter and use all the tired, old tricks to attract attention. We vow to be virtuous and laud ideals and intellectualism over insipidness. Then it happens. No one watches us. No one's heard of us. Our primary competitor towers over us and we are lost in a sea of television stupidity. Do we continue to stay the course? Do we try to beat them? No, sadly, we throw in the towel and join them.

After playing second fiddle to Lifetime for so long, Oxygen just can't stand it any longer and is pulling out the trump card of last resort: sex. Rather than rise above the misty-eyed success of Lifetime with higher brow offerings, Oxygen network has joined the titillation crowd with offering like "Talk Sex With Sue Johnson" and its new series, "Campus Ladies," a show that will somehow make the scenario of middle-aged, suburban women going back to college and frolicing with undergrad hotties funny.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jan- 4-06    
Topic: Cable, Opinion, Trends and Culture



Consumer-Generated Content Hits TV, MTV Continues IE-Only Stupidity

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The Wall Street Journal reports MTV's VH1 will, on January 13, launch "Web Junk 20," a show featuring video clips found on MTV-owned iFilm. MTV hopes the show will drive viewers to the company's online channel, Vspot. Unfortunately, as with other MTV online efforts, Vspot does not work with Firefox and visitors using that browser are met with "We're Sorry. PC Users with Netscape, Mozilla or Firefox: you need to run Internet Explorer to use VSpot." Idiots. Those most likely to be interested in Vspot content have a clue and those who have a clue use Forefox, not IE. Please get a clue, MTV and screw your deal with Microsoft.

by Steve Hall    Dec-31-05    
Topic: Cable, Online, Opinion, Viral



MSNBC Launches Largest BlogAds Buy

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MSNBC, today, launched the largest BlogAds buy ever according to BlogAds Founder Henry Copeland. To promote its digital day this Wednesday, MSNBC purchased ads on 800 weblogs, including Adrants, more than the Audi BlogAds buy of 286 last spring. From online affairs to porn to bizarreness caught on tape, MSNBC will take a close look at all things digital.

Unfortunately, the page the ad points to isn't very clear on exactly what MSNBC is trying to accomplish. There's all kinds of bloggy stuff on the page which is, perhaps, the point but there's not much emphasis given to the shows being promoted. That may be besides the point as MSNBC knows all 300 bloggers will go to the site, perhaps read a few of MSNBC's blogs, write about what they've read, link back to them and, poof, dramatically increase traffic to MSNBC's blogs. Oops, we just took the bait.

by Steve Hall    Dec-10-05    
Topic: Brands, Cable, Creative Commentary, Weblogs



Lost Sock Street Posting Promotes SciFi's 'Triangle'

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The sidewalks of New York are always filled with interesting postings, odd imagery and, yes, ads. Bucky Turco spotted one of those "I've lost my cat" type postings on a street pole which turned out to be a promotion for Sci Fi's new show, Triangle. The posting shows a picture of a sock with the headline "Lost" and provides tear off tags with a link to nothingstayslostforever.com, a promotional site where visitors can enter a sweepstakes to win a home theater system, a television and an Xbox 360. Actual "lost socks" with the logo were placed in various laundromats too. Cunning created and executed the promotion.

Turco didn't like the Xbox tie in but we think the over all promotion is intriguing enough to warrant notice and create awareness of the show. Only time and Nielsen will answer that question.

by Steve Hall    Dec- 8-05    
Topic: Cable, Guerilla, Poster, Promotions



Nip/Tuck Gets On MySpace Train

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Apparently an avid viewer of FX's Nip/Tuck, Bucky Turco points out FOX has tapped into its own network of 25 million MySpace users and has created a profile for "The Carver."

by Steve Hall    Dec- 7-05    
Topic: Cable, Guerilla, Online, Trends and Culture



HBO Eases DVD Gift Selection With 'Good Gift Seeker'

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To help move DVDs of its series and to make it easier to select a Holiday gift for that special someone, HBO has launched The Good Gift Seeker. Created by Atmosphere BBDO, the microsite asks people to select who they need a gift for, the personality type of that person and that person's hobby. Once that info is provided, the Good GiftSeeker selects the HBO series DVD that best matches the intended recipient. It's fairly straight forward. After all, there's only so many ways to move DVDs.

by Steve Hall    Nov-27-05    
Topic: Cable, Online