Broadband Jungle Blog

Online movie marketing: Religolous and Tropic Thunder

Terrific review of several viral marketing initiatives for new movies by Tamara Krinsky on the IDA's new Documentary.org. All campaigns use very clever yet completely fake online communities to get the message across. First up Bill Maher's new documentary Religulous for Lionsgate.

Looking for cynical, snarky news and views on religion? Check out www.disbeliefnet.com, a parody of beliefnet.com that is part of the campaign for Larry Charles' (Borat) Religulous. Site features include outlandish true stories related to religion, an interactive map detailing happenings in holy religious cities (Britney Spears plays Mecca!), parody advertisements (Burka Barn, North Phoenix Baptist Family LIfe Center Ice Rink) and an RSS feed from "The Heretic Press."

Here's the trailer.

This summer's comedy contender Tropic Thunder is using a similar strategy: According to Krinsky, it's on the mock viral offshoot Rain of Madness site where the good stuff is buried Apocalypse Now style.

In addition to Tropic Thunder's official site, the Rain of Madness site features German-born (fake) filmmaker Jan Jürgen's account of the making of the (fake) movie-within-the-movie. Follow that? And the campaign for Dark Knight started over a year ahead of the film's release with a variety of secret sites, contests and viral elements.

Here's an example:

iWidgets - Socialize your Brand

Ever wondered what would happen if Facebook applications weren't so damn expensive and so hard to produce?
What if any advertiser, media company or even the tiniest non-profit had access to a widget-building service to get their message out?
And not only on Facebook and MySpace but onto every social networking platform, blog, video community, dashboard or website destination?

Too good to be true?

iWidgets recently released just such a tool into public beta, and apparently made quite a stir at Facebook f8 last week. No wonder really, considering the lineage: The brains behind iWidgets is Silicon Valley veteran Peter Yared,  formerly CTO at  Active Grid,  Sun Microsystems and Net  Dynamics. The refreshingly opinionated founder assembled quite a team to provide the first  application builder that handles smoothly like Photoshop and puts native widget technology into the hands of every power user with a story to share out there.

"iWidgets is about giving you the ability to rapidly produce, publish, and promote engaging interactive widgets for your customers with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface. iWidgets takes full advantage of the features of destination platforms, such as profile information or social graphs, so you can mix your website's data with your customers' social data and maximize the experience."

If you still need help figuring out the need for widgets, read up on these apps in a comprehensive article Peter wrote for Business Week.

Check out this informative video tutorial and then quickly build your own!

Google Content Network rolls out Seth MacFarlane original series

In a novel approach to both online advertising and original content distribution, Google announced a new project with Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the animated series Family Guy. The web-only series entitled Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy will be distributed exclusively through Google AdSense.

An article by Brooks Barnes in the New York Times today outlines the innovative plan:

Google will syndicate the program using its AdSense advertising system to thousands of Web sites that are predetermined to be gathering spots for Mr. MacFarlane’s target audience, typically young men. Instead of placing a static ad on a Web page, Google will place a “Cavalcade” video clip.

Almost too subversive to be true: This could be a very effective way to get original content seen and monetize at the same time. Google calls the new service Google Content Network.

Advertising will be incorporated into the clips in varying ways. In some cases, there will be “preroll” ads, which ask viewers to sit through a TV-style commercial before getting to the video. Some advertisers may opt for a banner to be placed at the bottom of the video clip or a simple “brought to you by” note at the beginning.

Creator Seth MacFarlane receives a percentage of the ad revenue as part of his deal.

But the partnership with Mr. MacFarlane represents a bold step into the distribution business, one that, if successful, will surely send shock waves through the entertainment business. “Cavalcade” is not only from a high-profile Hollywood talent, but also carries a multimillion-dollar production price tag, by far the largest amount spent on original Internet content to date.

Derrie-Air Ads

My favorite genre: The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News ran fake ads last weekend for Derrie-Air, introducing a new concept of ticket prices for air travel: Pack Less. Weigh Less. Pay Less.

I'm particularly drawn to the politically correct carbon-neutral lingo mixed in with the carefree assault against our heavier fellow travelers.

'Welcome to Derrie-Air, the world's only carbon-neutral luxury airline, where you don't have to choose between living the high life and saving the planet.
The magic comes from our one of a kind "Sliding Scale"—the more you weigh, the more you'll pay. After all, it takes more fuel—more energy—to get more weight from point A to point B. '

Fabulous work: I can hear the copy editors laughing all through the weekend, apparently even the paper's disclaimer didn't save some innocent Sunday morning readers from confusion.

Here's the story in Editor & Publisher by Joe Strupp.

E&P's follow-up if you like to follow the story and its flaring debate about the campaign's ethics ...

Discovery Networks warms up to rebrand

Early word about Discovery Networks’ re-branding and relaunch effort expected for October. SoCal based 72 and Sunny just won the account.

 

Gregory Solman in AdWeek: Discovery Picks 72andSunny

The Discovery brand "is still caught up in the intellectual space," Dan Bragg, (client vp and creative director at Discovery,) said. "The brand itself is not as heartfelt as our programming. So the marketing will try to move the brand to being more culturally relevant and more emotionally engaging."

Glenn Cole, partner and creative director at the El Segundo, Calif.-based agency, said the rebranding push would "speak from a place of enthusiasm as opposed to the point of scholarship."

Added Greg Perlot, agency partner and strategic director: "We have a feeling that the culture is in a really curious place right now. It's interested in adventure, experience, the planet itself and stewardship of it, so we'll position Discovery at the center for those who are curious."

Yahoo's Steve Mitgang new Veoh CEO

Has Dmitry Shapiro's pioneering VeohTV broadband network finally found who it needs to  turn into a portal that really matters? Niche talk is on.

Abbey Klaassen writes in AdAge: Yahoo Veteran Looks for Veoh's 'Great Business'

Steve Mitgang arrived at Yahoo via its Overture acquisition in July 2003. aBut now as Veoh CEO, he believes there's a big business in online video advertising. That is, if marketers can figure out how to target the intentions of viewers.

Ad Age: Why has it been so hard to create a viable business around online video? It seems to be wildly popular among consumers.

Mr. Mitgang: According to the reports, YouTube only sold $30 million in ads last year because they didn't build a system to support ... that healthy tension between editorial and advertising. They just didn't build it.

The flip side of understanding those user behaviors and recommendations is for targeting purchases. We can say, look at the car enthusiasts ... [these ones] are primarily interested in German cars or muscle cars. Being able to tell that to the brand manager of Mustang or Mini, we'll be able to help them better than anyone else. Whether watching user-generated or premium content we'll help target against the right users.

BudTV

Yes, they finally launched and once you make it past the velvet ropes in the form of a strict age verification process, you’ll reach the promised land of broadband television, ca. 2007. Looks like AB did everything right here, BudTV will quickly represent a new quality standard for any type of original content on the web, whether it’s sponsored, ad supported or re-purposed.

Lorne Manly explores this new phenomenon at great length in this in-depth NY Times Magazine article:

“Bud.TV may be a marketing venture at heart, but it is marketing sotto voce. The shows’ plots won’t revolve around the quest for the perfect beer and a beautiful woman to share it with. Characters won’t declaim the virtues of Budweiser’s freshness at every opportunity. The site won’t be cluttered with banner ads. Anheuser-Busch executives are banking on a more subtle connection. Attach a brand name to something cool, something entertaining, and that elusive young man (and to a lesser extent, young woman) may check out Bud.TV’s offerings again and again, send them along to friends, even take a stab at creating his own minifilm for the site. Cultivate that warm, fuzzy feeling about Budweiser, and the company may cement the loyalty of the existing customer, or better, woo the uncommitted or hard-to-reach drinker to a Bud Light or a Michelob or a Peels malt-liquor beverage.”

Forbes on YouTube

Your future’s so bright, you’ve got to wear shades? If anyone, that’s YouTube’s wunderkind-CEO Chad Hurley smiling from the cover of the October issue of Forbes. The old school flagship runs with seven (!) articles on the Internet video phenomenon.

Video Fixation is the cover story by Scott Wooley, and he recounts the fine line Hurley and partner Steve Chen have been treading on their way to becoming broadband revolutionaries.

You Tube for Grownups by Cesar Suero has all the stats and provides a map to navigate the site for the uninitiated. More than Words examines the fledgling video search industry, while Can YouTube Grow Up And Stay Cool? by Peter Kafka deals with licensing issues and upcoming solutions like the arrangements with Warner Music and NBC.

Broadband Brewers—Bud.TV & Man Laws

Something’s fermenting among America’s mainstream mega-brewers, and the full flavor would do a micro brewery proud: Miller is scoring big with its self-deprecating Man Laws round table TV ads that found a permanent home on Miller’s broadband player. It can’t hurt that the guys are wrangled by non other than Burt Reynolds, according to Miller “possibly the best loved Man icon of all time.”

Annheuser Busch wetted their broadband appetite during last season’s Super Bowl with a dedicated micro-site designated to ‘big game’ commercials and related branded content.

Rumors were flying high immediately that America’s favorite Lager would eventually roll out a branded multi-channel broadband player, but it took until September to follow up with a formal announcement.

Scheduled for the day after Super Bowl 2007, the brewer will launch a full-blown broadband network with 8 channels of original content. According to AdAge, this is how they intend to monetize their $60 million player:

“Bud.TV will be the largest piece of an online budget that will command 10% of the brewer's $607 million media largesse, said Tony Ponturo, VP-global media and sports marketing. He said the bulk of the spending would come at the expense of prime-time and late-night TV.”

DDB, Chicago apparently packaged much of the channel content that includes footage from the A-B sponsored Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy tour, viral clips and ads, collaborations and contests with Kevin Spacey’s Bud-sponsored TriggerStreet community and a Matt Damon / Ben Affleck created broadband version of Project Greenlight, billed as the world’s largest online filmmaking contest.

For the broadband era, Bud.TV would be the first time a corporate entity sets out to start a competitive network to package compelling content while peddling their ware. Modern day sponsors obviously left a lasting imprint on programming since the dawn of network television. A-B’s commitment, however, seems to be a watershed moment by bringing together a new generation of advertisers with content creators and in front of a hungry (and thirsty) audience at exactly the right moment in time.

Could it be that the brewers actually succeed and do a good job at it?

Kate Moss, agent provocateur

Talk about super-rich media: Ubiquitous Kate Moss stars in a four-part web movie by Academy Award nominated director Mike Figgis. Produced for British lingerie maker Agent Provocateur, the cinematic foursome is called “Dreams of Miss X.”

Dream 1,‘Shadows,’ features the supermodel in her first speaking part as Miss X. She’s quite convincingly narrating a disturbing dream while walking around an eerily deserted mansion wearing Agent Provocateur underwear. Once word got out about the steamy one-reeler, the ensuing groundswell of excited traffic brought the label’s website to a quick crash.

Having previously created Timecode, one of the first movies shot on mini DV that received a theatrical release, Figgis is no stranger to new technologies. An extensive interview with the director is also available on the micro-site.

Dreams 2, 3 and 4 are scheduled to launch November 1, January 1 and March 1.