Looking for all the latest and greatest from MIPTV? Check out our conference-related news round-ups, updated daily! Want more? Hop over to the official MIP Blog for your MIPTV fix in real time.
Twitter Makes First Ad Move With Sony, Bravo – Twitter announces its first foray into advertising with partners, including Sony Pictures and Bravo, as it steps up efforts to entice brands and media companies to come onboard. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: The Animated Series, Disney XD 2011 – A new Spider-Man cartoon series is in the works and set to release next fall, says Marvel Animation president Eric S. Rollman.
Japanese Friend for Thomas the Tank Engine – Britain’s Channel 5 gives Thomas a makeover with a Japanese Engine & a new “computer generated look” set to launch in the UK and rollout in Canada and Tokyo later this year.
Fremantle widens search for formats – CEO Tony Cohen announces search for global formats; cites Japan (Hole in the Wall), Romania (Look Who’s Cooking), and France (Take Me Out) as growth area for the media company. Insights, Spotlights, and On Stage stories after the jump!
Looking for all the latest and greatest from MIPTV? Check out our conference-related news round-up, updated daily! Want more? Hop over to the official MIP Blog for your MIPTV fix in real time.
A Few Words From Doug Scott, OgilvyEntertainment President:
Starz teams with Electus for global drama – Starz CEO Chris Albrecht announced a partnership with Ben Silverman’s Electus, with two new dramas—targeted toward international audiences—in the works.
Comcast Entertainment Studios Open for Commissions – Comcast Entertainment Studios (known for producing such shows as Then and Now for ABC, Baggage for Game Show Network and Miss America: Behind the Curtain for TLC) announced its ready to produce on a global scale for networks looking to commission content.
Sony TV inks sponsorship for soccer doc – Sony Pictures Television and Castrol announce a brand partnership whereby the lubricant giant will sponsor How to Win the FIFA World Cup, a documentary examining the “Defense,” “Midfield,” and “Attack” modes of all 32 nations in the upcoming tournament.
Greenpeace doc announced at MIPTV – Deep Water’s Jerry Rothwell is set to direct a feature documentary on environmental organization Greenpeace (called How to Change the World) with Insight Production Company and Met Film, according to an announcement at MIPTV yesterday.
As part of its new activity schedule, MIPTV introduced a much anticipated new conference event: MIPFormats, a one-day business conference and pitching forum designed for producers, commissioners, buyers, distributors, brands and aspiring creators of breakthrough entertainment formats.
It’s that time of year again—flowers are blooming, winter coats have been tucked into the backs of our closets, sunglasses are out in full force—and 12,000+ movers and shakers of the global media industry are convening in Cannes for the five-day audiovisual and digital content extravaganza that is ReedMIDEM’s MIPTV conference.
For the last three years, Ogilvy has been a leading partner at MIPTV and 2010 is no different as the agency seeks to explore varied and innovative formats and channels for advertising while backing clients such as Coca-Cola and Unilever through contests and panels on site.
In support of Ogilvy's activities at MIPTV, TWEED will go international all week long covering:
-MIPTV Panels & Events -International Branded Entertainment News & Insights -MIP Headline Round Ups -Relevant Tweets & Top Videos
We raise our glasses to all of our colleagues at the Palais des Festivals this week, and look forward to the new wave of trends, ideas, and thought leadership that will surely come out of this year’s activities.
Seems New Balance is challenging viewers’ perspectives with its very own daily dose of modern (branded) interpretive videos. The short films featured on the sneaker company’s hub site are part of a new film project, art directed by Mother, which will showcase a new 15-30 second video daily in 2010.
This week we find out how IBM uses Disney World to get its message across, and why we’ll soon be seeing a show produced by Oprah about Oprah and her last Oprah show, to be played on an Oprah network.
With NBA All-Star Weekend only a week away, Adidas has created a viral video to promote the lightest-ever footwear and apparel lines.The video strategically encourages viewers to visit the Adidas website and YouTube page and gives an incentive for consumers to share.This genius marketing move allows viewers to watch a 30-second spot featuring NBA star Dwight Howard.When consumers share the content, they will be given more to watch.Building interactive content is difficult, but this strategy is sure to be a success.To watch your 30-second spot, click below.To see more, you know what to do!
I am a self-proclaimed Gleek. I- along with thousands of others- make sure my DVR is set every week to record the trials and tribulations of Will Shuester and his nerdy band of singing saps on Fox’s hit TV show “Glee.” And, sadly, now that it is on hiatus while “American Idol” rules the airwaves, each Wednesday evening I have nothing better to do but sit and ponder whether Rachel will ever get her big break, how Quinn and Finn are going to raise their baby, and why Wheels always wears suspenders.
For those of you who are sports fanatics, the Super Bowl is one of your favorite events of the year, if not the favorite.
And those of you who are not sports fans you will most likely still watch the Super Bowl for social reasons, or at least to see the commercials everyone will be talking about the next day.
One brand has opted to take the road less traveled, though, to focus on a more philanthropic venue for its cash in addition to spots during the game. Coke has launched a campaign intended to raise money for charity rather than spending it all on the Super Bowl commercials, with plans to donate $500,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Half of this money will be raised through a Facebook program linked to the Super Bowl. Consumers are encouraged to virtually gift a bottle of Coke to their friends. For each virtual bottle gifted, Coke will donate $1. The incentive to gift the Coke bottles online is the opportunity to see a 20-second preview of one of Coke’s Super Bowl spots. On top of this preview, the gift givers will be sent an exclusive pre-screening of the full 60-second spot at noon on Feb 7th, the day of the Super Bowl.
Simon Fuller, the creator of Fox’s “American Idol” is branching into the online realm with his new project “If I can Dream,” This new web-series will follow three aspiring actors, a model and a musician in their pursuit to try to make it in Hollywood. Their experiences will all be streamed live online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Viewers will be able to comment and leave feedback via blogs, MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. This “unfiltered and unvarnished” project will launch across multiple platforms: online, TV, radio, mobile etc. (An edited episode will also be available on Hulu.com weekly.)
What makes this web-series so unique is that the audience is allowed to pick the camera angle they watch from. The real time interactive nature of this project allows the audience to be closer than ever to the stars of the show.
To catch a sneak preview, check out the trailer below:
If you’re from Louisiana, as I am, the month of February brings promise of delicious King Cakes, a plethora of MoonPies (perhaps unfortunately), and several weeks of Mardi Gras parades and balls as almost the entire state gears up for the culmination of indulgence that is Fat Tuesday.
Those of us who grew up in the great Cajun state know there’s much more to Mardi Gras than the lecherous party that it’s often chalked up to be. Sure, there’s the initial shock of bead-hungry flashers (“Throw me somethin’, Mister!”) and intoxicated, Hurricane drinking tourists running loose one weekend in late February. But beyond the stereotypical debauchery usually associated with it, Mardi Gras is a month-long celebration that is actually pretty tame (the Krewe of Barkus, for example, boasts an annual pet procession through the French Quarter).
To help assert its more favorable qualities, Tabasco, Belo Corp. Broadcasting, and Zehnder Communications (a New Orleans marketing firm) have pledged to help “rebrand” the Big Easy festival to better align with its cultural and culinary roots.
When I saw this commercial for LG’s new smartphone and projector the other day, I immediately thought exactly what the skeptic voiced aloud in the ad: “There’s no such thing as a projector phone!” However, although his voice dripped with scorn and disbelief, seeing is believing—and the proof was right before his eyes:
For those of you who don’t know, this week is the annual Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The trade show, held every January since 1967, is where new products are announced and, in some instances, previewed. This year is record-breaking with over 330 companies unveiling the latest technology advances. Keep reading to find out what exciting products you can look forward to in 2010!
A couple of weeks ago, we posted the Time Inc. video demonstrating what a typical issue of Sports Illustrated might look like on the as-yet-unreleased electronic magazine tablet. The whole industry is betting on its success: on Christmas many a journalist was kneeling at church praying for not one but two saviors this year.
The video was unquestionably impressive- snazzy colors, fast-moving graphics, quality pictures, and highly customizable layout. It immediately occurred to me that such a product would be an easy sell to advertisers. But an article in yesterday’s New York Times’ Sunday Magazine made me reconsider one of the challenges advertisers may face given this new format.
This past Tuesday, our team member, Randa Munayyer, spoke on a Branded Online Content Panel hosted by New York Women in Film & Television at the New York Film Academy. The panel of industry leaders presented an overview of the current online advertising landscape. The moderator of the panel was Iri Greco, Independent Video Producer, and the panelists consisted of Adam Erelebacher, Co-Founder of Placevine; Melianthe Kines, Director of Online Media for IFC; Gary Nadeau, Independent producer, and Randa Munayyer, Senior Content Manager here at OgilvyEntertainment….
Macy’s already owns one go-to holiday staple, and this year it’s looking to create another.
The department store giant- already known for its Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City- has financed a new Christmas special called “Yes, Virginia,” which aired last Friday on CBS. Macy’s was promoted as the sponsor and subtly appeared in the special itself.
Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. have jointly announced that they have entered into an independent venture to develop a device that will allow consumers to read the digital publications on a tablet computer/electronic reader.
Although still in the development phase, this device could potentially challenge the Kindle, smart phones, i-Pods and other such devices.
In it’s new demo, Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell speaks about the endless possibilities that this hypothetical device holds.
Can you imagine a world if political speech had absolutely no boundaries? Every candidate would be schlepped off to court for countless acts of misrepresentation, accusations, fabrication, you name it. Everyone needs rules.
Today marks the day the revised FTC regulations go into effect. The update includes needed overhauls from 30 years of marketing, and more specifically the inclusion of social media and the refining of product endorsements. So pay attention everyone, a hefty $11,000 fee is attached for each offence, not your average price of a parking ticket. Even in NYC.
Gatorade, known to showcase the power and strength of professional athletes, has taken a new turn with its new docu-series that follows every-day athletes from rival high schools Easton-Area Red Rovers and the Phillipsburg Statelinesrs. Well, these athletes are not completely “every-day” athletes. They are 30-something year old rivals who after 15 years, have come together to replay a full-contact regulation football game in their hometown in front of a sold-out crowd. (10,000 tickets were sold out in just 90 minutes!)
On Sunday, November 29, at 9:00 p.m. Fox Sports Net (FSN) affiliates nationwide will premiere a one hour special on REPLAY Season One: the Easton Area Red Rovers vs. the Phillipsburg Stateliners.
People look forward to this time of the year. Not because of Thanksgiving-induced food comas, or 8 nights of Hanukkah, or even a white Christmas. People look forward to this time of year because it means they can go to Starbucks and order their favorite seasonal holiday beverages. After all, what’s better than sipping on a steaming peppermint mocha or gingerbread latte when it is forty degrees outside and you feel like you will never see the sun again?
This January, Los Angeles-based brand integration firm Brand in Entertainment (BiE) is holding an unprecedented live “integration auction” at Christie’s in New York City where advertising agencies will be able to bid for what BiE is calling “choice brand incorporation opportunities in a multitude of platforms including network television, online/Webisodes, graphic novels, films, plays, and more."
This is a pretty big break with tradition: usually branded entertainment deals take weeks or months of negotiations to put in place, with lots of research into who is seeing what brand where and how. That way the products usually don’t seem shoe-horned into a plot or too out of place. If you watch The Office, for example, you’ve probably hardly noticed that Michael and the gang all use Cisco phones. It just seems pretty natural.
And BiE isn’t talking about tiny little art films or local community plays here: the company is working on feature films- including one with Keanu Reeves entitled “Henry’s Crime” and one with Jessica Biel called “Unamerican”- and Broadway shows. This is high-profile real estate...
If you are an avid Ad Age subscriber, it’s likely that you saw yesterday’s “3 Minute Ad Age” clip featuring editor Jonah Bloom on “Marketers as Media Companies.” Bloom examines the trend and cites some of the best examples of branded content in the market today, including his “current favorite,” Grape Nuts’ The Guy’s Manual.
For those of you who didn’t catch it:
(And for good measure, videos—including “Landing a Date with the Cute Girl at the Office” from The Guy’s Manual—after the jump).
One Show Entertainment, the branded entertainment awards, is doing it again this year.
The One Club is gearing up for its annual One Show Entertainment in LA where they bring the best branded entertainment of the year to Tinsel Town. Last year's winners included some familiar names such as Scorsese, CAA and yours truly, as well as a few talented up-and-comers like @radical.media's Dennis Liu. Presenters included Mad Men creator Matt Weiner and director Brett Ratner, and this year's show on February 17th at The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theater promises to be even bigger and better...
As President of a branded entertainment agency, Scott Donaton wrote an article on AdAge where he addressed whether or not branded entertainment has a place in the magazine world. Based on his discussion, we summarized some points we find very interesting and added a few thoughts. Check them out after the jump.
This week we unveil the Christmas cheers from Gap that will likely be driving you batty by December 25th and what companies are vying for your Thanksgiving attention.
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) is in the midst of “The Best of Us Challenge” where viewers are challenged to out do their favorite athletes in out-of-the-ordinary and wacky activities. Viewers are encouraged to submit videos in hopes of not only besting the athletes, but also winning signed merchandise or a trip to the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Viewers could also create and submit their own challenge.
This campaign reaches consumers through multiple social media outlets: facebook fan page, twitter and youtube, which is the platform for the campaign.
If you think you beat Michael Phelps by hitting more than twelve 5-foot puts in 60 seconds or you can pick up and carry more tennis balls than Rafael Nadal in 30 seconds, check out these video challenges and submit your entries! (Off the record, I did beat Barbara Kendall in her challenge by drawing 34 smiley faces in 30 seconds—she got 24 ☺ )
(Rafael Nadal’s Tennis ball pick up after the jump)
With the premiere of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” right around the corner, Volvo has created a website, WhatDrivesEdward.com, where consumers can enter to win tickets to the premiere of the movie, meet the cast, and receive their very own Volvo XC60, the exact car that vampire Edward Cullen drives in the movie.
The new Volvo is featured throughout The Twilight Saga. It is apart of Edward’s character. The movie portrays him as an affluent teenager who drives the nicest car in the school parking lot. He rides in style, and he also happens to ride in a car that can go faster than any other on the road. Edward Cullen makes the Volvo XC60 look like a million bucks, similar to the effect that James Bond had on the Aston Martin. It is pretty much a guarantee that every teenage girl who sees the movie will be begging her parents for the same car that dreamy Edward drives.
In partnership with IBM, OgilvyEntertainment have successfully blended Branded Content with the Fourth Estate to create a new practice known as Brand Journalism.
In piloting this approach we purposely identified timely “new news” stories that also included a compelling contribution from IBM. Our research led us to Smarter Electricity Grids and Electronic Health Records; two topics that have recently been pushed to center stage in the public imagination and legislative arena.
In this week’s Flashback, we find out who Barbie’s godfather is, that yodeling can be a star-maker, and that Seth MacFarlane will eventually have a show on every night on Fox.
Last spring, Intel launched a very funny commercial featuring Intel employees fawning, swooning, and gushing over the co-creator of the USB, Ajay Bhatt, with the tagline “Our rock stars aren’t like yours.” Here’s the video:
But, brace yourself, because I’ve got some big news: the man in the commercial is NOT the actual Ajay Bhatt, pictured after the jump...
I had the great misfortune this weekend of sitting through Ricky Gervais’s newest film The Invention of Lying. And perhaps even worse, I was the one encouraging my friends to choose this flick over any of the others at the theater.
Who has the time to scour the Internet each day reading every little piece of breaking news about entertainment, branded content, and marketing? That’s why we’ve got the Tweed Flashback, bringing you the latest and most pertinent stories from the advertising world! This week we’ve got increasingly desperate housewives, more Barbie DVDs than you can fit in a dream house, and a new Google product that will allow you to never actually speak to someone in person again.
According to a recent ComScore study, “Online video reached another all-time high in August with more than 25 billion videos viewed during the month.” Google Sites dominated the charts with more than 10 billion videos viewed (YouTube accounting for 99% of the Google videos).
In tribute to YouTube blowing away Microsoft, Viacom and Hulu, yet again, we thought we’d share “The Hundred Greatest Hits of YouTube” in one hilariously funny video:
Topping the Viral Video Chart, this video mash-up has almost 1.5 million views to date.
Before I flipped from Desperate Housewives to SNF (Go Colts!) during the commercial break last Sunday evening, I was lured into watching Sprint’s new vignette, "Another Desperate Housewife.” (Yes, I admit I watch the show, however, I have to blame my mom for roping me into it.) After the vignette aired, I turned to my roommate: “Oh, this is for Sprint! I thought the show was still on!” Before realizing there was a Sprint tie in, we were both caught wondering who these new characters were!
In partnership with ABC, Sprint created a series of seven vignettes featuring a couple whose relationship unravels care of messages from rival lovers (featured, of course, on Sprint products). Each week, Desperate Housewives viewers will learn more about the couple and watch as their secrets unfold through a new vignette installment. The couple may even make a guest appearance on the actual show.
The steamy and scandalous tone, extending from the show to the branded vignettes, is no mistake on behalf of Sprint. In a recent Ad Age article, “Desperate Spokeswives: A New Marriage With Ads,” Stephanie Kelly (Sprint's entertainment media manager), was in full support of creating a seamless connection between content and advertising: “You want to be able to relate to viewers within the property they know and love and that they have a passion for…”
by
Alex Gulland – Creative Partner, OgilvyEntertainment London
Just over 70 years ago, in February 1928 Scotsman John L Baird – demonstrated the first transmission of human faces and other moving images by radio across the Atlantic.
He had succeeded in sending the "sound of a face" some three thousand miles from London to New York. I love that expression, don’t you? It’s the kind of thing a trendy, skinny creative in a shiny Soho agency would say: “Shall we have a ‘Sound of Face’ Skype call at 5?”
Finally, a reason to celebrate when the market flops.
Puma tasked Droga5 to create a digital campaign to promote the launch of their new underwear line. Introducing a new line’s probably not the best thing to do during a retail dry spell, not to mention who can forget David and Victoria Beckham as the reigning couple of the sexy underwear world?
The new campaign is very clever, and very simple – The PUMA Index - an iPhone application and online stock ticker where as the stocks go down, the models’ clothes come off, revealing just their PUMA Bodywear. Just choose a market, choose a model, and keep things light and happy.
We wouldn’t know either 1superviking.
Tired of looking at those negative red numbers on the stock tickers? Clearly Puma’s sick and tired, too.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Any technology that reminds me of a gadget out of Star Trek is immediately something I immediately embrace wholeheartedly. In the past, this mantra led me astray, as was the case when I bought a mini disk player, and—even further back—a Virtual Boy. Though, actually, come to think of it I should give the Virtual Boy some credit, it kinda was on the right track, albeit not very far along. I caught sight of MIT’s Sixth Sense , earlier this year and fondly remembered the old virtual boy – Nintendo might not have quite had the same intention as the team at MIT, but it certainly captured my attention for any and all things virtual reality and primed me for augmented reality. Sadly MIT’s Sixth Sense isn’t even on sale…
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
You might have come across Alternative Reality Gaming (ARG), Alternative Reality Storytelling (ARS) and the latest buzzing term Transmedia Storytelling. So what is it? What is it you ask?! Just about the most immersive way for you, me and whoever else to literally join the storyline of our favorite characters from film, television, comic books, video games and even brands across multiple platforms with evolving content...
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Although we are all overly aware of the growth of online video viewing, it always helps to have some statistical nuggets to back it up. Especially during this time of the year, when most TV shows hit their summer hiatus and we are all forced to deal with a barrage of ridiculous reality television (Dating in the Dark, anyone?), people are flocking to the internet to watch their favorite shows more than ever.
What could possibly cause Brazilian soccer fans and Argentinean soccer fans to put their differences aside and collectively enjoy their sport? Adidas’ new series of soccer videos seems promising. Buenos Aires based agency, Brandigital, launched a new digital campaign for three new models of Adidas soccer shoes, each featuring a different star player. The series of videos, one of which stars Brazilian soccer player Falcao battling Argentinean soccer player Buonotte in a juggling contest, has appeared in more than 60 blogs, web portals and digital-media spots. They have generated more than 400 comments, were embedded more than 50,000 times each, played more than 150,000 times (in less than a month) and have been seen by more than a million viewers. In just over 48 hours, the series of videos had more than 30,000 visits. A second video in the series stars Argentina’s “most acclaimed and controversial football players,” Riquelme showing off his dribbling skills while being “shot at with paintballs.”
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback
Some highlights from this week’s edition:
Julia Child: Chef, Author and Copywriter Biography, IMDb
Skimming through my go-to blogs, I found a fairly important study published recently concerning advertising rates on broadband and on air. The first article, CBS’ Poltrack: Online Video Could Be More Valuable Than Live TV, summarizes a breaking report compiled by CBS’ in-house research arm on landscape of online and broadcast content...
If you are one of 250 million Facebook users, odds are you recently received this message, or even passed it along:
“Facebook has agreed to let 3rd party advertisers use your posted photos WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. To opt out: Click on SETTINGS (located on top of page in blue bar, next to logout); Select PRIVACY SETTINGS; Select NEWS FEEDS and WALL; Select the TAB that reads Facebook Ads. There will be a drop down box; Select NO ONE. Save your changes & then PASS THIS ON.”
For over a year now, Disney CEO Bob Iger has been working to invest more heavily in the online space to cultivate engagement and build loyalty among users.
More recently, he announced Disney’s plans to charge for content online. The Mouse House is currently exploring a subscription model that would allow the company to assess users a monthly fee in exchange for content on a new website it’s developing. Iger explained that the pay-for-play site will offer users a “robust” membership experience similar to Disney’s popular kids’ sites Club Penguin and Pixie Hollow.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Everybody and their mother knows Harry Potter. Even so, in order to promote their latest film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Warner Bros raised awareness and increased engagement with the Harry Potter brand by launching a Twitter feature that allows people to cast spells on their followers.
Though my work primarily focuses on creating brand-funded video, I’m still a softie for print media. Fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, magazines – you name it, I’ll read it. Unfortunately, print’s lagged way behind video in providing innovative, captivating branded entertainment. With the most recent issue of GOOD magazine—riding on the coattails of Monocle’s earlier executions—it looks like there might finally be a viable model for brand-funded media in print and, perhaps, the first signs of a workable 21st century business model for a hard-hit industry.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Tuesday night Kodak made a special guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, kicking off a year-long branded entertainment and marketing partnership. The integration---which was executed by OgilvyEntertainment, with the help of the greater Ogilvy family---demonstrates Kodak's commitment to entertainment and communicates how Kodak is deepening relationships between friends, family and loved ones - only this time, through comedy.
"This, I tell you, this camera---it’s a take anywhere, anytime camera that delivers crystal clear pictures, that helps you create smiles by sharing your favorite Kodak moments.”
Check out screenshots of the entire integration after the jump…
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Walking the streets of New York City, you are constantly bombarded with various forms of guerilla marketing---whether it’s someone chasing you down the street or a message written in chalk on the sidewalk. Nike has taken the “chalk on the sidewalk” phenomenon to the next level. Deeplocal and StandardRobot have created the Chalkbot for the Nike Livestrong campaign in support of The Lance Armstrong Foundation’s fight against cancer. This innovative robot allows people to send 40 character text messages, emails or tweets to be painted on the road of the Tour de France.
In the video below, the Nike Chalkbot team answers the question, “What is a Chalkbot” and explains how the campaign uses the road as a canvas. Billions of people are able to see, experience and react with the words that are printed on the path. The physical messages allow the users to be more connected to the message and share their “hope, inspiration and encouragement” with the world.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback...
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Turn your iPhone into a 40-inch TV with the new Mili Pro micro video projector from PhoneSuit. Now you can project movies, video clips, podcasts and pictures directly from your phone!
Being a huge sports fan, I not only browse ESPN.com for the latest updates on scores, but I also find editorials about various players or teams fascinating. Last week, I came across a lengthy article written by Wright Thompson about President Obama’s affinity and passion for basketball and how it influences “Washington’s most influential.” The article, “The Power Game,” discusses how the most powerful political figures and businessmen are brushing up on their basketball skills to prepare for the slight chance that they will be able to ball with the President.
Baron Hill, democratic member of the House and Indiana high school basketball legend, expressed his interest, stating: “I stayed away from the game and here I am shooting hoops again. And it's because of him. If I ever have an opportunity to play with him, I want to be able to halfway get around that court well enough…”
(Doug Mills/ The New York Times)
President Obama presents a young and fresh approach to the White House and the presidency. He’s not only breaking down cultural and racial barriers, but he is also revolutionizing the way business is done in D.C…
I’ll come right out and say it: I’m a Taylor Swift fanatic.
While the 19-year old pop-country star has worked her way into the hearts of many a teeny bopper over the last two years, she’s also successfully crossed the divide into mainstream pop charts without missing a beat.
Swift’s second album, “Fearless” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums and, bolstered by her self-maintained (although expertly skinned) MySpace page (complete with amateur-esque YouTube videos) she has become the breakout country music princess of social media…
I admit that how and where Martha Stewart distributes her content isn’t anything that keeps me up at night, but it does highlight an important set of concerns for the future of content. Namely, who can charge for content, how much can they charge, and where can they charge for it?
Post Foods launched a new ad campaign for Grape-Nuts that targets its male consumers. As stated in a recent Wall Street Journal Article, “The cheeky campaign “That Takes Grape Nuts” includes a special Website on MSN with dozen’s of two-minute videos. “When you tackle something tough at work or at home, that doesn’t just take know-how—that takes Grape-Nuts.” Kenny Mayne, an ESPN personality, hosts the 50-episode Web series. Mayne comments on a variety of topics such as, “Going Bald Like a Man,” “Looking Cool Driving a Minivan,” or “Beating Your Boss on Every Hole.” “The campaign is a departure from traditional cereal advertising, which has been dominated by wholesome images of mom and the family breakfast table.”
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
In the past few years Mountain Dew has invested heavily in branding subcultures--including action sports and indie music with initiatives like the Dew Tour and Green Label Sound.
This month, the brand is launching a new product to appeal to online gamers—a line of drinks called “Game Fuel.”
Game Fuel’s labels are set to feature “World of Warcraft” characters, and are available for a limited time. The products will appear on store shelves this month (in two flavors: Alliance Blue and Horde Red) and has 30% more caffeine than regular Dew…
U.K. cable provider Virgin Media Inc. announced this week that the company will be launching an unlimited music download service—in partnership with Universal Music—set to offer media without copy protection to subscribers in return for a monthly fee. The platform, which is expected to come to market by the end of 2009, will provide users with the ability to stream and download as much music as they wish.
Subscribers will have access to MP3’s from Universal’s entire artist catalog—from the likes of Amy Winehouse, U2, and Elton John—and Virgin Media, in turn, has “agreed to take steps to reduce piracy on its network.” These measures, Virgin announced, will include suspending service of offending users.
With talks also underway with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV, and Warner Chappell (a division of Warner Music Group Corp.), Virgin hopes to reach additional partnerships that will ultimately broaden the service’s offering…
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Picking up a magazine this morning, I was stuck by rather anachronistic looking page 2 BMW advertisement: one full-page color image on the left and a few small photographs interspersed between a mini-article with actual paragraphs on the right. No wry slogans, no colorful charges, no radical page design…just one image on the left and a rudimentary off-white page with black text and spare imagery on the right. I read on, needing to know more...
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
“Narrative” can be characterized as the framework around the “creator” of an experience and the “experiencer”—writer to reader, advertiser to consumer, filmmaker to filmgoer. But narrative is *not* story. Narrative is the context through which story emerges.
Storytelling is the most commonly recognized form of narrative. Books, films, 0:30 spots, billboards, radio programs—all are storytelling narrative. The “job” of the creator is to tell a story. But what is the job of the creator of the game of chess? Or any board game? How about a sport, like baseball or basketball? An interactive advertising app? Or a full-fledged social media engine like Twitter or Facebook or Flickr? The job of the creator is *not* to tell a story. So what is their job?
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
If you haven’t seen vintage Bill O’Reilly cursing at his studio staff (“We’ll do it LIVE!”) or little David doped up after his visit to the dentist (“Is this real life?”), you might have been living under a rock for the last few years.
But let’s say you’ve already secured your spot in the viral video hall of fame. Where do you go from there?
See below, as infoMania’s Brett Erlich discusses how to tackle the “Sophomore Slump” in his “Viral Video Film School” series. (And for good measure, Tay Zonday’s “Cherry Chocolate” foray into cola endorsement after the jump.)
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
The headline says it all: “Yikes! My Mom Just Friended Me!” In his recent post on Ad Age, Marc Brownstein discusses the transformation of social-media sites such as Facebook. He starts off, “When my father and mother recently created their own Facebook pages, I knew social media was tipping.” As a senior in college, this is one of my biggest fears.
I have seen all the “faces” of Facebook over the past four years. What started out as the website to join to officially become a college student has now turned into a networking site where companies screen potential hires.
Reading Chris Brogan’s post from April 3 on the shifting impacts of advertising gave me pause. Inspired by a piece on Jeff Jarvis’ blog, Brogan contends that advertising is losing sight of its chief responsibility: informing the customer about the product. Furthermore, he takes a pretty direct aim at new forms of marketing by locating the heart of modern advertising’s undoing in one simple phrase: “entertainment overtook function.” Quite a claim, and an especially scary one for someone spending each and every work-day figuring out how to create entertainment tailored to brand objectives.
Conference Grapples with Emotion in Interactive Storytelling Thursday’s “Future of the Gaming Genre in the Next Interactive Landscape” [http://www.mipworld.net/index.php?pid=15&id=120] panel provided perspective on the next generation in gaming trends.
Nokia Announces Multi-Platform “Heroes” Project MIP Blog reported that Nokia has partnered with “Heroes” creator Tim Kring to develop the TV series across platforms. Niklas Savander (Executive VP, Services at Nokia) said the project, code-named TEVA, is still in its early stages.
Advertising Giant Sir Martin Sorrell’s Keynote Illuminates Multi-Screen Entertainment During his keynote on March 31, WPP Chief Executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, said Brazil, Russia, India, and China will be dominant forces in the global economic recovery and noted the increasing significance of developing content for mobile platforms and other new distribution channels.
MIP Blog reported back on a “Focus on China” panel (on March 31) which would provide delegates with tips on collaborating with television professionals in China.
Digital Creative Party Gathers Industry-Shapers at Carlton Industry leaders attended the Digital Creative Party at the Carlton Hotel on Tuesday night, and MIP Blog provided a recap of the evening—with details on the event’s speed meeting corner and color coded badge system.
From Leo Barraclough: -All Creatures Great and Small Barraclough spoke toThomas Hohenacker, the CEO-President of Telcast (a specialist media group) about the company’s latest multi-platform projects. -The Future is Written A piece discussing format, FRAPA, & ITV at MIPTV.
Exclusive Interview with Niklas Savander Nokia’s Niklas Savander discussed the company’s reception of the Pioneer Award at the International Digital Emmys on Monday, and the importance of networking in the content industry (for the creation of long term, sustainable business relationships).
Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Endemol, sat down with MIPTV’s video team yesterday as a followup to his keynote speech at the conference.
In his video interview, featured on MIP Blog, Kreiz calls MIPTV the “world’s greatest gathering of the television industry,” saying: “Everybody’s here.”
He goes on to discuss Endemol’s goals (in terms utilizing digital platforms and expanding into new markets in the Middle East, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America)…
MIPTV is the world’s largest entertainment, media and content market and trade event hosted at Cannes, France from March 30th until April 3rd. For one week all those involved with film, TV, digital, production and distribution meet, network and discuss current and future trends in the aforementioned industries. To get up to speed on MIPTV and the other MIP entertainment communities be sure to read MIP Blog: reedmidem.com/mipblog/
Ogilvy is also a proud partner of MIPTV for a third straight year. OgilvyInteractive and Ogilvy Digital Labs will be showcased at MIPTV as well as other Ogilvy speakers. For more information on Ogilvy-MIPTV events and partnership, check out: ogilvy.com/miptv/
To support Ogilvy's activities at MIPTV, TWEED will go international all week long covering: - MIPTV Events - International branded entertainment news/insights - Posts authored by Ogilvy executives who have produced great work for our clients.
Not enough MIPTV in your face action? Our very own Doug Scott will be sending Tweets on guest speakers, panels, and insights straight from MIPTV, so follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/OE_TWEED.
So kick-back, pretend you’re traipsing along the French Riviera, read our stories, follow our posts, we hope you learn something and as always, be sure to leave your comments and join in on the discussion.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
A big shout out to Phil Johnson for puncturing the absurdity of the phrase "doing more for less" in his small agency diary on AdAge. As he quite succintly puts it, "It's just a polite way to ask someone to suck it up and give you something for nothing. I want to ask people to be smarter and more innovative, not to work more with fewer resources and rewards."
No one doubts the need to be hyper-conscious of value when offering any service or product in the current environment. However, it might be a refreshing change if the potential for reward could be tied to the delivery of that value...
Two weeks from today, key leaders in the global entertainment industry will converge in Cannes for MIPTV 2009, an annual conference expected to bring together more than 14,000 representatives from across the media landscape.
Last Friday, MIP’s official blog featured OgilvyEntertainment’s Doug Scott as a guest writer, allowing him to give an inside look on what to expect from Ogilvy this year as well as his thoughts on brands “owning” versus “renting” entertainment…
Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.
TWEED GUEST EXPERT is a series of posts authored by industry experts to introduce various perspectives on the branded entertainment industry.
As we develop content strategies that include 360° marketing and activation elements for our clients, we often search for new distribution channels to engage consumers with branded content. The P2P (a.k.a., peer-to-peer) platform is becoming an increasingly popular tool for consumers to view and engage themselves with branded video content. We’ve recently had the opportunity to explore the concept of P2P distribution with folks from Jun Group, who has worked with top brands like Unilever, Nike, Kohl’s, and Sprite to produce and distribute engaging branded content via P2P networks as well as syndicate content to blogs, social networks, and viral video sites. We’ve invited Mitchell Reichgut, President of Jun Group author a post discussing key stats and advantages of P2P distribution and what brands should keep in mind about this emerging platform for branded content.
We’ve all seen ripped clips of “Saturday Night Live” and amazing sports highlights on YouTube. In fact, if you did a search, you could see clips from the Oscars moments after the live show.
If YouTube takes advantage of the potential advertising opportunities, it will generate undiscovered revenue. YouTube’s ads are mostly contextual overlays, a.k.a. normal, generic ads that have poor digital video streaming quality to them. It appears that this may change soon...
Last week I went to the Pratt Manhattan Gallery opening of “Broadcast,” an exhibit that explores the ways artists and consumers have leveraged traditional forms of media to make artistic statements since the 1960s. It’s a great demonstration of how mainstream media can be both upended and leveraged by people who, with a few tools and a mission, can tell dramatic, entertaining, grassroots stories that engage audiences and shift perception...
Over the past couple of weeks an 8 minute Nightline report has been doing the viral rounds. The video details Salma Hayek’s work with Pampers and UNICEF. The One Pack = One Vaccine campaign works to provide tetanus vaccinations for mothers in developing countries.
A recent article in Ad Age argued that the major broadcast networks are rethinking their method of programming.
In the past, the majors have claimed to feature a full year of original programming, yet they have essentially rendered the summer season futile – filling it with re-runs and second-rate shows. In recent years, however, cable networks have provided commendable competition by developing interesting new shows and successfully serving them up to audiences during the summer months (when the majors are most vulnerable). Year after year, as cable shows gain traction, cable networks continue to compromise the leading position that the majors have always enjoyed...
“At 11 o'clock on Thursday 15 January around 350 people broke into a choreographed dance routine in London's Liverpool Street Station for the shooting of a new advertising campaign by T-Mobile.” - http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/dance/
At over two-million views on YouTube (and counting), the T-Mobile Dance has sparked conversation across continents. Check out the official website to get a behind-the-scenes look at how this viral video was produced, with screen shots and additional links after the jump.
“[Brand integration] is one of the fastest-growing seg¬ments…The ability to bring some structure to it I think is overdue.” -Jack Myers, Analyst
With branded entertainment continuing to gain momentum in the advertising industry, PlaceVine, Inc. has released a white paper identifying and elaborating on some of the best brand integration practices in the business. In addition to providing these examples, PlaceVine argues that additional methods of communication and transparency among content producers within the sector would only serve to better integrate and activate this form of marketing.
See the paper, courtesy of PlaceVine, after the jump…
As part of its new “Refresh Everything” campaign, Pepsi launched a “Dear Mr. President” social media initiative to encourage people to share their thoughts on the new presidency. People were able to upload their videos on YouTube, www.refresheverything.com, and via web 2.0 banners. Celebrities like Eva Longoria, Jeff Gordon, Will.i.am, Lady Gaga (and many more) have all recorded their own video letters to the President.
Now if Pepsi can just get President Obama to view ALL the videos…
A disclaimer: I am a media person working with creatives—the duckling among the swans. I’m the professional wet blanket, the one with the pin threatening the beautiful balloon of the big idea with my questions about metrics and ROI. So here’s a media perspective. I believe that the walls are crumbling more rapidly than we realize.
OgilvyEntertainment combines the global resources of an integrated marketing agency with the creative genius of best-of-breed entertainment companies to create compelling content that produces real business results.
