Archive for April 14th, 2008

LONDON — The gamble by U.K. terrestrial channel ITV1 to provide U.S. acquisition “Pushing Daisies” with a Saturday night peak-time showcase appears to have paid off.The first episode of the supernatural skein, which stars British thesp Anna Friel, achieved a 25% viewing share against tough competition when it aired Saturday.

“Pushing Daises” is the first U.S. buy to get a slot on ITV1, the U.K.’s most watched commercial web, in more than a decade and follows less than impressive viewing figures for such fare as “Millennium” and “The Practice.”

ITV’s head of acquisitions Jay Kandola said: “Of all the U.S. shows to come over to the U.K. this year, ‘Pushing Daisies’ has been the most talked about and now the most viewed.

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21 hits its second week at number one at the box office. A gifted 21-year-old at MIT needs money to pay for his early admission to Harvard Medical School. He gets recruited to count cards with a team of blackjack players who jet off to Vegas every weekend and cash in on their math genius. Ben Campbell is our big player, leading the double life of humble student from Boston and hotshot big spender (and winner) in Las Vegas. His dichotomy is also represented by the brands that appear in the film. As a student Campbell encounters Boston locals like Sam Adams beer, Republic Bar, Boston Language Institute, Harvard and MIT; his Vegas persona indulges in mega casinos like the Hard Rock, Rio, Mirage, The Riviera, and more. Aside from location/destination brands, we also notice the difference in the double life in the brands that he wears. In Boston, Campbell sports a Freitag messenger bag, Pony sneakers, Jansport sack, and drinks Bud Light. But in Vegas, he’s splurging on luxury items such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and La Perla.

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Lamborghini is the latest luxury automaker to market its features on iTunes, joining BMW, Porsche, Audi and others. The company launched a video series called “The World of Lamborghini,” which highlights features offered by the Italian sports car brand.Five video podcasts are currently available on iTunes, Apple’s online music and video store, and updates are scheduled throughout the year. The debut episode spotlights a personalization program for car owners, a series of three, 20-second videos called “Closer to the Road,” and over a minute-long video showing the Reventon version of the Lamborghini Murcielago.

Some automakers have used audio podcasts to detail features in their cars that owners may not be aware of. Others, like BMW, use the platform for interviews with executives.

Audi’s video and audio podcasts have performed so well that it continues to add to the lineup. For example, the brand is using video clips on iTunes as a way to promote its tie-in with the upcoming Iron Man movie.

One of Lamborghini’s videos, “Drive-thru,” shows a take-out food drive-up counter with a brown paper bag on it. A tanned, immaculately manicured hand reaches up and takes the bag, then the sound of a Lamborghini engine is heard.

“Lamborghini followers are a unique group that demands innovation driven by emotion,” Manfred Fitzgerald, head of brand and design at Automobili Lamborghini, said in a written statement. “iTunes will now be a portal for Lamborghini to share its . . . focus on design and performance.”

Lamborghini in January announced that it would set up a U.S. sales arm, although a location hasn’t been disclosed. A little over 40% of Lamborghini’s sales last year were in the U.S., the company said, or about 1,000 of its 2,406 cars.

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I HAD THE TV ON in the background when I was working last night. I caught some sound bite on how Kelly Ripa was going to be the new Electrolux spokesperson. Wow. I haven’t thought of that brand in ages. It reminds me of my parent’s pre-central vac. My initial thought was of being a kid having to do household chores. I always had to vacuum. After much hoopla I succumbed to the fact that I had to move and rearrange things versus vacuuming around them. I also remember it being heavy. When I thought about it some more, I recalled the price — a whopping $499.99 back in, oh jeez I don’t know, 1982? Not to mention, a door-to-door salesperson sold it to my mom. Times sure have changed.

I can’t say I watch “Live With Regis and Kelly” or that I am a fan. So I can’t really say if women will have a positive brand association with Ripa. However, I guess I am like most people that had no idea Electrolux made anything other than vacuums. I guess that’s what she is promoting.
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… Burnett helped pioneer product placement in reality television, which such shows as “Survivor” and “The Apprentice.” But as the entire point of “Jingles” challenges is to better sell a product, the show could take ad integration to a new level….

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A&E Television Networks’ History brands, which include the History channel and its Web site, have teamed up with the Library of Congress on a multimedia partnership that will encompass on-air and online content.

The partnership includes co-branded content on History.com as well as original specials and short- and longform historical documentary programming on the History channel. History also will produce a short film and new content for the new Library of Congress Experience, which opened April 12 in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building and online at myLOC.gov.

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NEW YORK — ESPN said Monday that its film unit would co-produce with Robert Redford and others a theatrical movie about Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier.

ESPN Films joins the biopic that Robert Redford has been working on for several years. Thomas Carter is attached as director. The biopic was announced in the spring of 2005.

Redford will play Branch Rickey, the team’s general manager whose vision it was to make the statement and whose teamwork with Robinson off the field made it successful. The as-yet-untitled film will be developed by Redford’s Wildwood Enterprises and Baldwin/Cohen Prods.

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Well, here’s something about reality TV that didn’t make me gag. Survivor mega-producer Mark Burnett has a new unscripted project, greenlighted by CBS, called Jingles. It’s a competition show in which contestants have to create tunes for products, commercial jingles. No mud wrestling, no unlocking keys to puzzle pieces the size of boulders, no eating slugs wrapped in wild boar bacon. This time it’s all about catchy melodies, clever hooks and lyrics that incorporate product info whether the products an erectile dysfunction pill or a new luxury car.

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Two-hour, two-week finale becomes three-hour, three-week event with break in middle; Grey’s cap also stretched an extra hour.

Lost must be feeling a little bit like its time-jumping Scotsman Desmond right now. It’s on one week, off for another few weeks, is getting rebroadcast with “enhanced” versions at other times–a bit confusing in the space-time continuum of television scheduling.

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IF 2008 ISN’T THE YEAR of mobile, how should marketers approach the medium that is expected to grow more crucial in the coming years?

Start testing, applying lessons learned from other digital channels and target early adopters who have been exposed to mobile ads. That’s the latest advice from Forrester Research on gearing up for mobile marketing before it goes mainstream.

In a new study, Forrester reports that 83% of marketers believe that mobile will become a more effective platform over the next three years. But at present, consumers’ lack of familiarity with the format remains a barrier. For instance, only 7% of mobile users trust ads on their cell phones.

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