YouTube Summer Blockbuster Film Promotions

Promotions for Will Ferrell's soon-to-be-released movie, Step Brothers, are just another confirmation of YouTube's power. Not only does Ferrell and his co-star, John C. Reilly, open the promotion speaking directly to the YouTube audience, but they also introduce a new contest asking viewers to post their favorite scenes from the movie. It's a straightforward approach to keep the buzz for the movie going after opening day. Simple and smart. Naturally the main part of this video includes a promo of the movie.

While we're on the feature film promotion topic, take a look at the amount of content on YouTube about Dark Knight, the latest chapter in the Batman Series, which just opened Thursday. The Warner Brothers PR team has been working overtime trying to get the message out to the core teen audience who have been going to screenings of the film at all hours this weekend. Here's a different Dark Knight piece posted on YouTube interviewing film watchers, and some diehard fans willing to dress the part (unbelievable - don't get me started on Trekkies). The Dark Knight buzz in the teen and young adult audience was so strong that the film has taken top opening weekend honors grossing $155.3 million to edge out Spider Man 3.

The Heath Ledger story line here remains a strong, albeit sad one - his performance is said to be commendable. I'm ready to see the film ... can't wait to see it once the theatre lines subside.

Makeup for the Video Production Camera

CNN anchor Sean Callebs is a great friend. I was his producer. Alas Sean had one extremely annoying habit: he enjoyed torturing me on air. He was also a huge flirt. When I finally reached my tipping point (at lunch time), my revenge was often to point out the fact that he was wearing makeup to the cutest girl nearby. It worked. They would take a second look and see a man wearing a LOT of makeup b/c he was made up for work. Not that there's anything wrong with men wearing makeup!

The point here is that video and film do not see makeup the way the human eye sees makeup. An incredibly smoked up room will often barely look smoky on film. The art of makeup in television is rarely subtle. Enter the HD camera and now aging actresses (and actors) who have been relying for years on film tricks like silks (they soften the light and fill in those rascally nooks and cranneis) now must get their makeup spray painted prior to going on camera at the academy awards.

While the consumer loves the HD (high definition) cameras, the on camera talent does not because these HD cameras see everything... spying into those little age lines, wrinkles and smile lines never seen by prior generations of cameras. According to a recent Trendcentral, story, cosmetic makers such as Christian Dior, Smashbox and Cargo have now introduced every day lines of cosmetics that are HD friendly. So rest easy the next time you are out with Paris Hilton partying and the Paparazzi starts to swarm, if you are wearing the right makeup, the HD camera is going to love you!

Watch Now, Watch Often.... Pure Beauty

Dancing with the Universe is one of those videos that you need to watch every morning. You will surely be seeing it everywhere if you haven't already. It was posted June 20, 2008 and it already has been viewed a million times. What's so beautiful about it? What makes it so effective? It's a simple idea, yet it works in every culture, on every point of the earth. So please, take a second out of your busy life and watch this video, and then watch it again when you are stressed out. Where the Hell is Matt?

Advertising

Beer. It's an advertising favorite. We all have seen the Bud Bowl and the Miller ads, but the creativity doesn't stop at the US border. Here's a wild beer commercial -- done for Guiness. Not sure how much they spent on this little puppy, but it wasn't cheap. While I think it's quite original, I am left wondering why this is a beer commercial? Answer -- we have to remember that in Europe they play it subtle. Tag line makes sense -- good things come to those who wait, but I would not hand this commercial a Golden Lion. But, as I always stress, when it comes to recognition. what's important is -- did it drive traffic or sales... did it achieve it's objective?

The campaign has been around for a while, and boy does this advertiser spend money. We don't see their ads much in the states, but they are very original. Just click around YouTube for a while and you'll see.

Here's an all time favorite.... Guiness: Rhythm of Life.

Making sense of the Online Video Jungle

If you are unenthused by the content your remote control's finding, your keyboard might be the a better fetcher, but where to begin?

Today TED announced that 50 million of its talks have been viewed on the web, with over half being seen outside the U.S. borders. So what's it all about? Well here's a list of the Top 10 TED talks. Great stuff. TED's most watched talk has been viewed by 2.5M viewers to date and features neuro-scientist Jill Bolte Taylor, who had a stroke and understood what was happening as it all went down. So who else made the Top 10? Were they celebrities? I believe only two are recognizable names -- Tony Robbins (Why we do what we do) and Al Gore (Averting a climate crisis). Great stuff here.

But just how do you sort out all the online content? There is no TV Guide-like solution, or is there? Well here's a half step from, you guessed it, TV Guide. But, mind you, this is all about traditional TVs crossover with the online viewing universe. Here's another one from Yahoo.

Here's a rather confusing site called OV Guide. Hard to look at but they are packing a lot of info in there.

But on the Internet, you would expect a smarter way to do the traditional stuff listed above and here it is, brought o you by a big name from the Rock & Roll world has a new beta site that offers help making sense of the cavalcade of online video choices. Rocker Peter Gabriel has helped launch a new site called The Filter... which uses smart technology to help you find content you care about. It uses an intelligent platform (through ranking evaluations) much like Netflix to help narrow down the areas of online content that you like and therefore might like in the future.

Finally, here's a neat musical video from YouTube. Nothing brilliant, nothing earth shattering about it... but it's good listening. Hip Hop Violin.

Get watching.

Click Here for a Ride on the Emotional Roller Coaster Amigo

Let's look at some videos and then examine the emotions they create, as well as which are most memorable. We'll start with some funny stuff. You'll see why soon.

The first two are a little racy friends. The first one is built off an old joke. Keep Your Trojanz in the Car

No surprise that this one -- a contraception commercial -- was banned. DUREX

This one will tear your heart out. I am reluctant to share it for fear that viewers will 'kill' the messenger, but here it is. NEWBORN -- I think this one is for a life insurance company, just like the next one.

WARNING, this one's another heart wrencher. More Time - Japanese Life Insurance Spot

Let's finish with a lighter piece to drive the point home. Levis - High Speed Change (UK)

So, are you tired? Which of these commercials was most memorable? Probably not the funny, lighter videos. The heavy ones are really draining. I have seen them probably six times now and it doesn't get any easier. They exhaust me. The emotional roller coaster is one name for the ride you just took if you watched the NEWBORN or MORE TIME. That doesn't mean your brand needs to take a heavy, emotional ride, but remember, emotion is what works on film and video... not PowerPoint slides.

Great Commercial & Great Golf, Sketchy Video

Every once in a while the commercial gods come up with a spot that makes you proud to be an Amercian. Look for a lot more of this during the Olympics. Anyway, I ran across this old favorite in my archives... it's called the "Quiet Commerical" created the much embattled beer maker, Anheuser-Busch. It's pure beauty.

If you watched the U.S. Open yesterday playoff this past Monday between Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods, you were gifted with an amazing match. The big question is what did you actually see on the web? For most of my watching time the video and sound were dramatically out of sync by as much as 30 seconds or more! Clearly MSNBC could not handle the viewing burden, although the PGA site fared a lot better keeping the video and sound in sync in real time. It will be interesting to see the traffic numbers for the site... not everyone could take the day off yesterday.

For golf lovers make sure to check out some technique PGA video tips on the site.... good stuff. I hope to put them to work this weekend!

It's all about the Message

You may be tired of hearing about the Harry Potter phenomenon and the incredible success of the tale's creator, JK Rowling. Well before your eyes glaze over and you click on to the next story, watch her commencement address to the Harvard graduating class of '08 and tell me you are not inspired. Watch Part II on the additional clip as well!

So what does this tell you? First off there's more to this lady than I understood, and secondly inspiration is about the message. Her words, your words, my words -- speaking from the heart -- that's how we make video and film special. Capturing those special moments and translating them into powerful, inspirational video. The magic of the words is at the heart of great video, and then the reinforcing layers come from great pictures, sound and the skill a great editor brings to the game by assembling them all seamlessly.

Where are they watching video online?

So who scored more than 50% of online video viewing sessions in April of '08? It should come as no surprise that they are flocking to Google's YouTube, but 50.4% of the market? That's a BIG number. Perhaps not as much as the +70% of ads in the online universe that are served up by Google. Anyway, as Google gains in month to month figures over March of '08 (up from 48.1% in March of '08), who are the also-rans in this universe, and what kind of viewing numbers are they pulling down? In the #2 spot in online video viewing sessions is Yahoo with 8.2% of the market (April of '08), down from 8.5% in March. Then comes Fox Interactive Media at 6.6%, Microsoft at 4.1% and TimeWarner at 3.6%.

What amazes me is that only one of the networks even ranks in the top 5! ABC was #7, CBS Interactive #11 and Hulu (NBC and FOX) at #14. No doubt about the fact that the online video universe is not run by the traditional TV media world.

Network News -- Just a Memory?

The headline for a Recent post on the Pew Research Center Site reads ---

Is Network News Signing Off?

Many Journalists See Uncertain Future For Nightly TV Broadcasts and Fault Current Coverage

I missed this article by Carroll Doherty, Associate Director, Pew Research Center for the People & the Press dated April 15, 2008. Here's a link to the story

I think that what's next might be some kind of online version of network news. The next frontier might be to simply move the whole shooting match online.

And while we're on the network news topic, where's the good news these days ladies and gents? Between Burma's cyclone, Chinese earthquakes, world rice prices skyrocketing along with that of oil, and our '08 prez election, there's not a whisper of good news to be found. I guess there's always the Onion -- good stuff.

Alec Baldwin All Time Insult / TV Reviewing

On 60 Minutes tonight, Alec Baldwin was interviewed by Morley Safer about his mouth, his career, his failed marriage with actress Kim Bassinger and the infamous recording of his frightful attack on his daughter. He was asked about his ex-wife's lawyer whom he called a "300-pound. homunculus with a face like a clenched fist. " He retorted by saying, "I was being kind, Morley." Baldwin's colorful career has definitely been quite a ride.

Looking for a good place to find something to watch on TV tonight. Checkout David Bianculli's blog, TV Worth Watching. David reviews Television for NPR's Fresh Air program. You can also see his take on the 60 Minutes segment above.

One TV reviewer I certainly miss is John Leonard whose colorful and thoughtful segments used to be regular fare on CBS Sunday Morning. But with the loss of one great mind, comes the addition of another, Bill Geist. Bill is as about as nuts as journalists come on TV, so don't miss his latest walk on the wild side. Whether he's buying an Oscar, visiting the psychic capital of the world or visiting bikini clad baristas, Geist is clever and entertaining and able to find stories that would make Sunday Morning's original host, Charles Kuralt, chuckle with delight.

Great Idea - Great Execution - Great Cross Platform Campaign

How do you make an ordinary product memorable? Tie it to a great idea. You may have spotted Lincoln Financial Group's new ad campaign which is basically, Meet Your Future Self. In the commercial present selfs meet 'future selves' (think Back to the Future). I found three commercials on YouTube. The sound is out of sync on the Plane, and there is a noisy interlude on the Nursery. The third one is called ER, I got the old raised hair on the back of neck with one of them.

In each commercial the future self gives the today self' advice, thoughts and compliments about planning for the future and future planning well done. It's simple, elegant and fun, driving home the message about what life can be like in the future - if you save. The LFG web site has a campaign companion which further fleshes out the idea -- what if you could speak to your futureself.

This is strong creative work, and it will be interesting to see how this concept plays out on their bottom line. The site upsells all the services offered by LFG in a smart, compelling, and easy to understand way.

What Streaming Video on News Sites is Telling You

The quality of video streaming on the web is improving on a weekly basis. Watching the election results last night was almost like watching live TV. A few glitches and halts, but on the whole I turned the TV off, yet I felt like I was watching it on my computer. I bounced around between various network newscasts and found that it was easy to watch the election highlights on the net. This morning I watched highlights of Tim Russert's appearance on TODAY (they are getting better at the cross promotion stuff) and then listened to a series of stories about the flooding in Myamar/Burma.

What all of this tells us is that the newscast format is alive and well on the web, and that there is no reason that it cannot be applied to numerous storytelling applications for clients. A newscast (or some version of it) doesn’t have to cost a lot, and it can stay on top of the changing communications and marketing needs of clients. No pun intended, but this is a communications tsunami looming, and the sooner clients get on board, the more ahead of the curve they will find themselves.

More Video Production Thoughts and Comments

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Thx,

CB