DigitalSpritz

Time Shifting the Super Bowl

Now, I will freely cop to the fact that when it comes to sports fandom, my heart belongs to basketball and tennis.  This is partially a reflection of time spent at my glorious alma mater, where football is kind of an afterthought.  And there's also my status as parent to a thoroughly-Angeleno daughter, who shares my affection for shirtless Rafa's, and who'd rather spend Sunday at the flea market than watch a footballl game.

Don't get me wrong:  I like football.  But when it comes to the Big Dance, I will 'fess up -- I'm in it for the commercials. 

The Super Bowl is still two days away, and I've already seen 1) The Honda "Ferris Bueller" commercial (extended edition), 2) the Elton John Pepsi commercial, 3) the Budweiser hockey commercial, 4) the Pepsi Max commercial with Regis Philbin, 5) practically everything else set to air. 

With all these commercials available online, I'm going to ask the obvious question:  Why pay $3.5M for a 30-second Super Bowl spot?  Is it worth it?

Well, yes.  But that may not remain true, unless more brands follow the footsteps of a curent crop of innovators, who are using the confluence of online video and TV broadcasting to their advantage.  The goal:  To extend the reach of those $116,6667 per-second broadcast investments with the free carriage provided by online media, and to provide a reason to actually watch a commercial during the game itself. 

Doritos, of course, jumped on the online video bandwagon a while ago with its annual "Crash the Super Bowl" contest that invites consumer-generated ad submissions.  The contest has proved so popular that this year Doritos upped the ante, adding Andy Samberg's Lonely Island crew to the mix.  The winner of the contest will not only receive $1M, but he/she will have the opportunity work with Lonely Island on a commercial project.  Excellent reason to look forward to the debut of the winning spot during the game. 

Coke has brought back their popular winter icons, the Coke polar bears, and has created a couple of commercials for possible airing.  The circumstances of the game will determine which commercial is actually shown. The ads will also be paired with an online stream at CokePolarBearBowl.com, which will show the bears in team colors reacting to the game. 

Volkswagen released online video teaser ad "The Bark Side" - featuring dogs barking out the Darth Vader theme from Star Wars - which has racked up more than 11M views on YouTube, and which provides a link to Volkswagen's actual game-day ad ("The Dog Strikes Back"). 

Mobile app Shazam has also jumped into the fray, enabling nearly half the commercials to be aired during the broadcast to be "Shazam'd" for interactive features and special offers.  [You actually don't have to wait until the game - I tested the app on the Teleflora commercial today, and handily received a coupon code for a "Secret Shazam Special."  Who needs some flowers?]

Has it really been only a year since Audi became the first brand to use a hashtag in a Super Bowl ad? 

For those who want to vote on ads, there are two other spots to participate in addition to USA Today's annual Ad Meter -- Mullen and Radian6's Brand Bowl 2012, and YouTube's AdBlitz.

Image from the San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

Pink, Inc: Komen's Social Media Bomb (And How It's Gonna Get Worse for Them)

2012 is barely four weeks old, and we've already seen social media kill SOPA/PIPA, inspire the launch of an investigation into U.S. military behavior in Afghanistan, create - and then destroy - a Presidential candidacy, and predict tonight's Grammy winners (guess we'll see how that one worked out in the morning).   This follows Occupy Wall Street, the Penn State scandal, the near-demise of Netflix, the creation - then destruction - of Herman Cain's Presidential candidacy, and, of course, the grandaddy of all social media-driven movements, 2011's "Arab Spring." 

You'd think people would know better. 

Nonetheless, the Susan G. Komen Foundation displayed a breathtaking lack of understanding of the power of social media this week, when they announced that they had pulled funding from Planned Parenthood, as part of a newly-enacted policy of not funding organizations that are "under investigation."

The keyboard sleuths immediately went to work.  The facts they uncovered:  1) The inciting "investigation" against Planned Parenthood was launched by a Republican congressman (Cliff Stearns, R-FL) under pressure from anti-abortion lobbies; 2) Komen recently hired Karen Handel as SVP of public policy, and Handel's resume is stuffed with conservative activity, including clearly stated opposition to abortion; 3) Komen's leadership has long-standing ties to the Bush Administration; and 4) Komen's top-ranking health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest of the decision. 

None of this, of course, is a clear indicator that the decision was related to Planned Parenthood's support for abortion. 

But then, the aforementioned Handel retweeted this on Twitter: 

The tweet was deleted shortly thereafter, but the game was afoot - and Komen has totally lost control.  

What Komen failed to note is that the group most likely to be afflicted with breast cancer -- affluent women -- is also the group most likely to support Planned Parenthood.  The same group is also among the heaviest users of social media in the country.  Komen not only antagonized their biggest base, but added fuel to the fire by failing to include social media in their communications strategy right from the beginning. My own Facebook feed is going wild, and absolutely none of it is positive for Komen. (My favorite story:  Daily Kos asks "Why doesn't Komen sever ties with Bank of America?")

Here's how it's about the get worse:  Tomorrow, in Canada, marks the in-theater release of Pink Ribbons, Inc, a documentary that has been hailed as an eye-opening examination of breast cancer fundraising.  Komen is squarely in its sights. 

First Run Features has the US distribution rights for the movie.  Who'd like to bet that everyone in First Run's offices is on the phone today, reworking the release schedule and hurrying the pic into theaters ASAP?  (Actually, Netflix or Amazon - you should jump right on this one ... are you awake?). First Run is also an indie distributor and - you got it - indie film lovers are huge movers and shakers in social media. 

Komen has already come under fire as an organization more focused on fundraising than an actual cure, despite their significant body of work.  They need a rescue, and fast.

Some suggestions:

1) Redefine - and publicize - their mission.  Separate breast cancer from other issues.  Don't conflate women's health with political footballs.  Women don't like it, and they control the purse strings, as well as elect public officials.

2) Sorry, but Ms. Handel should probably go.  She's now a liability, despite the fact that she may be a very effective lobbyist.  She can be just as effective as a contractor, rather than a staff member. 

3) Publicly state that Komen is undertaking a comprehensive, transparent review of ALL their partnerships, both non-profit and commercial.  Then actually do it. 

4) Create forums for discussion on this issue, and participate like crazy.  (Note:  I just checked, and Komen's last comment in their Twitter feed was 14 hours ago.)  A Google+ Hangout, a Facebook chat, a telephone hotline for leaving messages, even Nancy Brinker appearances on call-in shows ... anything to allow supporters to express their feelings before they become former supporters. 

5) Be prepared for a groundswell around Pink Ribbons, Inc. and have a publicly-stated point of view about the movie, preferably one that supports transparency and the constant re-examination of how an organization can best support its stated mission. 

Komen carries a lot of weight among women.  Otherwise, there would be no furor.  Openness, a bit of a mea culpa, and clear presence in social media could go far to help defuse this issue.  Otherwise, we could be listing Komen along with Newt and SOPA on the list of things taken down by the power of Interwebs at the end of 2012.  I, for one, would prefer to see Komen survive. 

 

Renaming the Kodak Theater

To me, no greater development has highlighted the new world order in the entertainment business than Kodak's blockbuster news today:  The company has asked to be released from the agreement that placed its name on the iconic theater where the Academy Awards are presented. 

If you've ever been in the theater, you also know that there's a small room  - the George Eastman Room - dedicated to the technical advances in filmmaking that were driven by Kodak, which as a company, has received nine Academy Awards. 

Those days are over.  But what's not clear is who's up next.  In a universe where the creator of a computer company became the largest shareholder in the world's most iconic movie studio, it's apparent that the next power player in Hollywood may just be based in the Valley - and by that, I mean Silicon Valley. 

So ... with that in mind, let's vote on some new names for the Theater-Formerly-Known-As-Kodak.  If you don't see one you like here, put your nomination in the comments. 

 

Online poll from GoPollGo