Archive Index: May 2006
Archive: May 2006
Want Free Virgin Mobile Cell Phone Minutes?
Just Take A Minute To Learn About Pepsi
The trials of the advertiser these days... With so much clutter out there, it's getting harder and harder to break through and reach those desirable 18-34 year old consumers. Putting ads in video games has already become a big business for marketers looking to reach the younger demographic. So what's next ad frontier? Maybe cell phones.
Virgin Mobile announced this week that it will launch a new promotion giving cell phone users up to 75 minutes of free talk time per month in exchange for viewing an ad and sending the advertiser a text message. Xbox, Pepsi and the anti-smoking campaign truth have already signed on as initial sponsors.
As Media Life Magazine noted, "Virgin is betting that its cell service's young-skewing user base, 65 percent of whom are under 30, will be just broke enough to go in for the free minutes but not too broke to buy an Xbox."
Check out the full story here.
YouTube: Where Home Video Goes to Thrive
Cheap(er) camcorders and digital cameras with video capabilities have made it easier and easier for people to play filmmaker these days. But where do all those cutesy home videos and amateur skits wind up? Increasingly, they're landing on the Internet...and with a substantial following.
An article from today's San Jose Mercury News examines the rise of YouTube, the popular video sharing-site:
"YouTube and other video-sharing Web sites signal a shift in the way entertainment will be made and consumed in the future. They're creating a new form of television that's at once personal, grass-roots and unfettered.
With the emergence of technology for easily sharing video over the Internet, viewers are gaining the autonomy to choose what, when and where they watch — be it on an iPod, laptop or desktop computer. And the masses are getting an opportunity to create and experiment with video while bypassing the central filter of a TV network."
Check out the full story here.
Hasbro Says Pussycat Dolls Line Has Been:
Toy Maker Halts Plans for Risque Dolls Aimed at Kids
Remember this post from a couple days ago? You know, the one about Hasbro's plans to make a line of dolls based on the sexed-up sextet the Pussycat Dolls and market them to 6 to 9-year old girls? Remember how that seemed like a really bad idea?
Well, Hasbro has seen the light. Or at least they got enough negative press that scuttling the operation seemed like the smart move.
Hasbro execs announced this week that they had cancelled production plans for the doll line, claiming that the group had matured in a way not anticipated by the company during its initial negotiations with Interscope, the Pussycat Dolls' label.
"Interscope's current creative direction and images for the recording group are focused on a much older target than we had anticipated at the time of our original discussions, thereby making a doll line inappropriate for Hasbro," the company said in a statement.
Huh? The Pussycat Dolls have been a burlesque act from the beginning. Is it possible that visions of fattening bank accounts made this easier to overlook in those initial meeting with Interscope?
Okay, okay, enough complaining...thanks for (eventually) making the right decision Hasbro.
Check out the story here
Managing a Modern Media Diet
The Kaiser Family Foundation released a new study this week that shows how parents of kids age 6 and under are using media — specifically television — to cope with their stressful lives.
"Electronic media," the authors write, "has become the central focus of many very young children’s lives, used by parents to help manage busy schedules, keep peace, and facilitate family routines such as eating, relaxing, and falling asleep."
The study's statistics are stunning, underscoring just how much a part of our youngest kids' lives TV has become. In a typical day, 83 percent of children under the age of 6 use screen media, averaging about two hours daily.
Media use also increases with age. Sixty-one percent of babies a year or younger watch an average of 1 hour and 20 minutes a day, while 90 percent of 4 to 6 year olds spend an average of two hours daily in front of a screen.
Nike + iPod=
Shoes You Can Listen To
You hear so much these days about how media use can contribute to childhood obesity and poor eating habits that it's refreshing to see a media product designed to actually encourage exercise.
Nike and Apple announced this week that they had teamed up to create a "sports kit" that connects Nike running shoes to the iPod Nano. A wireless sensor placed in the running shoes transmits information to a receiver that plugs into the Nano, constantly feeding the runner information on how far they've traveled and how fast they're running. The system will also allow runners to specify certain songs they want to have play if they begin to slow down (so they can get pumped back up), and Lance Armstrong has even recorded some motivational words to help runners struggling through those final steps.
"It becomes a personal coach in your ear," Nike exec Stefan Olander told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Check out the full story here
