Live Blogging Firebrand Thursday, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

I caught Firebrand on ION last night. Again, laughed my ass off. What I like most about Firebrand is that they treat commercials like little movies. The CJs discuss the directors, the actors, the agencies, and the outcomes of the ads. For any of you who are in the industry, it is a great education.

Actually, Firebrand is interesting for anyone interested in products, services, or television and the way things work. It also allows me to do come comparative studies since Firebrand isn’t jingoistic and offers access to commercials from around the world, especially online.

And, of course, cute CJs. Oh, and while Firebrand is and has been my client, the truth is is that they continue retaining me because I am a super fan.

The Firebrand Studio Undressed, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

I got to visit the Firebrand offices yesterday. I was an hour late because some guys from New York decided to win a Very Important Sporting Event and there was a ticker tape parade help. Well, when I arrived, I met Shari and Dawn, grabbed some za, and get to visit the Firebrand studio. Here it is. All the magic is super high-tech. Lauren, the CJ, is standing in front of a neutral density gray seamless with an interesting reflector component that “takes” the color of an LED rimlight around the lens: blue, green — whatever! And, the CJs need to learn how to interact with the Firebrand.com and ION UI. I had a lot of fun — it was great. What a great bunch of people. Very cool.

MON Feb 4th: It’s Firebrand Monday, the day after the Super Bowl – celebrate the holiest day in advertising with Reebok Office Linebacker, Terry Tate, heartbreaker Carmen Elektra and classic Super Bowl commercials!

The Road to Firebrand Monday
Promo Schedule

You’ve already seen all of the Firebrand Monday Spots. Now check out the blogger exclusive, The Road to Firebrand Monday, where only the greatest commercials get to play. Just tune in to the best Super Bowl commercials all this week on ION TV at 11PM/10C.

• TUE Jan 29th: “Big Budget Productions”
• WED Jan 30th: “Chicks in Charge”
• THU Jan 31st: “Big Time Celebrities”
• FRI Feb 1st: “Big Time Brands”
• SUNDAY is the Super Bowl!
• MON Feb 4th: It’s Firebrand Monday, the day after the Super Bowl – celebrate the holiest day in advertising with Reebok Office Linebacker, Terry Tate, heartbreaker Carmen Elektra and classic Super Bowl commercials!

For schedule information or for your local ION station, check out the Firebrand page on TV Guide. Or use your Zip code to find ION on your TV. Don’t forget to visit Firebrand online.

What is Firebrand Monday?

“The Super Bowl has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the Super Bowl with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.

You have just under 24-hours until you can watch all of the very best commercials of the year — the Super Bowl commercials — on ION! Or, you can see the commercials all morning tomorrow on Firebrand.com. Why? Well, in case you were under a rock, tomorrow is Firebrand Monday! Check out all the best Super Bowl ads tomorrow night at 11/10C on ION TV.

• http://adcomments.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/firebrand-monday/
• http://adcomments.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/firebrand-press-release/
• http://agencyspy.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/is-that-lint-down-there-firebrands-superbowl-shuffle/
• http://aleyh.com/blogs/Tv-Series/440686/
• http://anbui.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/now-receiving-pitches-over-facebook-firebrand-monday/
• http://beinteractive.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-monday.html
• http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/?p=1254
• http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/will_firebrand_monday_breathe_new_life_into_30_second_spots/
• http://buzztter.com/en/k/Firebrand
• http://cabraham.com/one-day-firebrand-monday-and-all-super-bowl-commercials
• http://chris-abraham.com/
• http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/02/liveblogging-firebrand-on-ion-on-friday/
• http://chrisabraham.com/tag/campaigns/
• http://chrisabraham.jaiku.com/
• http://chrisabraham.vox.com/library/post/watch-firebrand-monday-for-super-bowl-sunday-commercials.html
• http://chrisabraham.vox.com/library/post/watch-firebrand-monday-for-super-bowl-sunday-commercials.html?_c=feed-atom
• http://community.tvguide.com/thread/Firebrand/Road-Firebrand-Monday/800031742
• http://digg.com/television/Firebrand_Finds_a_Point
• http://digg.com/television/Will_Firebrand_Monday_breathe_new_life_into_30_second_spots
• http://digg.com/television/YouTube_-_Firebrand_Monday_Blogger_Exclusive_Video (29 diggs)
• http://digg.com/television/YouTube_Firebrand_Monday_Blogger_Exclusive_Video
• http://downloads-home.com/test/?p=31232
• http://experiencecurve.com/archives/firebrand-extremely-ambitious-advertising-as-content-destination
• http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marcon/~3/225900156/
• http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marcon/~3/226049388/
• http://freemyspaceicons.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with.html
• http://hiebingsuperblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/where-my-ads-at.html
• http://joannapenabickley.typepad.com/on/2008/01/on-a-holiday-to.html
• http://marketingconversation.com/2008/01/24/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-super-bowl-turf/
• http://marketingconversation.com/2008/01/30/firebrand-getting-some-love-and-grief-from-the-blogosphere/
• http://marketingconversation.com/2008/01/30/its-the-road-to-firebrand-monday/
• http://memes.org/road-firebrand-monday-paved-icons
• http://memes.org/road-firebrand-monday-paved-super-bowl-turf
• http://mythologyretellings.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with.html
• http://mythologyretellings.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-mondays.html
• http://news.myspace.com/style/fashion/item/14224832
• http://pownce.com/chrisabraham/notes/1287678/
• http://press.firebrand.com/?p=65
• http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=18898948
• http://repdis.com/
• http://repdis.com/category/uncategorized/
• http://roadtofirebrandspots.smnr.us/
• http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2008/01/firebrand-helps.html
• http://rss.furl.net/item/30214399
• http://tattooedmarketer.com/2008/01/23/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-super-bowl-turf/
• http://technoflak.blogspot.com/2008/01/what-is-firebrand-monday.html
• http://technorati.com/tag/Firebrand%20Monday
• http://technorati.com/tag/firebrand
• http://television.rockerreport.com/will_firebrand_monday_breathe_new_life_30_second_spots
• http://tezis.blogspot.com/2008/01/latest-from-shels-holtzs-blog_30.html
• http://tnc-most-emailed.blogspot.com/2008/01/firebrand-launches-first-national-ad.html
• http://toddand.com/2008/02/01/the-25-most-memorable-super-bowl-ads/
• http://twitter.com/chrisabraham/statuses/660330402
• http://twitter.com/chrisabraham/statuses/668810552
• http://twittervision.com/chrisabraham
• http://www.adrants.com/2008/01/firebrand-to-create-national-holiday-out.php
• http://www.adrants.com/2008/01/prediction-firebrand-will-not-exist-in.php
• http://www.armchairgm.com/Article:A_look_at_20_classic_Super_Bowl_Commercials
• http://www.armchairgm.com/Article:Super_Bowl_commercials_throughout_next_week
• http://www.beneaththebrand.com/2008/01/29/road-to-firebrand-mondays/
• http://www.beneaththebrand.com/category/television/
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/post-tag/launch/
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/post-tag/super%20bowl%20commercials/
• http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=1227260&t=
• http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=1227260&t=11
• http://www.boxxet.com/XM_Satellite_Radio/The_Road_to_Firebrand_Monday_is_Paved_With_Super_Bowl_Turf.1hlbzw.d
• http://www.brandflakesforbreakfast.com/2008/01/watch-nothing-but-commercials-between.html
• http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/FREE/901414345/1078/rss01&rssfeed=rss01
• http://www.buzztracker.com/permalink/30248/58842877/Will-Firebrand-Monday-breathe-new-life-into-30-second-spots
• http://www.buzztracker.com/permalink/32672/59136349/Ads-as-Content-with-Firebrand-Monday
• http://www.cabraham.com/pownce
• http://www.christopherabraham.com/twitter
• http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/01/31/ads-content-firebrand-monday
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisabraham/2235426769/
• http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/09/26/firebrand/
• http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/11/14/in-mild-defense-of-firebrand/
• http://www.jackmyers.com/commentary/media-business-report/13810507.html
• http://www.la-story.com/television/road_to_firebrand_pregame_spot_rolls_out_catch_it/
• http://www.la-story.com/television/the_road_to_firebrand_the_best_of_commercials_unin/
• http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/01/29/firebrand-finds-a-point/
• http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/broadcast/
• http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/broadcast/is_that_lint_down_there_firebrands_superbowl_shuffle_76330.asp?c=rss
• http://www.meevee.com/channels/smartChannel.aspx?q=monday%20night%20football
• http://www.newloveliness.com/love-calculator/web-site-devoted-to-ads-has-commercial-appeal.html
• http://www.personalbee.com/1768/27190336
• http://www.randomculture.com/random_culture/2007/11/firebrand-all-c.html
• http://www.realityseo.com/2008/01/blog-post.html
• http://www.techdispenser.com/posts/view/25002
• http://www.trendylist.com.ar/tag/ion-television/
• http://www.tweetmeme.com/2008/02/01/2205/videos.html
• http://www.tylerschnaidt.com/blocked/nph-index.pl/010110A/http/chrisabraham.com/
• http://www.urlfan.com/local/the_road_to_firebrand_monday_is_paved_with_super_bowl_turf_httptinyurl_com25mkfj/64150934.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs4M9FqgOrU (1,066 views!)
• http://www.zango.com/results.aspx?ct=200&search=firebrand
• http://xyiencediet.blogspot.com/2008/02/watch-firebrand-monday-for-super-bowl.html

Liveblogging Firebrand on ION, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Well, today’s the last day on the Road to Firebrand — Friday night! Cute foreign CJ and lots of bizarre ads, including the famous preppy Smirnoff Tea Partay commercial. I am pretty sure that the Tea Partay idea started on YouTube, right? and then was co-opted by Smirnoff. Anyway, Firebrand Monday is on Monday so set your alarms, your Tivos, and your biological clock. Watch Firebrand on Monday night instead of the local news, which will suck anyway.

31/01/2008, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Firebrand is my client and they love me because I love commercials. However, in the past, I consumed Firebrand exclusively via the Internet because I didn’t have cable and I lived in Berlin, Germany. Right this very moment, I am in the US and I am crashing at a Verizon FIOS Cable household and I am watching Firebrand on ION. It started at 11PM here in Arlington, VA, and it is great! The experience is very Web. Logos scroll along the bottom, just like they do online.

Also, there is a scrolling ticker along the top that promoted both the online Firebrand property, Firebrand.com. I love the CJ, too. I wish I knew her name. She’s in the picture above. Hopefully, someone will drop a comment for me and let me know more about her. Tonight is Thursday on the Road to Firebrand Monday! I really love it. I am pretty psyched to have Firebrand as a client, if you couldn’t already tell.

What’s even better is that I don’t have to watch the Super Bowl in order to see the commercials.  What is Firebrand Monday?  Well, while Super Bowl Sunday may broadcast all of the Super Bowl commercials, it breaks them up with football!

However, on Monday night at 11PM Eastern / 10PM Central, all of the commercials that will be featured for the big bucks during the Super Bowl XLII will be squished into an hour right along with the charming commentary from one of the super-charming and super-gorgeous CJs (Commercial Jockies).

And, if you don’t have ION, don’t worry. It’s all online as well on Firebrand Online.

You’ve already seen all of the Firebrand Monday Spots. Now check out the blogger exclusive, The Road to Firebrand Monday, where only the greatest commercials get to play. Just tune in to the best Super Bowl commercials all this week on ION TV at 11PM/10C.

• TUE Jan 29th: “Big Budget Productions”
• WED Jan 30th: “Chicks in Charge”
• THU Jan 31st: “Big Time Celebrities”
• FRI Feb 1st: “Big Time Brands”
• SUNDAY is the Super Bowl!
• MON Feb 4th: It’s Firebrand Monday, the day after the Super Bowl – celebrate the holiest day in advertising with Reebok Office Linebacker, Terry Tate, heartbreaker Carmen Elektra and classic Super Bowl commercials!

For schedule information or for your local ION station, check out the Firebrand page on TV Guide. Or use your Zip code to find ION on your TV. Don’t forget to visit Firebrand online.

What is Firebrand Monday?

“The Super Bowl has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the Super Bowl with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.

• Blogger Exclusive Video: http://firebrandbloggerexclusive.smnr.us/ (with handy EMBED code)
• Road to Firebrand Schedule on ION TV: http://firebrandmonsched.smnr.us/
• Road to Firebrand Spots: http://roadtofirebrandspots.smnr.us/
• Road to Firebrand Press Release: http://firebrandmonday.smnr.us/
• Firebrand Online: http://www.firebrand.com

In response to my recent post, Here’s a Dead Sexy Look at Firebrand TV For You!, I defined Firebrand as Dead Sexy. Well, it is, but it was Dude Sexy. Then came Stevie Wilson, who commented, “love that DIRT section. Bring it on. Give me that game or whatever to play. I am all for that one. The other stuff— cmon.. don’t they do stuff that the *ladies* would really love or do they need to add a woman’s touch to the content…” So, I looked for something more for the ladies. I don’t know how well I did, but you tell me: Firebrand Water World.

NBA star Kevin Garnett gets an autograph session going for Foot Locker, and Codemasters gets behind the wheel with legendary rally driver Colin McRae. Plus, some serious cell defense from Sprint-Nextel, and even more serious Nascar fans from Oreo!

This is basically a good “first experience” of what every minute of every day is like at Firebrand, 24-hours/day online and for an hour-a-day on ION Network, from 11PM, week nights.

Anyway, this is a big couple weeks for Firebrand — the Road to Firebrand Monday. Here’s an excerpt of the email I sent out last Monday:

…We’re only a couple weeks away from the Big Game — and all the associated commercials. Why not check out all of the best ads from the “holiest days of advertising” over at Firebrand, http://www.firebrand.com.

Next week Monday, I’m going to offer you up a blogger exclusive — a spot called “the road to Firebrand Monday” (teaser below) — but for now, I just wanted to get back in touch and catch you up and offer up a couple spots we launched today: the Pre-Game Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8rYZWReyzw, the Kick-Off Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEXhigptdM8, and the Half-Time Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8fwNM. You can check out the full details over at our press release, http://firebrandmonday.smnr.us.

I’ll get back to you next Monday with the blogger exclusive but for now here’s a teaser, “We’re kicking off the road to Firebrand Monday, playing with some of the best names in the game — Mr. Peanut, Bob’s Big Boy, the Cavemen and a California raisin, just to name a few. Some of the greatest icons in advertising are going head-to-head during the Big Game, but who will come out on top?”

And, if you have any questions, please pop me an email and I will get back to you personally — and if you’re interested in more general Firebrand info, feel free to join the official Firebrand group on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396.

My Blog Post About the Road to Firebrand Monday
http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/24/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-astroturf/

Road to Firebrand Monday Press Release
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SPORTNET.story&STORY=/www/story/01-21-2008/0004739662&EDATE=MON+Jan+21+2008,+08:00+AM
http://press.firebrand.com/?p=63

YouTube Group: http://youtube.com/Firebrandtv
MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/FirebrandTV
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396

Road to Firebrand Monday Spots on YouTube
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8rYZWReyzw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEXhigptdM8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8fwNMrBvMk

ION Television
http://www.ionline.tv/schedule.php

Firebrand on TV Guide
http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/firebrand/292213

The Firebrand Site (All Commercials, All the Time)
http://www.firebrand.com/

The Road to Firebrand starts next week on ION (at 11PM every weekday night) and online at Firebrand.com. Firebrand loves working with me because I love commercials more than I love television. I am an evangelist. This week, they’re coming down the pike with something called The Road to Firebrand, “the multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.” Check it out — it’s quite good and highlights all of our favorite stars from a lifetime of TV commercials and ads — true icons. Here are the teaser spots: Pregame, Kickoff, and Half Time:

Pre Game

Kick Off

Half Time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact:
Dawn Rowan
646-747-3600
dawn.rowan@firebrandtv.com

Press can access images and further information at
http://press.firebrand.com

FIREBRAND LAUNCHES FIRST NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN:
“THE ROAD TO FIREBRAND MONDAY”
WHERE ONLY THE GREATEST COMMERCIALS GET TO PLAY

All-Star Campaign includes the Caveman, the St. Pauli Girl, the Crash Test Dummy,
Mr. Peanut, Bob’s Big Boy and Mr. Clean, among others.

New York (January 21, 2008) – Firebrand, the hottest spots from the coolest brands, on TV, web and mobile, will celebrate “the Holiest Day in Advertising,” with the launch of its first national holiday campaign, “The Road to Firebrand Monday.” The multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.

The Road to Firebrand Monday campaign begins today with at least three new commercials– PreGame, KickOff and HalfTime – on-air and online over the next two weeks, driving viewers to tune into Firebrand, starting January 28th on ION TV (weeknights 11PM/10C). And all that week on TV, web and mobile, Firebrand will begin showcasing playlists related to the Big Game.

The campaign culminates on the first annual “Firebrand Monday,” February 4th, the day after the Big Game. On TV, the hour will be dedicated to major ads from the Big Game, featuring Celebrity CJs such as Reebok’s “Office Linebacker” Terry Tate and Carmen Electra, who makes her Big Game debut in an ad for Hershey’s “Ice Breakers.” All content is downloadable on mobile devices, iTunes and Firebrand.com. And that morning, Firebrand.com will have only the best of the previous day’s commercials ready for download, allowing viewers to share and rate them all, and to decide for themselves which spot wins the coveted “Firebrand Water Cooler” trophy.

“The Big Game has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the big game with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.”

Viewers watching the Firebrand Monday commercials will be treated to a series of spots featuring a parody of some of the most popular commercial icons including Mr. Clean, Mr. Peanut and the Cavemen, among others. The icons are placed on a football backdrop, either behind the scenes getting psyched up for the game, in the locker room, or huddling conspiratorially on the field. No matter how you slice it, Firebrand delivers an entertaining tribute to what has become advertising’s greatest sporting event.

The fun continues for a week starting Firebrand Monday to the following Monday where every spot that is viewed, downloaded, emailed or embedded earns the viewer a chance to enter to win cash.

Major investors in Firebrand include Microsoft, NBC Universal and GE’s Peacock Equity Fund. Firebrand can be found at www.firebrand.com <http://www.firebrand.com> , and weeknights on ION television network at 11 PM/10C and on www.itunes.com <http://www.itunes.com> . For additional information, check out http://press.firebrand.com.

Firebrand. Where only the greatest commercials get to play.

###

Firebrand Multimedia

• Road to Firebrand Monday

  • Half Time 30secTV
  • Kick Off 30secTV
  • Pregame 30secTV
  • Road to Firebrand Monday-JPG

• Screenshots of Firebrand

  • Firebrand Logo-AI
  • Firebrand Logo-JPG
  • Firebrand Logo-SWF
  • Firebrand Search
  • MOBILE
  • SYNCHRONOUS
  • TV
  • WEB

• Firebrand Social Media

  • Del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • iTunes
  • Myspace
  • YouTube

2007

November 27

Just What The World Needs Now

David Burn, AdPulp
(read more…)

Firebrand Makes Its Debut As The First 3 Screen, Multi-Platform Network Dedicated to Commercial Culture

Alan Weinkrantz, 3 Screens.net

(read more…)

November 26

Can Firebrand Make Commercials Hot?

Chris Albrecht, GigaOm

(read more…)

Firebrand Makes its Debut as the First Multi-Platform Network Dedicated to Commercial Culture

create magazine

(read more…)

Commericals as Content

Charles Sipe, Cool Marketing Stuff

(read more…)

Forget about the Super Bowl Ads

By Tarik Moody, RadioMilwaukee’s Diggin’ with the Architect

(read more…)

November 15

Firebrand movie includes work!

Be.Interactive

(read more…)

FirebrandTV; A Great Way to Waste Time at Work

Marketing Conversation

(read more…)

Fond of commercials? This post is for you

VOIP

(read more…)

November 14

In (Mild) Defense of Firebrand

grokdotcom

(read more…)

For the birds

Make The Logo Bigger

(read more…)

Firebrand – For those without enough commmercials in their life

Movie Marketing Madness

(read more…)

November 13

Firebrand

Be.Interactive

(read more…)

November 12

all in one place

zefrank

(read more…)

October 10

Influx Interview- Shari Leventhal- Firebrand

Influx Insights

(read more…)

October 1

Brands on fire

‘Cross The Breeze

(read more…)

September 26

Firebrand Shows Ads The Way MTV Used To Show Music Videos

By Rohit Bhargava, Influential Marketing Blog

(read more…)

September 25

how firebrand lit a blog on fire

Brand Flakes for Breakfast

View Full Article

Firebrand All-Ad Video Network Set to Debut

By Kamau High, Adweek

(read more…)

Commercial Culture Gets Its Due

Brand Noise

(read more…)

Brands on fire (with a little help from crayon)

By Greg Verdino, Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog

(read more…)

Life after the 30-second spot?

By Joseph Jaffe, Jaffe Juice

(read more…)

Consumers Gain Greater Control As Brands Get Fire

A Media Circ.us

(read more…)

Firebrand Preview Launches during Advertising Week – Love Coverage

By David Berkowitz, Inside the Marketers Studio

(read more…)

Firebrand – Extremely Ambitious Advertising as Content Destination

Karl Long, Experience Curve

(read more…)

Microsoft, NBCU Back Venture That Turns Ads Into Content

By David Goetzl, Media Daily News

(read more…)

Commercials serious business at Firebrand

By Alex Woodson, The Hollywood Reporter

(read more…)

TV Commercials Redistributor Firebrand Raises Funds

Submitted by Mark Hefflinger, Digital Media Wire

(read more…)

Firebrand All-Ad Video Network Set to Debut

By Kamau High, Brandweek

(read more…)

Tech company offers commercials only

By Amanda Fung, Crain’s New York Business.com

(read more…)

NBC: That’s Advertainment

By Stuart Elliott, The New York Times

(read more…)

This morning, the Firebrand Press Conference came to pass in NYC. Then, not long after, yours truly reached out to Bloggers and shared the love. Via Marketing Conversation

Want to see what the love is about (because there is a lot of love)? Well, let me quote my own outgoing email-of-love:

“I have been bursting to tell you about Firebrand but I have been under embargo until the big press conference in New York this morning. Well, since the embargo has been lifted, both you and I are free to talk or write about Firebrand until we’re blue in the face, so here’s what Firebrand is …”

“Firebrand is a new, opt-in entertainment and marketing destination that gives consumers interactive access to their favorite brands, products and promotions. Firebrand programs the “coolest” TV commercials the way MTV used to program music videos and its multi-platform network, slated to launch on October 22, is the first to go “live” simultaneously on TV, the web and mobile. Firebrand even has CJ’s (commercial jockeys), the same way MTV had VJ’s, who will contextualize the commercials as art and entertainment, and guide consumers through playlists, contests and promotions.”

“We’ve created an online social media release especially for bloggers. Click over to http://press.firebrandtv.com/smpr for all the key facts, plus easy access to lots of multimedia assets including logos and screenshots, promo videos, our Facebook group and more.

If you’re as excited about Firebrand as I am and think it will appeal to the Simplebits community, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to let your audience know all about it.

Either way, we’re also letting bloggers into our private preview in a few weeks, so that you can have a sneak peek right before Firebrand opens to the public – but you’ll need to reserve your spot.

So let me know if you’d like to be added to our private preview list, and feel free to ping me if you have any questions.”

And, here’s the official Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Contact:
Dawn Rowan
646-747-3600
dawn.rowan@firebrandtv.com

Press can access images and further information at
http://press.firebrandtv.com

FIREBRAND — A NEW ENTERTAINMENT AND MARKETING DESTINATION DEDICATED TO THE BEST IN COMMERCIAL CULTURE — TO LAUNCH ON TV, WEB AND MOBILE

Venture Will Transform the Commercial Break into a Commercial Destination
Led by Industry Pioneer John Lack and Román Viñoly

Microsoft, NBC Universal and GE’s “Peacock Equity Fund,” ION Television Join as Investors

New York (September 25, 2007) – Firebrand, the new, opt-in entertainment and marketing destination that gives consumers interactive access to their favorite brands, products and promotions, today announced plans for its October 22^nd launch.

Firebrand programs the “coolest” TV commercials the way MTV used to program music videos, creating the first multi-platform network to go “live” simultaneously on TV, the web and mobile.

Firebrand’s “Commercials as Content” programming launches on the ION Television Network, weeknights at 11 pm in 94 million households, as well as 24/7 on the web at www.firebrandtv.com, www.usanetwork.com www.adweek.com and on hand-held mobile devices, initially through iTunes, and MSN when available.

Investors Microsoft, NBC Universal and GE’s Peacock Equity Fund, ION Television, as well as Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek, among others, joined Firebrand at its announcement during Advertising Week at the Paley Center for Media.

“Firebrand enters the media landscape as the era of the commercial interruption is coming to an end,” says John A. Lack, CEO/Co-Founder. “We curate the best TV commercials and promotions from around the world – connecting consumers directly with their favorite brands in an integrated environment.”

Firebrand has also built personalization tools so consumers can create their own playlists and share their favorites spots.

“With Firebrand, our multi-tasking audience can find us on every platform,” says Lack. “It’s a unique environment where they can ‘Watch, Win, Shop and Share.’”

Firebrand’s primary demographic is the highly desirable “Gen Y/Millennials,” who voraciously consume pop culture, and are already sharing commercial content with their friends. This group boasts purchasing power of more than $200 billion a year and already account for 40% of Internet shopping. But, Gen-Xers and Boomers will also find something they like on Firebrand, with playlists that include their favorite brands, vintage commercials, special promotions and the best international spots.

“Firebrand takes the traditional method of programming television commercials and turns it on its head,” says Román Viñoly, Chief Creative Officer/Co-Founder. “We program TV spots like a DJ spins music in a club. There is a rhythm and flow to it.”

Firebrand also features ‘Commercial Jockeys’ or CJs to contextualize commercials as art and guide viewers through the spots, contests and promotions.

“On Firebrand, you’ll see more car chases, explosions, gags, drama, heroes, Oscar-winning actors, directors and producers in an hour than in a month of HBO,” says Viñoly. “To be true to our consumers, you can’t pay us to air a bad spot. ”

Firebrand will also provide advertisers with the Firebrand Dashboard ™, an innovative diagnostic tool that integrates industry standard television and online response data. For the first time, advertisers can see TV viewing and online clicks side by side, for specific spots and offers, delivering advertisers a meaningful ROI analysis.

Firebrand can be found at www.firebrandtv.com, www.usanetwork.com and www.adweek.com weeknights on ION television network from 11 PM -12 AM ET, and on mobile devices. For additional information, check out http://press.firebrandtv.com

###

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According the the Wall Street Journal this AM, NBC Hopes Live Spot Puts Life Into Ads, “To fight the challenge posed by TiVo, NBC is borrowing a tactic from television’s early days — live commercials.” Back in April 15, 2005, I wrote an article, Product Placement on the Down Low, about how product placement and advertising needs to stop being so sneaky, so on the down low. (via Marketing Conversation)

“I love product placement because it reminds me of the radio shows of the 30s and 40s, which I love. Why should there be any shame surrounding product placement? I honestly believe that most people don’t care. Those who do, live in the urban centers and are loud and obnoxious. Ignore them.

In the radio shows, there was a level of healthy and straight forward communication that Madison Avenue no longer employs:

the price of this free entertainment is having sponsors, selling products and services (Horlicks, anyone?), promoting upcoming movies (why else would the stars be there?), and the like.”

David Letterman has been doing a lot of this on his show and I find it hilarious. I feel like I am complicit with the agenda: selling goods, having fun, leveraging our trust in Dave, and getting yet another skit, which is what we watch late night TV for anyway. Again, from Product Placement on the Down Low:

“To me, embedding products deep into the show so that they don’t glare just means the industry is becoming more sophisticated and not more covert. It is not about sneaking message so much as it about not inconveniencing the viewer. It is about giving more than you take. It is all about flow, seamlessness, mediadynamics.

I love product placement because it reminds me of the radio shows of the 30s and 40s, which I love. Why should there be any shame surrounding product placement? I honestly believe that most people don’t care. Those who do, live in the urban centers and are loud and obnoxious. Ignore them.”

At some point back in the 50s, the entire Madison Avenue “science of advertising” took the broadcasting world by storm. Instead of having an entire program sponsored by one corporate sponsor such as Horlicks, the model changed into a advertising blight of the 30-second and 60-second commercial spot. More from Product Placement on the Down Low:

“I honestly believe that someone with a lot of influence and charm has sold Madison Avenue that the only way to advertise and market is delivering client message using subliminals and NLP — the kind that is supposed to register on the subconscious level.”

The reincarnation of the sponsored program, the up-front sponsored testimonial, and the transparent product placement — the evolution towards integrated, live, transparent, and testimonial advertisements — was again heralded by radio. Again. I noticed this happening years ago, beginning with conservative and AM talk radio.

Back in April 7, 2006, I wrote an article that addressed these spots — I love them! The article, Purina ONE is Role Model for Word-Of-Mouth Marketing, discusses the aggressive and effective radio testimonial campaign that Purina One Natural Blends dog food shoe horns so elegantly and sentimentally into the radio shows of two radio shows I loved back in 2006, the Glen Beck Program and Jack Diamond Morning Show.

“I listen to both the Glen Beck Program and Jack Diamond Morning Show and one thing they both have in common is that both Jack and Glen spontaneously wax poetic about their dogs.

Then, after a while of spinning a warm, charming, yarn, they reveal that it wasn’t until Purina One that their really stopped shedding, started acting like a puppy again, started having a glow, and began to have clear and shiny doggie eyes!

It is such a fantastic testimony by each men and I love listening to each of the respective emotional break in their respective radio announcer‘s voice when they offer this heart felt Purina One testimonial. And then, we find out that we don’t have to take their word for it, we can call 888-606-BARK for a free 6.5 pound bag of Purina One Natural Blends dog food.

Do I feel betrayed? Used? No! I love it.

There is a sweet old world charm as though I were suddenly thrust into the Jack Benny Program. There is a lightness of being in their respective stories that don’t require me to care about the advertising or care about the salesmanship, it is the fact that these men are really likeable and we trust them and listen to them and hey, you have to pay the bills and we would rather enjoy their charm and warmth (and they do own dogs, after all — it isn’t a lie!) than the awful commercial breaks.

We hate these commercial breaks. We would rather our sweet DJ, our sweet host, hock the free 6.5 pound bag of Purina One Natural Blends dog food than leave it to someone we don’t know.”

I am curious as to why both broadcasters and advertisers are so ashamed of advertising and of their product. I may be a freak, but I love paging through my favorite magazines, looking at the watches, the cars, and the homes that fuel all of my obsessive work and red-hot single-minded ambition. Even more from Product Placement on the Down Low:

“I am sure it was a genius doctor of clinical psychology who did the research and discovered that there are some message delivery vehicles against which we have no protection.

And that is true, of course.

But I like ads and most of my friends watch them. Half the fun of paging through most magazines is looking at what people are selling. Investing a little in the fantasy of the glossy Rolex ad for the GMT-II Oyster Perpetual in solid gold!

Drool.”

As I wrote back in June 21, 2005 in A Return to Sponsored Programming ala Radio Shows,

“It is time to return to what works, when you can share the “inside joke” with your audience that a lot of what is going on on the show is to sppease the sponsor.

A little bit of fun on the sponsor’s expense show the viewers that the sponsor is big, funloving, harmless, and can take a joke.

That the corporate sponsor is just a regular guy.”

I think that NBC is being super smart. I don’t know if anyone has been discussing David Letterman’s playful inline product placement, but I noticed, and it made me happy and made me feel like I was in on the joke.

‘So, before everybody spends all their time going on the down low with their advertising and marketing, it is also important to explore the up and up as well. Oftentimes, stating loud and proud, “this is my product and I think you should buy it because it is better, different, cooler, newer, lighter, sturdier, more stylish, more reliable, and safer than anything else, and here’s why.”‘

Back to NBC Hopes Live Spot Puts Life Into Ads, here are some pretty telling excerpts you might want to read, after my egocentric briefing:

‘Tuesday’s broadcast of “The Tonight Show” will air a live skit promoting car satellite-navigation devices made by Garmin International. The skit will air immediately before the show goes to commercial break. There, the message will be reinforced with a taped spot for Garmin taking the first slot in the break.

Live TV ads were standard in the 1950s, when most shows aired live and the advertising message would often be delivered by the star of a program. But live-to-air spots fell out of favor over time; “The Tonight Show” last ran a live spot in 1995. NBC’s decision to try the live Garmin spot comes as networks are casting about for ways to keep viewers watching commercials, in a time when digital video recorders such as TiVo allow viewers to speed through ads while watching a program they’ve recorded earlier.

For “Tonight Show” viewers, Garmin’s ad will be hard to miss. The skit will appear shortly before the show is due to go to its second commercial break, and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno will toss to the commercial. At that point, Mr. Leno’s announcer, John Melendez, will don a lab coat — with Garmin’s logo on it — and mock-seriously discuss the perils of “Direction Disorder” — men’s reluctance to ask for directions, according to the script for the ad.

As Mr. Melendez explains the disorder, a large video screen in the background will show a man in a car asking gas-station attendants for directions. The attendants point in opposite directions and laugh, leaving the driver “looking helplessly at the camera.” At the end of the skit, Mr. Melendez will announce: “But now there’s a cure,” as the video screen reveals the logo for a Garmin device.

“For us, it was just a way to TiVo-proof our advertising,” says Ted Gartner, media relations manager at Garmin International.

Pressure on networks to deal with TiVo and similar devices — now in 17% of U.S. homes, according to Nielsen Media Research — has ratcheted up in the past several months. Nielsen last month began releasing ratings measuring the viewership of commercial breaks, as opposed to the programs. While marketers have long worried about people skipping their ads, Nielsen’s new ratings are providing hard evidence of just how much DVRs reduce viewing of their ads.

Nielsen’s introduction of “commercial” ratings has helped delay “upfront” negotiations for next season’s ad time between networks and advertisers, which usually start after the networks present their schedules to advertisers in May. This year, the negotiations have been slow to gain traction. Some media buyers expect the deal-making to pick up steam in the next few days, however.

The Garmin deal “obviously is a reaction to the DVR issue and a reaction to commercial ratings,” says Marianne Gambelli, executive vice president, sales and marketing, for NBC Universal. Marketers are increasingly looking for these types of ad deals, she adds.

Garmin hopes to magnify its message by twinning the live spot with the conventional ad in the commercial break. In the past, when NBC has integrated a product into the story line of a show and given the marketer the first ad slot in the commercial break, research has shown advertising recall jumps by “40% to 50%,” Ms. Gambelli says.

NBC says it’s looking to expand use of the live commercials during late-night TV and sees the Garmin ad as a test. Not that they’ll appear a lot. “You want to keep it unique,” Ms. Gambelli notes.

In recent months, other networks have tried an array of other gimmicks to keep viewers watching through commercial breaks, including adding quizzes and short videos.’

The final paragraph of the Wall Street Journal article says it best:

“We have killed and mauled the golden goose of commercial breaks,” says TV historian and author Tim Brooks. “For a long time, the audience has put up with it, but now they have the ability to dodge commercial breaks, so networks can’t get away with it any more.”

There are few commercials that are as sexy and saucy as the Xyience Xenergy commercial featuring the molten-hot Monica.

It wouldn’t be so funny if it weren’t so close to all of the prostate commercials I must suffer through every night. “Thick ropey jets of urine you can be proud of” isn’t too far from the copy delivered by the likes of Flomax and the “weak stream” and “decrease in semen.” Good Lord and Sweet Jesus!

Check out the commercial, it is worth it

Did you notice the homage to Powers of 10 in the Vaseline Intensive Rescue Lotion commercial? Excellent. While watching CBS Sunday Morning, I saw a commercial for Vaseline Intensive Rescue Body Lotion with an obvious homage to Charles and Ray Eames. I am blissed out.

The commercial fetishes a sea of jazz hands as analogy for dry and moist skin. As the camera pulls away from the dancing, interlocking hands, the hands transition to the moist skin of a woman’s shoulder.

As the camera pulls back further, the woman is lying with a man, having a picnic, on a blanket, in a park, an homage to Charles and Ray Eames’ Powers of 10 documentary film.

Kudos to Vaseline and their ad agency or record for the wink to us, I for one really appreciate it.

Here’s another very cool commercial for Vaseline Intensive Rescue Body Lotion that was shown in the UK, in England:

Via Vaseline Moisturizer Commercial is Homage to Eames’ Powers of 10

Did you notice the homage to Powers of 10 in the Vaseline Intensive Rescue Body Lotion commercial? Excellent. While watching CBS Sunday Morning, I saw a commercial for Vaseline Intensive Rescue Body Lotion with an obvious homage to Charles and Ray Eames. I am blissed out.

The commercial fetishes a sea of jazz hands as analogy for dry and moist skin. As the camera pulls away from the dancing, interlocking hands, the hands transition to the moist skin of a woman’s shoulder.

As the camera pulls back further, the woman is lying with a man, having a picnic, on a blanket, in a park, an homage to Charles and Ray Eames’ Powers of 10 documentary film.

Here’s another very cool commercial for Vaseline Intensive Rescue Body Lotion that was shown in the UK, in England:

Kudos to Vaseline and their ad agency or record for the wink to us, I for one really appreciate it.