Monthly Archives: January 2007

Social Media Invade SuperBowl

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

At least four ads in the upcoming Super Bowl extravaganza are being produced not by ad agencies but through "user generated" contests. Advertisers are paying up to $2.6 million to run a 30-second commercial on Super Bowl XLI, being broadcast by CBS. Production costs can add another million.

Compare that to the Dorito  "Live the Flavor" ad created by Weston Phillips, 22, and Dale Backus, 21, in North Carolina. They spent $12.79 … plus a lot of hours … and their existing investment in technology, of course. Their entry is one of five finalists; there were 1,060 video submissions.

The WaPo writer is wrong, in my opinion, to call these producers
"amateurs" because too often I think we associate the word with someone "lacking the skill of a professional." As Phillips notes, his team was actively trying to break into the advertising field:

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Olbermann, YouTube and Viral Satire

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

I’m not exactly sure where to start with this … but it seems to be a great example of media convergence, long tail economics, the power of internet media …. and the problems facing institutions like record companies. Since I can’t figure out how to start, I think I’ll just write chronologically.

Warning: adult content (SNL-like) follows:
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Another Pothole For Zune; Apple Opens Fairplay?

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

Engadget reports, in a “non-scientific sampling,” that Sony has disabled Zune’s song sharing feature for “popular artists by Zunerama and Zune Thoughts.” They go on: “it looks like it’s roughly 40-50 percent of artist that fall under this prohibited banner, and the worst news is that there’s no warning that a song might be unsharable until you actually try to send it and fail.”

In related (DRM) news, cNet reported yesterday that “Apple plans to make it possible for people to listen to iTunes’ songs on devices other than iPods, according to a published report.” I’m pretty sure this move has been hastened along by EU action (certainly not by US government action).

The DRM wars are, of course, yet another version of standards wars (think Blue Ray, Beta/VHS, CDMA/GSM …). But DRM is also about protecting institutions (and their markets) from disruptive technology.