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Archive for the 'Advertising' Tag

On ‘V,’ the weather is out of this world

November 13th, 2009, 1:46 pm by Jayson Peters

valiens

Is ABC 15 chief meteorologist Bill Bellis an alien? What else could explain his recent appearance on the polished bottom surface of the Visitor mothership, peering down at the huddled masses a la V star Morena Baccarin?

While watching the second episode of ABC’s alien invasion drama on Tuesday, I had to laugh out loud at a clever weather promo featuring Bellis (pictured, right) addressing viewers from the celestial PA system Visitor high commander Anna (Baccarin, left) uses to greet the unsuspecting people of Earth.

Jim Hart, ABC 15’s director of creative services and local programming, told me the idea for the unusually immersive promo was generated locally. “We have the very good fortune of having a group of creatives that can turn an idea into reality and at the same time just have a little fun for our viewers,” he said via e-mail.

You can watch the whole reality-shattering ad spot after the jump - and you can watch full episodes of V at abc.go.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Business • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Alltel’s Chadvertising falls in Verizon’s revenge of the nerds

October 19th, 2009, 9:38 pm by Jayson Peters

medium_springChad, we hardly knew you.

As Tribune reporter Ed Taylor writes today, Verizon Wireless has completed its assimilation of Alltel’s stores and billing systems in the Valley.

While this of course means Alltel customers will now be served by Verizon personnel, perhaps more visibly for consumers it will literally change the face of mobile phone advertising.

No more will we be subjected to calls to “join the Circle” or be entertained by the four wily nerds’ attempts to outwit the perfectly coiffed Alltel pitchman known as “Chad.”

The cruelly well-adjusted slick talker, who had the gall to let slip that he didn’t know Dungeon Masters don’t have levels (dork!), will fade from out TV screens, just as the bumbling Sales Guy characters, each of whom represented one of Alltel’s competitors, have been phased out since Verizon began its acquisition of Alltel this year.

Posted in: Business • Nerd rage • Technology • Television • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Moving pictures: Video ads invade print media

August 19th, 2009, 6:24 pm by Jayson Peters

Entertainment Weekly subscribers in New York and Los Angeles will get a little hipper when they open up their Sept. 18 issues. That’s because they’ll be the first ever to watch a video ad embedded in a print publication.

CNET News (a CBS publication) has a report on the technology behind the groundbreaking advertisement, which will promote CBS’ fall TV season in concert with Pepsi Max soda:

quotemarksThe screen, which is 2.7 millimeters thick, has a 320×240 resolution. The battery lasts for about 65 to 70 minutes, and can be recharged, believe it or not, with a mini USB cord–there’s a jack on the back of it. The screen, which uses thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) technology, is enforced by protective polycarbonate.

Run! The walls of reality are breaking down!

Posted in: Technology • • • • • | Post a Comment »

The most ‘Up’-lifting story of them all?

June 21st, 2009, 12:01 am by Jayson Peters

Parents — and I am one of them — are more aware today than ever of the power Hollywood has over our habits, our time and our money. They say movie studios are heartless corporations only looking to make a buck.

Colby Curtin Disney Pixar Up Orange County Register

Colby Curtin

For once “they” are wrong — and so am I.

On Thursday, The Orange County Register, the flagship publication of my employer, Freedom Communications, published a story about a 10-year-old Huntington Beach, Calif., girl named Colby Curtin. Like many people of many different ages, Colby was enchanted with the Disney-Pixar film Up ever since she saw it advertised.

But Colby was dying of vascular cancer. She would not make it to a movie theater. A family friend contacted Pixar, and the CGI animation company actually sent a representative to the Curtin home with a DVD of the movie for a private viewing. He even brought gifts: Up merchandise such as plush toys and a poster, and an “adventure book” like the one seen in the movie.

By the time of the special screening, Colby was in so much pain she could no longer open her eyes — but the miracle would not be denied. Colby’s mother described the action for her, as if it were a bedtime story.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Deaths • Disney • Movies • Pixar • Toons • • • • | Post a Comment »
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