Thursday 4 September 2008

Samsung, EA Sports go viral on YouTube

It's been a busy week for viral merchandising on YouTube.



On Monday Samsung hit us with a clever short disguised as an "unboxing" video (a trend where fans and bloggers record themselves first step their new gadgets for the first time). The spin on the often anticlimactic genre was the parade of a miniature marching band and baton-twirling ladies that sprang forth from the high-tech box. It lED to a pyrotechnic-laden unveiling of Samsung's new Omni i900 cellphone, which looks and acts a set like Apple's wildly popular iPhone.



To farm and securities industry the video, Samsung employed the U.K.-based Viral Factory. The deuce have partnered regularly in the last 18 months, and the Samsung Omnia (i900) Unboxing video was the ninth since the companies first hooked up, according to an electronic mail from Tony Smith, managing director for the Viral Factory.



When Samsung asks the marketing firm to promote a product, the guidelines are few. "They give us a product (in this case the i900) and a task (in this case create buzz around the launch of the i900)," Smith wrote. "We and so write, create and seed the military campaign."





The day after the Samsung video went online, Electronic Arts Inc.'s EA Sports posted a video response to a fan who had poked fun at a programming glitch in one of its games. About a year ago, YouTube user Levinator25 posted a video highlighting an error in the EA Sports game Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 that showed the Tiger Woods character standing on water, then slicing a golf ball into the hole. Levinator25 dubbed it "the Jesus shot."



EA Sports' response, recorded in a style similar to its Tiger Woods TV commercials, shows the actual golf pro walking onto a pond and performing the feat. The message that closes the video: "It's not a glitch. He's just that good."





Electronic Arts, one of the world's largest video game publishers, does its viral marketing in-house. "We've done a lot of viral videos," said EA Sports President Peter Moore. "We believe we're reaching a younger audience than with network television."



And because there's not much involved in viral campaigns � beyond getting the OK from Tiger and then shooting and uploading the video � companies can do it without hiring outside firms. Such campaigns aren't "something you can manufacture," Moore said. "You can't actually push it, because [savvy Web surfers] reject that."



So how do you create a successful viral promotion? "By making it good, and by making it relevant to the target audience," Smith said in an e-mail. "This is very hard, as they're a tough bunch to please and the competition is huge."



The free exposure from high-profile blogs, such as Engadget for the Samsung video and golf blogs for the Tiger Woods clip, certainly can't hurt. "We didn't pay to place the clip on these blogs (you can't), but they posted it because it's right for their audiences," Smith wrote.



The two videos also hit the front page of the popular social news website Digg a couple hours apart Wednesday � both submitted by the same user, badwithcomputer, who says he isn't getting any kickbacks either.



"Unfortunately, I won't be receiving a new Samsung phone or a copy of an EA game any time soon," he wrote in an instant messenger conversation. "That Samsung video had 3K views when I submitted it yesterday and now has over 200K and climbing. I feel like a huge Digg story really pushed that thing into going viral (getting a lot of views from Digg and getting picked up by other blogs)."



In three days the Tiger Woods video on YouTube has gotten 706,000 hits; Samsung has had 658,000 in four days.



"People pass it on," Moore said. "It's like pond scum."



Or like a virus.



� Mark Milian

Monday 25 August 2008

New Orleans headed to Democratic convention this weekend

If New Orleans seems devoid of local musicians this week, that's because many ar in Colorado. On Sunday, guitarist Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands All-stars anchors a Louisiana krewe performing at the Democratic Convention's delegate welcoming party and a secret event sponsored by Friends of New Orleans, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates on behalf of Louisiana's post-hurricane recovery.




They include George Porter Jr., Cyril Neville, Terence Blanchard, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Vidacovich, Anders Osborne, Waylon Thibodeaux, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Meters drummer Zigaboo Modeliste and guitar player Leo Nocentelli as well as Henry Butler and special guest Randy Newman.



On Wednesday, the musicians appear at the Belly Up taproom in Aspen, Colo., for the "New Orleans All-Star Mountain Jam-balaya," a fundraiser and fifth part anniversary party for the Tipitina's Foundation. From Aspen, they question to Jackson Hole, Wyo., for some other Tip's foundation benefit on Aug. 29, the tierce anniversary of Katrina. After Jackson Hole, they travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a Friends of New Orleans event during the Republican convention.



"The whole trip serendipitously fell into place," said foundation curator Bill Taylor. "It seemed to be a smart idea to take advantage of having such a unique potpourri of musicians in places like Aspen and Jackson Hole. People there tend to appreciate the humanities and receive disposable income."



Starting Sunday, go to www.nola.com for Keith Spera's blogs from the Denver and Aspen shows.



Hot tix



Buckcherry, Avenged Sevenfold and Saving Abel, Oct. 3, UNO Lakefront Arena, $30-$37.50 addition service charges (floor tickets are world-wide admission, balcony reserved seating area), on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.









More info

Thursday 7 August 2008

Andy Bey

Andy Bey   
Artist: Andy Bey

   Genre(s): 
Vocal
   Jazz
   Pop
   



Discography:


American Song   
 American Song

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 10


Thuesdays In Chinatown   
 Thuesdays In Chinatown

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 11


Shades of Bey   
 Shades of Bey

   Year: 1998   
Tracks: 10


Ballads, Blues and Bey   
 Ballads, Blues and Bey

   Year: 1996   
Tracks: 10




One of the





Lucy in Space with Diamonds

Friday 27 June 2008

Tim Mcgraw - Mcgraw Gets Violent With Rowdy Fan At Concert


Country music star TIM MCGRAW rescued a female fan at a concert on Tuesday (24Jun08) by dragging an overzealous man onstage and threatening to punch him.

The Indian Outlaw hitmaker was performing a concert in Auburn, Washington when he spotted a male fan harassing a woman in the audience.

And MCGraw didn't hesitate to come to the woman's defence - pulling the man onto the stage and threatening to hit him before security escorted him off the premises and turned him over to police.

A spokesperson for MCGraw says, "While Tim was performing at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Washington last night, he watched a man rush to the front of the stage. This overly aggressive fan attacked a female fan and Tim witnessed this incident. Tim called for security, but when they could not respond quick enough, Tim and several crew members removed the fan from the audience where he was then turned over to the local authorities."





See Also

Monday 16 June 2008

Kelly Offered Woman 250000 For Sex Tape

LATEST: R. KELLY has been accused of offering a woman $250,000 (GBP125,000) to potentially cover-up damning footage of him having sex with an underage girl.

The troubled R+B star stands accused of videotaping himself having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He has pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts of child pornography.

On Monday (2Jun08), Lisa Van Allen told jurors she first had sex with Kelly and the alleged victim in front of a camera in 1998.

Van Allen claims the incident took place in the same Illinois home where prosecutors say the sex tape at the centre of the case also was made.

She told jurors she cried throughout a second sexual encounter in 1999 with Kelly and the alleged victim, whom she believed to be 16.

In her testimony, Van Allen claims Kelly last year (07) offered her the money to recover a tape of one of his sexual encounters. She claims she was later given just $20,000 (GBP10,000) after one of Kelly's associates collected the tape from a hotel in Chicago.

Van Allen also testified that Kelly carried a duffel bag containing his homemade sex tapes everywhere he went.

She told the court, "Wherever he was at, the bag would follow him."

However, defence attorneys accused her of trying to extort the singer. They will open their case on Wednesday (4Jun08).




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Thursday 5 June 2008

Garraway denies affair with dance partner

TV presenter Kate Garraway has said she and her husband are as in love as ever, dismissing allegations about her relationship with her 'Strictly Come Dancing' partner Anton Du Beke.
In a statement released by her solicitors, Garraway, who is married to psychotherapist Derek Draper, said she had been "extremely hurt" by allegations in a Sunday newspaper.
She said: "Contrary to these insinuations Derek and I are as faithful, happy and in love today as we have ever been.
She continued: "The plain truth is that Anton and I became friends during 'Strictly Come Dancing'."
"Since then we often work and hang out together. For that to be twisted into something else is sad, hurtful and totally untrue."
The 'GMTV' presenter added: "I am extremely upset and hurt by the allegations. I made it clear before publication that there was no truth to them whatsoever.
"Given they were published in any event and continue to be published, I feel I have no option but to take libel proceedings against the newspaper to set the record straight."

Tuesday 27 May 2008

Ageing Beauties Team Up For Mature Model Challenge

Top models BEVERLY JOHNSON and KIM ALEXIS are joining forces to give the catwalk a more mature look as the hosts of a new reality TV contest for ageing beauties.

Alexis will host She's Got The Look, while Johnson will serve as one of the show's three judges looking for new models aged 35 and older.

Alexis tells the Los Angeles Daily News, "It's a chance to enhance women over 35 who still look good and feel good about themselves and want a second chance at something.

"They may have stepped aside for family or for love, but always wanted to try it."

She's Got The Look debuts on America's TV Land network on 4 June (08).




See Also