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Celebrity

Don’t Give Zach Braff Money Even Though Everyone Else Already Did

There was a time, all the way back in April, when the Internet was outraged at actor/director Zach Braff. You see, after seeing Veronica Mars fans quickly pony up over $2 million to turn the cult 2000′s TV show into a movie, Braff figured he’d turn to the same platform, Kickstarter, to get his next film project funded.

This caused a lot of butthurt, especially on social media, where complaining is an art form of sorts. “But, @ZachBraff is a multimillionaire,” tweeted the world in unison. “Why should people be give the rich #Garden State douche their hard earned money to make a second #douchetastic film?” Comedian Tim Heidecker took the complaining to the next level, actually tweeting Zach Braff a one-page script about his douche-y idea. This was all fun for a while, but despite the Internet outrage, Braff’s Kickstarter investors already raised more than he needed for the movie, and everyone stopped caring. Well, almost everyone.

Starting today, the guys behind the website Screen Junkies (featuring that “brand rapper” former Deutsch LA copywriter dude Jason Pickar) have turned to Kickstarter competitor IndieGoGo to start “Don’t Back Zach Braff.” The campaign discourages people to donate to Zach Braff’s movie, despite it already being funded last month and everyone moving on to more important things like Angelina Jolie and the How I Met Your Mother season finale. With $10,000, Screen Junkies will take out a full-page ad in the print edition The Hollywood Reporter discouraging the people to give money to Zach Braff’s already funded project which, even if it wasn’t, would still be a waste of money, because you’d be making a media buy in The Hollywood Reporter and this isn’t 1954. With $200,000 Screen Junkies pledges to make whatever this is into even more of an exercise in futility by buying a full-page ad in (hold onto your butts) Entertainment Weekly.

Yes, of course they’re doing all of this ironically and the purpose of stopping celebs from crowdfunding their future vanity projects. After all, when has doing things solely for the sake of irony not led to great ideas? Donate here, or, you know, you could not let whatever Zach Braff or other Hollywood folks are doing have any impact on your spending habits. Credits after the jump.

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So, Who the Hell is Really Famous? Feh Tarty Wants to Know…from Moms

Yes, this is the brainchild of agency creative vet Feh Tarty, who has spent the last three years as a creative director at Mother London and has also worked at the likes of W+K and Goodby during his career. While Mother NY does its own thing with “Momtract,” we have this celeb-themed Mother’s Day effort from across the pond that includes a game called, yes,Who is Really Famous. Regarding the project, Tarty says, “Throughout my career in advertising, I’ve had the opportunity meet some famous people. But when I would share these experiences with my mom, in more cases than not, she would have no idea who a person was. I would jokingly say to friends that no one is really famous unless my mom knows who they are. So I decided to find out who actually is, according to my mom, by making a film and asking her which names or faces she [recognized].”

As the clip suggests, you are asked to select photos of at least 20 celebrities and then ask your mother whether she recognizes them. So farthe “top least famous people” on the Who Is Really Famous site are Diddy and Russell Crowe. C’mon mums, you can do better because we’re talking about royals, pop stars and others for heaven’s sake. Give it a go if you’d like with yours and play here.

 

Audi Gives Us Spock Vs. Spock

Audi has switched gears from commuting with Iron Man to inject some ad gusto into another blockbuster franchise about to hit theaters: Star Trek into Darkness. The latest spot – produced by PMK-BNC – pits the wily veteran against the smooth newcomer. Spock v. Spock. Leonard Nimoy against Zachary Quinto in a battle of intellect, trash-talk, and automobile semantics. Quinto may be prettier, but Nimoy has an old-man game full of tricks up his sleeves.

The two-minute video promotes the new Audi S7 as the perfect vehicle for anyone in need of a smooth ride with technological toys. This may not be the USS Enterprise, but it can get Quinto to the golf club faster than Nimoy’s Mercedes, at least until the twist ending. The response has been overwhelmingly positive on YouTube thus far, and it’s a safe bet that sci-fi geeks will get a kick out of the Spock-off in the coming weeks. Can those geeks buy Audis? Probably not, but at least they’ll chuckle at the playful banter. Credits after the jump.

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Mother, Acer Introduce Us to Vernon, Assistant to the ‘World’s #1 DJ’

After showing us Kiefer Sutherland/Jack Bauer’s, er, softer side and making a case for Megan Fox as a marine biologist, Mother London and Acer have teamed up again for another fairly amusing web film to promote one of the computer brand’s Ultrabooks. This latest collaboration stars the globe-trotting Dutch progressive house DJ/producer now simply known as Tiesto and his hapless assistant, Vernon, who perhaps resembles a hybrid of Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen.

One would think that Tiesto, who probably earns at least six figures a gig in a million exotic destinations and has been lathered up by the likes of DJ Magazine and Rolling Stone as the “world’s #1 DJ” over the years, would hire someone a bit less befuddled than Vernon to run his affairs. But, as you can see, being adept at using an Acer Aspire P3 Ultrabook can turn even the most awkward of characters into a model-luring, scene-stealing star. We can all dare to dream. Credits after the jump.

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Here’s Your Weekly Video Miscellany

Laaaaaaaaa la la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaa. Springeth has arrived, eth! Huzzah and good day. Haroo and hoo-ray. Cha, chuh cha, chuh cha. That was me singing from the mountain tops, expressing the glory of this day. Unless you’re at one of those unfortunate Minneapolis agencies where snow is the main thing that’s happening. Seriously, someone send them some Diageo products. And the good stuff, none of that rail crap. Since they’re stuck inside today, we’ve done our best to keep spirits high with the week’s best videos. Hope you’ll agree! Let’s go.

5. The world of Russia is foreign to many, a land known most for its inability to pick a good government and generally being grumpy, shows us its softer side with this collection of dash-cam goodness. Dash-cams, for the uninitiated, are dashboard mounted video cameras that Russians just love to run all the time like they’re on Cops. Natch, some good things get picked up, and while usually we find epic crashes here we get something fresh – random acts of kindness. At “301+” this video is probably getting blown up right now. Expect to see this one on the Today Show.

4. Jimmy Fallon + Zach Gali…gal iii…fa…nock.us. Anyway they’re really just having a good time in this one and then BAM, Olive Garden gets a shout out. A puny 3,100 have enjoyed this one, but Olive Garden kids better get on this one. I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me? Yes, yes I could.

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And Now, Your Weekly Video Miscellany

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood and you’re undoubtedly going to try and get out early. Our goal is to prevent that via a compelling series of YouTubes that will take up an inordinate amount of time. To streamline, don’t read the copy. Just press it for glory.

5.We don’t usually post videos with so few views, but this cat with the cone of shame on who also gets a can of cat food stuck to his face (due to aforementioned can) should be noted as a bit of glory that a brand can immediately turn into a gif and post to their Facebook, Tumblr, or whatever. Or not because, durrr, legal issues. But still, in a perfect world, this poor bastard would achieve fame for it.

4. And now, the 5th iteration of BMW-like films, this time by Jaguar. Watch as Damian Lewis careens a new F-Type through the desert. I won’t name all the other brands that have done this kind of thing already because that would be rude. Still, I wonder if it’s still interesting. With two days under its belt, the clip has just 26,897 views despite being produced by Ridley Scott(Associates and having music from Lana Del Rey. Maybe there’s something to take away from that – doing what once was wonderful won’t win? Dunno, but seems as such.

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Chris Paul Finally Sits Down with Long Lost Brother, Cliff Paul

On Monday night, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul hit a 15-foot bank shot as time expired to put his team up 2-0 over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs. You should have seen it—it was really cool.

You know what’s even cooler? The fact that Chris Paul finally met his long-lost brother who we learned existed during the holiday season. Finally, State Farm and agency Translation’s sick little experiment, which included separating twins at a young age and documenting their lives for over two decades in the name of insurance, is coming to an end. Finally, Chris Paul can be at peace. And, finally, Cliff Paul has enough money to quit his job at State Farm once an for all, pursuing a new career of professional moocher.

However, having established a reputation for inhumane cruelty, don’t count out the possibility that Translation isn’t done toiling in the lives of the brothers Paul. Sure, they may have reunited the twins, but that doesn’t mean that before the NBA Finals, Cliff is “accidentally” run over by an uninsured driver. I’m just saying, if Blake Griffin shows up to Cliff’s funeral wearing an argyle sweater in a few months, don’t be surprised. Credits after the jump.

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You Can Watch Time Warner Sports on Many Devices, As Long as the Cable Works

Consider this a left-handed compliment: Time Warner Cable has better commercials promoting their cable service than they do actual cable service. That’s not an exaggeration. Anyone who lives in New York has either experienced firsthand or heard of the terrible reception and customer service. And for anyone planning on writing some snarky, contrarian comment about your perfect Time Warner service, don’t jinx the good cable karma by being an idiot.

That being said, Time Warner is back with another commercial about its sports package, which, according to the above spot, can be watched on just about every mobile device ever created. Victor Cruz, the man in half of all commercials on television, makes an appearance along with golfer Ian Poulter, driver Kasey Kahne, and former NFL coach/current CBS football analyst Bill Cowher (who tipsters have been taking for his acting skills in the last few days). The spot is a short and clever way to include four endorsers at once, a compliment directed completely at the agency behind this, Ogilvy, not Time Warner itself.

In closing, one more reason to dislike Time Warner Cable: Victor Cruz has one contract with TWC and zero contracts with the New York Giants. See another TWC spot with Cowher and Cruz called “The Test” after the jump.

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And Now, Your Weekly Video Miscellany

Well there’s no good way to talk about this week. So let’s just take a moment to distract ourselves from the cray with another round of videos. You’ve had a long week, especially those of you working in Boston and Texas. The rest of us, we’re with you in spirit, doing our thing. Let’s get to it, shall we?

7. This first spot from St. John Ambulance is a tricky one. We follow the life of this man who is apparently suffering from cancer. It’s tragic, really, the kind of sad story you hope your life never turns into. And then things get better. But wait, not so fast, there’s a twist ending! It’s sad as all heck in a way, but eye opening. Views: 205,482.

6. Personally I’m a bit surprised this hasn’t gone further – it’s a piece with our favorite sports brand, Red Bull. This time they strapped lights onto wake boards and shot a video of athletes doing a water course at night. It’s magical, in a way, how the lights streak across the sky. Very mushroomy. Yet it’s only got 260,437 views – a rare miss for the brand. But still, you’d kill for that many views on your latest thing, no?

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Gentleman Jack Returns to TV via Secret ‘Order’

According to the parties involved, specifically Arnold Worldwide and Jack Daniel’s, the spot above marks the first one in a quarter-century for the latter spirits brand’s Gentleman Jack rare premium whiskey line. The focal point of the campaign is what agency and brand are dubbing “The Order of the Gentleman,” which sounds like a more refined version of the Stonecutters or the secret society/motley crew assembled by Jagermeister and Mistress. The spot itself called “Secret Meetings,” which debuted during last night’s premiere of Anthony Bourdain‘s new CNN show, Parts Unknown, stars apparent “Order of the Gentleman” member Titus Welliver, who among other things has appeared in all three Ben Affleck-directed movies in recent years.

As we’ve been told, the somewhat mysterious clip above is just the beginning of a campaign that will roll out over the next few months and includes online components among other things. Indulge your urbane self further if you care to here. Credits after the jump.

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