No two things go hand-in-hand quite like a car and a drive-in movie theater — especially in the context of American nostalgia. The shift toward digital film, however, threatens to send the drive-in the way of the dodo. Stepping in to help keep this American icon from utter extinction is automaker Honda.

By the end of 2013, Hollywood is expected to stop distributing 35 millimeter film to all U.S. movie theaters. While most indoor theaters have already made the switch to digital projection — a move that costs roughly $75,000 per screen — hundreds of drive-in theaters will find it difficult to manage such an expenditure, given their limited ticket sales (most drive-ins close during the colder months, after all).

Part of Honda’s goal is to raise community awareness of the perilous situation in which beloved local drive-ins find themselves. The campaign’s website, projectdrivein.com, features a video (below), which visitors are encouraged to share via social media. Supporters are also asked to pledge to see one movie at their local drive-ins. Read more

Marking another evolutionary step in the dynamics between the public and the ways we consume information, Nielsen has released its first survey measuring the impact of Twitter on TV audiences, and vice versa.

The study didn’t unearth any groundbreaking revelations. That’s the funny thing about studies meant to mine us, the public, for information: We’re not surprised by the things we do. The data from Nielsen’s “Twitter Causation Study” reveals that 29 percent of the time Twitter does in fact “meaningfully” affect TV ratings, particularly unscripted programming such as reality TV shows and sports coverage.

Anyone who has ever live tweeted the Oscars, the Super Bowl, or America’s Got Talent knows the appeal of being able to riff on funny, inspiring or entertaining moments of spontaneity. It’s fun, and the perfect example of how our lives constantly involve multitasking. We facebook the stuffed flounder at our favorite restaurant. We instagram holding hands with a lover. And, yes, we tweet while watching TV.

That’s just where we are. As PR professionals, our job is to figure out where all of this is going. So it’s smart to measure how social media and TV are evolving together, particularly since TVs are basically morphing into computers. Will Twitter mean that crowdsourcing is the future of successful programming? Or is there any future at all for TV? Just where is all of this heading?

Any ideas?

Who knows, maybe this is exactly what Fox News wanted all along. The brand is seemingly incapable of internalizing bad PR the way giraffes don’t feel any need to apologize for the economy in Greece. It just doesn’t register.

How else could you explain Fox News willfully arranging an interview between author, historian, academic, religious scholar and expert on Christianity Reza Aslan—who is also a practicing Muslim—and the network’s feckless “Spirited Debate” correspondent Lauren Green. It was a mismatch. Not like a plaid shirt and striped pants, but like Paula Deen and southern history.

Watch the video above. It’s self-explanatory. And it’s sad. Saying a Muslim could never be qualified to write about Christianity is like saying a Mexican chef couldn’t possibly cook Italian food. Perhaps Ms. Green should go out to dinner more and visit the kitchen. She and Paula Deen could go together; they’d probably love each other’s company.

Once again, the public voted its sentiment with its money. So it’s no surprise, at Fox News’ chagrin of course, that the very book the network tried to demonize is riding a wave of public support and enjoying rising sales. But that doesn’t mean the confrontation surrounding Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth is over. Its value is being debated in that most academic of theological platforms: the Amazon comment section.

Sigh.

In case you’re one of the sad, deprived few who missed SyFy‘s latest motion picture masterpiece, Sharknado, you may be wondering, “What exactly is a Sharknado?” Allow me to enlighten you: Despite the potentially misleading name, it is neither a shark that behaves like a tornado, nor a tornado that behaves like a shark, but is, in fact, a tornado that forms over the ocean, sucking countless man-eating fish into its swirling vortex and dropping them willy-nilly upon the streets of unsuspecting Los Angeles.

Upon viewing the film with friends, the first thing I did — once I had come down from an unprecedented fit of gleeful laughter, which began during the opening sequence and persisted through what is perhaps the greatest ending of any movie ever — was to share my transcendent experience with my social media friends and followers. And I was far from alone.

On the night it first aired (July 11), the campy action film generated 318,232 tweets during broadcast, and peaked at 5,000 tweets per minute, making it the most-tweeted TV program of the night. Helping to fan the wildfire was the participation of big-name Twitter-users like Wil Wheaton, who tweeted a Vine counting down to the premiere to his 2.4 million followers, and then proceeded to live-tweet the movie. Read more

The cast of “The Game.”

The Hollywood Reporter got an exclusive this week: BET is being sued by a fan of one of its shows, The Game, over a Facebook fan page.

Stacey Mattocks was an avid viewer of the hit show The Game back in the days when it was on The CW. It has since been cancelled by that network and picked up by BET.

In 2008, Mattocks created a Facebook fan page that went on to reach 750,000 “likes” by the time BET decided to bring the show back to life. With Mattocks building buzz for the program in the lead up to its January 2011 re-debut, The Game premiered on BET with 7.7 million viewers, the second highest number in the network’s history. The Facebook page, at one point, was gaining 100,000 “likes” per week.

“Therefore, on December 15, 2010, BET submitted a proposed contract to Mattocks that would have paid her a maximum of $85,000.00 over a one year period,” the lawsuit claims. “Mattocks declined this offer because it was unreasonably low, would have stripped her of all rights to the FB Page, and, moreover, could have been terminated at any point by BET, with or without cause.”

After maintaining it for years, Mattocks’ Facebook page for The Game had 3.3 million fans.

Read more

Does the name Clive Palmer mean anything to you? Unless you keep tabs on Australian mining tycoons, the answer is probably “no.” But if you’re one of the countless movie fans who’ve dreamed of visiting a real-world Jurassic Park, you’re about to become a bit more familiar with Mr. Palmer.

The Australian billionaire (and apparent fan of blockbuster movies from the 90′s), already made headlines this past winter when he announced his plans to build his own working replica of the Titanic, set to be completed in 2016. Now, Palmer is building his own version of Jurassic Park, complete with over 100 limb-moving, eye-blinking (robot) dinosaurs, 40 of which have already been delivered to his coastal resort.

“Work is well underway at the site to ensure the dinosaurs blend seamlessly into the natural vegetation and create a realistic prehistoric environment that will be entertaining, informative and educational,” reads the resort’s website. Read more

President Obama is spending a lot of time this week focused on reaching out to different demographics in an attempt to get back to the business of advancing his plans. Today, he returned to the scene of his first big speech as a new Senator, Galesburg, IL’s Knox College, to talk about his economic program (preschool, new energy sources, and spending on infrastructure, for instance), the needs of the middle class, and raising the minimum wage. It was an hour-long speech that brought back the familiar Obama voice — earnest, determined, passionate.

On the healthcare front, the President is speaking with a different voice. Actually, it’s not his voice at all that you’ll hear. To reach younger Americans with information about the Affordable Care Act, he’s turning singer Jennifer Hudson, Amy Poehler, Kal Penn and other celebs to give voice to the benefits of the new law and the insurance exchanges that will open up on October 1. Read more

In case anyone out there actually had hopes that Abercrombie & Fitch might change its marketing tune after finding itself embroiled in controversy this past spring, the brand’s latest campaign will probably be a major disappointment. If the clothing retailer’s newest effort seems like more of the same to you, that’s because it is — exactly the same.

Rather than make any sort of attempt at re-branding, A&F is doing exactly the opposite: the company is reincarnating its successful “Stars on the Rise” campaign from the early 2000s, which featured then-budding celebs like Taylor Swift and Ashton Kutcher. The updated effort features 11 “up-and-coming” actors including Alexander Ludwig from The Hunger Games, American Horror Story’s Lily Rabe, and Glee star Jacob Artist (we’re particularly sad about this last one, as we sort of thought the whole Abercrombie-is-only-for-cool-kids thing would make for a great episode of the equality/inclusion/self-esteem-themed show).

When asked about the campaign, Abercrombie’s director of marketing and public relations Michael Scheiner told Buzzfeed, “For many of our consumers today, they might not know what we did in 2005, so it seemed relevant to discuss this concept we’ve done in the past.”

It seems A&F is hoping that recreating a campaign from its heyday may also recreate the popularity the brand experienced during the same time period. But this strategy assumes the current audience will be equally receptive to the message, an assumption which — given the recent backlash against the brand and the current anti-bullying/pro-inclusion landscape — may be a gamble. Read more

Any chance we have to ooh and ahh at our favorite celebs and over our favorite entertainments is welcome, particularly as we recover from the cavalcade of distressing news we got this week. Enter the Emmy award nominations.

But these noms should also inspire some amount of awe for putting on display the tremendous shifts happening on the boob tube.

First, we have the talk of the town: Netflix. The one-time snail mail DVD service (and Qwikster… remember that?) has made history with a best drama nomination for its original series House of Cards. In fact, it earned a total of nine nominations, including recognition for acting. It helps when you’ve got Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in the cast. The fact that a Netflix series can attract that kind of talent speaks to the depth of broadcast entertainment and the willingness out there to try something new.

Read more

This week the Syfy Channel aired its much-hyped, campy B-rate movie Sharknado, which triggered a social media feeding frenzy that included 318,000 tweets on Twitter (for a laugh check out #sharknado).

As PR professionals we’re intrigued by anything that garners the public’s interest on this level. The obvious appeal of Sharknado is the creative genius behind the idea of combining one of the most feared creatures on earth with one of its most devastating natural disasters. It’s stoner level brilliance mixed with meteorological whim and a touch of Jacques Cousteau. The concept is simply hilarious.

It’s been a rough several years for the public. The deep recession, two costly wars, political infighting, international upheaval, strained race relations, and a general WTF? vibe have taken a toll on the American public. We’re tired of being serious. We’re worn out. We need a break. As all PR experts know, timing in this industry is everything, and the timing for Sharknado could not have been better. Flying sharks attacking Los Angeles as Tara Reid and Ian Ziering defend the human race?

Yes please. Read more