Torrent Starz
Neilsen ratings are not a true indication of what people under 35 are up to.
Case in point, the only good TV show on the air just got canceled. Party Down is a cynical comedy, following LA’s social underclass of “aspiring…” talent. So you have a burned out commercial actor, a wannabe screenwriter, the sometimes model with a band and a comedian who keeps getting promising auditions. Of course the humor comes from watching all them fail, in small professional / personal / relationship opportunities that could break them free from the recurring nightmare, of temporary employment for party catering outfit that serves those more successful.
The joke of a show comprised of aspirational types, that ignore their current identity despite returning in pink bow-tie, episode after episode – is similar to what the Starz network must have been thinking in producing a series.
“What? Starz has a series? That cable network that no one watches?”
That’s the point. We don’t watch Starz. And they know that. So, we grab torrents of every episode of Party Down and engage with other people about discussing this show that Starz puts out. So now the cable channel with no identity gains some chatter. Not very different from branded content.
Yet… Despite inflating the Starz brand, this whole experiment is somehow judged as a flop… based on Neilsen ratings. Which in no way reflects the fact that everyone under 35 just watches torrents of TV Read the rest of this entry »
Forget any half-assed destruction of their recent rebranding campaign in exchange for minor Hollywood marketing dollars… These geniuses are going Kamikaze. Ignoring all trending summer blockbusters, they’ve focused on giving tiny-font media critics a run for their money. Now, some small-time regional radio station might get away with saying “MacGruber is the funniest SNL film in ages…”, in exchange for a press-junket gift basket. Not AOL. They’ve decided to show everyone how the big-boys play, by making EVERY STORY ON THEIR NEWS PAGE about the new Katherine Heigl / Ashton Kutcher movie. The one that seems purpose built to obtain the lowest rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Saatchi & Saatchi wanted to do something really clever in rebranding the mini-brand image. So they shot TV spots featuring two cool (too cool) young parents repping their cred in a hip-hop style campaign called “Swagger Wagon.” And then they bought up ad space today on YouTube, so everyone sees it.
This ad campaign is currently everywhere. Apparently Dreamworks and company feel it’s not 100% tasteless to promote a kid’s movie as a pun on “What the Fuck Just Happened.”
Related: 
Can you also put “doing blow in the bathroom” as a tax deduction?