Ozzy mumbles for Samsung - Brilliant!

Have you seen the latest Samsung commercial featuring Ozzy. He steps into a coffee shop and tries to order a cup of black coffee. The barista can't understand a word he says. Ozzy grabs his Samsung phone and TEXTS "Black Coffee" to the server. Then he's in a cab, and the cab driver can't understand what the location he mumbles. So Ozzy texts him the location. Finally, he's sitting on his shrinks couch. The Dr. asks, "How does that make you feel." Ozzy utters something completely unrecognizeable. "What?" So he texts his response to the shrink. It's hilarious. Check it out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUgktr_bjgo

The Bom Chicka Wah Wahs - AXE music video

Hmmm...this is interesting. Check out Unilever's attempt to create a music video to help promote AXE Body Spray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7evC55NU8I&feature=related

Great ad by fuse tv in Ad Age:

Check it out...

Madonna and the Blackberry Bold get Sticky & Sweet together:

Looks like Live Nation has put together a nice tour partnership with the new stunning Blackberry Bold. A quick visit to www.blackberry.com/madonna will treat you to details of the relationship. Blackberry ambassadors are on site at concert events taking pictures of concert attendees (with the Blackberry Bold of course) and providing them with a code to redeem their photos online. There is an interesting Madonna mosaic at the website. They take all of the photos from the tour and then put them together to form Madonna's image. Bold and Madonna seem like a pretty good brand fit to me. LN needs to recoup that hefty 360-deal advance. Wonder how much cash they actually received for this?

AC/DC and Wal-Mart -- "Back in Green" (as in bucks)

I can't believe it. I actually have the words "Go to WM to buy new AC/DC album" on my to-do list for this weekend. This old, jaded, rocker (that would be me) wants so badly to believe that this band could actually deliver a new CD that might harken back to the days of "Back in Black." Kudos to Columbia and Wal-Mart for pulling together a marketing campaign that struck a chord with me - and apparently a lot of other classic rockers. Rumor on the street is that this CD is going to move over 700K units in the first week and debut at #1 on the Billboard chart. The "Black Ice" tour is also selling out. Sometimes it just doesn't get any better than 3 chords on a Gibson SG, plugged into a cranked up Marshall amp. (Oh...and a lyric about loose women and booze).

Dr. Pepper lost the bet, but won a big PR stunt!

Bad bet...or brilliant marketing stunt? Earlier this year, Dr Pepper teased that they would give anyone and everyone a free can of Dr. Pepper if GNR's long-awaited album "Chinese Democracy" actually came out this year (2008). Word on the street is that Best Buy is claiming this album will hit their shelves exclusively on November 23rd. (I'll believe it when I see it). In the meantime, Dr. Pepper says we can all log on to www.drpepper.com on Nov 23rd to register to receive a coupon for a free can of soda. The Los Angeles Times quotes a company rep from Dr. Pepper saying... "It took a little patience (just a little pay-shense... ya-ah) to perfect Dr. Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients. We completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection." Hmmm... Logging on...registering...waiting for coupon in mail...going to retail to redeem. My guess, redemption will be next to nothing.

Taco Bell -- "Feed the Beat" campaign:

This is pretty cool. It's a bit similar to what DENNY'S started doing a year or so ago, (offering free food to bands after hours), but I still like it. They are dead-on in trying to reach Gen Y-ers with this strategy. Any band had the chance to submit an MP3. This was then narrowed down to to the best 100 submissions (not sure how that judging worked). Now, consumers vote to award 3 bands the grand prize. I'm curious to see how this plays out in Taco Bell's in-store signage and collateral promotional materials.
www.feedthebeat.com
My 14 year-old son would chose Taco Bell over Steak and Lobster. This is the kind of program that speaks directly to his crowd of delinquent friends. I think this is going to be very successful for TB.

HP Touchsmart Computer -- Joan Jett song

Kudos to HP for creatively using Joan Jett's "Do You Want To Touch Me There" in new ads for their Touch Smart Computer. Pretty cool.
http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/touchsmart/index.html?jumpid=ex_602_link/kimconpsg/4Q08Touchsmart/HomePageVideo/DailyCandy#/Ads/

Recent Music Artist/Brand partnership spottings...

1) Jennifer Hudson, Dove and Walmart -- promoting "Self-Esteem" to girls across America. http://soundcheck.walmart.com/jennifer_hudson.aspx

2) Citi Card and Live Nation -- Access to the best seats for the hottest concerts. livenation.com/citi

3) Puma and hipster indie band "The Morning Benders" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ00pKcoh3E

More as I come across them.

Great Billboard piece from last week:

Industry Experts (some questionable) were asked to rank the top 1000 ways to create BUZZ and SALES. Here's what they came up with (see below). My only question... When did SHOE ads become so cool? (Nike, Converse, Adidas and Reebok -- all cited).

1) Sync placement in iTunes TV campaign

2) Performance on Oprah Show

3) Song placed in TV ad campaign that runs during significant event (Superbowl)

4) Song featured as iTunes FREE single of the week

5) Song covered on FOX’S American Idol

6) Sync placement in Activision’s Guitar Hero

7) Song played during hit movie’s opening credits

8) Synch placement in high-rotation TV ad for Nike

9) Performance on Lollapalooza main stage

10) Synch placement in MTV’s RockBand video game

11) Video on YouTube’s Most-Viewed videos page for music

12) Cover story in Rolling stone

13) Synch placement in Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto

14) Synch placement in HBO’s “Entourage

15) Video on the front page of YouTube

16) Synch placement in Grey’s Anatomy

17) Any single or video listed in the FREE on iTunes section

18) Single played on Radio Disney

19) Performance on Bonnaroo’s main stage

20) Synch placement in CW’s “Gossip Girl”

21) Performance on NBC’s Today Show

22) Album display at Wal-Mart

23) Performance on Coachella’s Main Stage

24) Performance on one of MTV’s Award Shows

25) Performance on Main Stage of Van’s Warped Tour

26) Cover story in spin

27) Album featured in iTunes “New Music Tuesday” Email

28) Synch placement in EA’s Madden NFL

29) Song played over a Hit Movie’s end credits

30) Synch placement for high-rotation TV ad for Converse

31) Starring role in a reality show on MTV

32) Performance on OzzFest main stage

33) Album display at Target

34) Video link on perezhilton.com

35) Performance on Howard Stern Show

36) Song played on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”

37) Synch placement in MTV’s “The Hills”

38) Interview/feature in Rolling Stone

39) Cover story in “Entertainment Weekly”

40) Interview/feature in New York Times

41) Album display in Starbucks

42) Performance on Late Show with David Letterman

43) Video on MySpace music homepage

44) Synch placement in TV campaign for Adidas

45) Cover story in Vibe

46) Performance on ABC’s Good Morning America

47) Album/single listed on Amazon’s main music page

48) Album/single listed as “What we’re listening to” on iTunes

49) Album promoted in Target Circular

50) Album/single review in Rolling stone

51) Video in Rotation on MTV

52) Added to medium rotation at Urban Radio Station in Top 100 market

53) Performance on NBC’s “Tonight Show”

54) Added to medium rotation at Country Radio station in Top 100 market

55) Performance n Lollapalooza second stage

56) Video on Yahoo Music Page

57) Coverage in Vanity Fair’s annual music issue

58) Performance at the Virgin Mobile Festival

59) Performance on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”

60) Video in rotation on VH1’s “Top 20 Countdown”

61) Single played on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes eclectic”

62) Performance on NPR’s “World Café”

63) Performance on Bonaroo’s secondary stage

64) Album displayed in Best Buy

65) Album/Single review on Pitchfork.com

66) Mention on perezhilton.com

67) Performance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live

68) TV performance on key Latin Awards show/Grammy’s

69) In-store performance at Borders

70) Headline performance at SummerStage

71) Interview/feature in SPIN

72) Cover story in People En Espanol

73) Performance on Points West Main Stage

74) Video on CMT’s “power Picks”

75) Interview/profile in Wired Magazine

76) Album/single review in SPIN

77) Synch placement in CW’s “One Tree Hill”

78) Album mentioned on Wal-Mart’s in-store Video Network

79) Video in rotation on CMT

80) Showcase performance at SXSW

81) Acting role in a movie

82) Video in rotation on VH1

83) Song played on FOX’S “So You Think You Can Dance”

84) Song used as theme song for Telenovela

85) Starring role in a reality Show on VH1

86) Performance on Walmart.com “Soundcheck”

87) Review in Entertainment Weekly

88) Single played on NPR’s World Café

89) Perf on Coachella second stage

90) Video streamed on mtv.com homepage

91) Perf on Live with Regis and Kelly

92) Hosting spot on MTV show

93) Album/single streamed on AOL homepage

94) Synch placement in Showtime’s “Californication”

95) Added to medium rotation on Adult R&B station in Top 100 market

96) Perf on Rockstar Mayhem Fest’s main stage

97) Synch placement in TV add for Reebok

98) Interview/feature in Vibe

99) Added to medium rotation on Rock Station in top 100 market

100) Added to medium rotation on Top 40 station in a top 100 market

Billboard - Sept 27, 2008 issue

LA Roadshow Presentation - September 17th, 2008:

Roadshow was again an awesome event this year. Kudos to Mitch Litvak and Crew for consistently putting on the best "Entertainment Marketing" event out there! Hopefully many of you made it to the event. If you missed my presentation, or perhaps just want a physical copy of it, click on the "VIEW MY PRESENTATION" link to the left. This is a copy of the presentation that you can view, as well as print out. If you're not involved with the LA Office Roadshow...YOU NEED TO BE. Check out http://www.laoffice.com/


I also have to thank Jesse McCartney for a fantastic performance at the Wrap Party. What a tremendous talent who has reinvented himself into a super hot property. Two #1 hits on the radio this past summer, and a third one on the way up the charts now. I'm actively looking for partners!

YOUTH POWER 2008:

I'm speaking at an upcoming youth marketing conference in San Diego -- Youth Power 2008. (December 8th-10th). I'll be discussing recent brand parternships with Chevy & Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus and HP. Check out this link for more information on this event.
http://image.exct.net/lib/ff2b12797165/d/1/IQPC-PRESS%20RELEASE-Youth%20Power.pdf

BANDS & BRANDS...A forum for discussion

I spend my professional life creating, brokering and managing partnerships between music artists and corporate America. Although my business card reads "Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Promotions," I often think it should read..."Music Marketing Marriage Counselor." In the lifecycle of just about every partnership between band and brand that I have worked on over the years, there was inevitably a time when I had to sit in the middle of both parties and remind everyone why we all fell in love in the first place.

I have created this blog as an open forum for discussion on the art of marrying artist and brand, and managing the pros & cons of such a relationship. Although I can't guarantee to have all of the answers, I look forward to sharing from my practical experience. My hope is to build a robust community of practitiioners who play in this field that will chime in and help those who are new to the space, as well as creating some fun/stimulating conversation.