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Old Spice Man is not the manly smelling grim reaper you think he is for the Old Spice brand

 

Chances are if you opened your eyes at any point last week you saw or heard about the Old Spice YouTube campaign where they sent out customized video messages from the wildly popular "Old Spice Man" played by a ripple-abbed former footballer to all sorts of tweeters. The first reaction by the masses was "Wow, this is the best thing that's ever happened to my eyes and ears. Hooray Old Spice." The digital marketing/social media set immediately began carving their idols of Old Spice Man as this was the campaign that would change marketing FOREVER! Then it all crumbled as we got report after report about how sales are going DOWN not up after the flashy and exciting campaign.

Did you hear me! Sales are going down and the videos have been up for almost a WHOLE week. Uh, I know we love immediacy in the age of digital, but isn't that a little premature to determine the epic failure that so many want to proclaim? For real insights as to the overblown nature of this claim, check out an article from Video SEO leader ReelSEO, which points out, amongst other things, that the sales figures are vague in their sources - but for more of my prescient opinions, scroll down, dude.

People are proclaiming that despite the excitement and freshness of this video campaign that deodorant/body wash buyers don't care because Old Spice is Grandpa's brand. But let me put this out there... I remember entering the junior high gym changing room where we had to wear uniforms for the first time and after class you showered (maybe) but always sprayed, or rolled on the deodorant. In my day you wore Right Guard. I don't know why but you just did. 

Now put yourselves in the shoes of an 11-13 year old boy who is soon to become a lifelong deodorant consumer - and has yet to establish any feelings about Old Spice's previous brand image. Isn't it possible that this young lad sees these videos (and accompanying hilarious TV spots) and identifies with the NEW brand image? Let's take that a step further... his mom.

A big point of the campaign is that ladies are the buyers these days so let's show them a rock hard shirtless dream of a man that they'd like to ride backwards on a horse with. You know Mom likes to watch these videos (she may be married, but she's not dead!) and she probably wants sonny boy to think she's cool, so wouldn't buying sonny boy some Old Spice and making a joke about "smelling like a man," maybe convert to future sales for the brand?

The digital age has brought on this dichotomy of everything happening at a mile a minute, while at the same time trying to build lasting relationships and establishing long term brand loyalty. As an online video producer, I try to create videos that share personality and honesty more than just cramming a product down your throat, so you'll excuse me if I wait a few years before grabbing my shotgun and bringing Old Spice behind the barn to put him out of his misery.

What do you think? Is a dip in sales at the exact time the buzz is created an automatic death blow, or do you wait and see the bigger picture?

SXSW 2010: Big Teeth Film Recap

 

In our previous blog post Elise gave some great insights into how we navigated through the action of SXSW, so I thought I'd give a recap of the films that I saw.

I'm no Roger Ebert (more recently known as @ebertchicago) so I'll keep it short, but if you want more details about these and other films check out ifc.com's SXSW blog.

If you saw any of these and have any thoughts, or saw others you'd recommend, let us know in the comments.

THE FILMS (In order of when I saw them)

Click on the film title to visit it's website. All photos used here are from the SXSW website.

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American: The Bill Hicks Story (Documentary)

A look at the life and times of controversial cult-comic Bill Hicks who died young. The film tracks Hicks' development into a brutally frank political comedian who couldn't seem to find the mainstream acceptance he desired in his home country, but did overseas.

This one is most notable for use of animation during interview segments in place of talking head footage.

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Harry Brown (Narrative Feature)

Michael Caine stars in this gritty British film that I liken to a cross between "Gran Torino" and "Falling Down." Caine is an older gentleman who can only stand so much of the decay that his neighborhood is experiencing, and after dealing with difficult situations with his beloved wife and best friend at the hands of violent drug dealers, he takes matters into his own hands.

I particularly loved the cinematography and acting in this movie. It had a down and dirty feel that you rarely see in Hollywood films. And it has Michael Caine!

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World's Largest (Documentary)

Full disclosure: One of the filmmakers, Lizzy Donius, is a friend of ours and the former head of IFP Chicago. However, we had absolutely no stake in the making of this film.

Donius and collaborator Amy Elliott tell a story that is all at once fun, whimsical, sad and thought-provoking. The documentary takes us to seemingly every small town in America that boasts the world's largest statue of something, that often represented that town's main industry. Most of these towns are crumbling and often the industry that propelled them is gone. The film is shot with a very tourist with a handi-cam feel but manages to convey the true nature of these towns and their inhabitants. I was really glad that I enjoyed the film so that I didn't have to lie to Lizzy!

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The People Vs. George Lucas (Documentary)

We all have opinions about George Lucas. This film talks to hundreds of people about the highs and lows of one of film's most polarizing figures. We love him for Star Wars and then hate him for everything he did to the original series and the new one that followed. The film also includes archival footage of Lucas along with many clips of fan-made films.

If you've never thought out loud about whether Jar Jar Binks was worse than the Ewoks or not then you can skip this one... otherwise, it's fun to watch.

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Dirty Pictures (Documentary)

From the film's website: "DIRTY PICTURES is a documentary about Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, the rogue chemist who discovered the effects of MDMA (aka Ecstasy) and over 200 other mind-altering drugs. Shulgin’s alchemy has earned him the title “The Godfather of Psychedelics,” and a reputation as one of the great chemists of the 20th century."

This was a film that I was really excited to see and was left not sure how I felt. I think Shulgin is definitely an interesting enough character to be featured, I just felt that it delved a lot deeper into the science of it all for my liking. But if you dig the equations, this is a guaranteed winner. Plus, there's a lot of humor and Burning Man sequences.

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Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil (Narrative Feature)

Film festivals so rarely have flat-out comedies, but fortunately they make exceptions. Tucker and Dale was just a fun movie to watch. Seeing at a theater that serves beer at midnight didn't hurt my enjoyment, but this one will no doubt make it's way to multiplexes and I'm glad for that.

The film does a 180 on the typical backwoods hicks hunting the college hotties story and instead gives us two rednecks with hearts and brains (sort of). Tucker and Dale just want to hang out and fish at their new "summer home" (a dilapidated cabin on the lake) and find themselves implicated in a series of unfortunate accidents. There's lots of goofy gore, so if you love horror movies but have a sense of humor you'll love this. If you get squeamish from on-screen blood, then sit it out.

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So there you have it. I don't know if any of these won awards or not, and while I liked some better than others, all in all I'm glad to support independent filmmaking in whatever capacity I can. Again, I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of these films or others you might have seen or heard about at SXSW.

 

SXSW 2010: A “Teaser” to 2011

I’m feeling exhausted and achy, have very little voice left and can’t wait to sleep in my own bed! But the weirdest thing is that I still want to turn around and get back to Austin! In fact, if I were able to, I’d have already booked my flights and hotel for next year… unless we decide to pack up Big Teeth and actually MOVE down to Austin before 2011.

What an experience! And one without a BADGE.  I read several blogs prior to heading to Austin about people’s experiences without badges, most seemed positive – and my experience was no different.  Being in Austin only 3.5 days, there were only a handful of panels I really wanted to attend and I didn’t think I could hit more than 2-3 films a day plus wasn’t that particular about which ones -so costs didn’t add up.   Waiting in line even with a film badge wasn’t appealing – but going 15 minutes before a show to see if there are extra tickets, seemed to be the way to go – especially if the film was at the Paramount. 

I had no badge but I WAS armed with business cards, bookmarks, recipe cards, stickers and pins for both Big Teeth and Fooditude.  It was especially funny to meet people, then figure out if they’d rather me put on my Big Teeth or Fooditude hat.  One thing was certain, I met way more people than I’d ever imagined meeting and people that may have NEVER known about either of my companies had we not ended up in the same elevator, shuttle, line for a film or in the same row at a panel. 

I made it to 4 Film Screenings (all of which were great) and 3 Interactive panels, and a handful of parties (only one that I tried to go to and couldn’t, being badgeless).  I can only imagine how much I’ll be able to do next year if I have a little more time to plan and don’t have to spend a day just trying to get the lay of the land. 

 A few things I learned:

• I really like Austin!
• If badgeless and you can handle the anxiety and you only have a few panels you really want to go to, hide behind a tall friend and carry a very large bag in front of you.
• If you have a friend that stays out later than you and you KNOW won’t be up first thing in the AM for a panel you want to go to, convince them to lend you their badge!
• Make friends with people that are only there for a couple days, seems everyone wants to share the love and offers up their badges or shuttle bracelets to others before they head out of town.  WHY NOT?!?!
• The shuttles from hotels outside of the city were wonderful, but I’d still prefer to stay in the city!
• Never be afraid to chase a car down that's leaving an event you're to ask for a ride, especially if its raining
• If you like food, Austin is a great town, but don’t just eat on 6^th street, that’s not where the good stuff is.
• Austin is a really great city for vegetarians and breakfast lovers!  (2 things I am) Even if I didn’t have a chance to hit up any of Citizen Taco (Austin Food blogger) I’d read before my trip but had the privilege of meeting in person while there)’s top spots for breakfast tacos, I found that even the bad ones were great.

 I see my experience as a taste of what is to come in the future.  Until next year SXSW!

New Media Revolution: From No Tube to YouTube in 5 Years

YouTube was founded in February of 2005. This became slightly significant to me as I was unearthing video samples that I created and came across the first short films that I wrote and directed from, you guessed it, February 2005.

Five years ago what did New Media mean to us? I'm guessing not a whole lot. Blogs existed but not everyone on the planet had three of them. How many podcasts did you download in 2005? I listened to more this week than I did that year. We didn't tag photos on Facebook, we didn't converse in tweets, and we certainly didn't upload high quality videos that could be played back in real time on every computer in the world.

On a personal note these videos are also the first collaboration between Elise and I production-wise. She produced three shorts that I wrote and directed. Now in 2010, every day of our lives involves Elise producing video that I write, direct or edit. The emergence of YouTube and New Media/Social Media has essentially allowed us to be in business and had things not progressed how they did, Big Teeth Productions might not be around today - perish the thought of course.

Here's one of the videos that I'm referring to titled, "All In."
(full disclosure, this one was actually done in March 2005, not February):

Not exactly a cinematic masterpiece but in terms of story and production value right up there with most of what you see on YouTube. Had there been a YouTube like it is today in 2005, its possible that I would have been able to show these videos to more than the few friends and mentors that actually saw it. Then maybe some of those people would have embedded it into their blogs or Facebook pages and thousands more might have seen it. Maybe PETA would have insisted I take it down because I encouraged dogs to gamble, which would have led to some PR for me and more eyes on the video. Then I would have been signed to a 3 picture deal at Dreamworks and become a filmmaking superstar... Then again, maybe I'd be right here where I am. Either way, my life is a totally different one thanks to the New Media Revolution.

Has the New Media Revolution effected what you do in your personal life or your career? Do you think we are better off with YouTube and other New Media outlets or worse?

MLB, NFL Need to Get out of the Babe Ruth era

"Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this blog, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is prohibited."

Why are professional sports so slow to adapt to modern technology and social media? First the NFL employs a draconian Twitter policy  that the Don Quijote of unnecessary PR, Chad Ochocinco, vows to stab with his sword of justice. Next comes a story via SM superstore Mashable about a missed opportunity by Major League Baseball to launch a viral video from a genuine moment by a Philadelphia Phillies fan, that amazingly did not involve throwing batteries at the opposing team.

America's professional sports leagues are extremely blessed with the ability to have essentially 30 (give or take) brands under their umbrella with which to market. Think about all the Cubs, or Cowboys, or Redwings merch that gets sold every year, and imagine the Don Fannuci-like commissioner of each league wetting their beaks from every sale. Isn't that enough for them to be happy - and moreso, shouldn't they embrace the fact that the millions of fans are essentially marketing their product for FREE!

Its not bad enough that the average hard-working fan has to fork over a small fortune to take his family to a game and fill them up with nachos the price of an SUV; but they are treated to a bunch of athletic savants complaining about how underpaid they are (If I hear about one more "hometown discount" contract that involves $200 million I may lose it altogether).

What's so irritating about this is, what are they trying to protect? I get it when the military has to ban tweeting, or when a politician's wife needs to keep some details to herself, but come on, this is a GAME we're talking about. Unless @CC_Sabathia is tweeting signs to @davidortiz I think we can feel safe with Twitter on the sidelines and in the dugouts. For all the commissioners know they might make a few extra bucks - and we KNOW they like that.