Me, Myself & Media.

Last night was the final episode of "Ugly Betty", and although I have not had time to watch it yet, I am sad nonetheless. I am not a huge TV fan and never have been. However, this isn't to say that I haven't ever had favorite TV shows, because I certainly have. Generally there is one show that I will make time to watch. In the summertime, it's "So You Think You Can Dance", and in the past I've DVRed "Biggest Loser" and "The City". My most favorite, favorite show of the last five years has been, without a doubt, "Ugly Betty." I love everything about it -- especially the comedic timing and the show's flamboyant, exaggerated characters, my favorite being Marc St. James. Coupling Becki Newton, Michael Urie, America Ferrera, Ana Ortiz, Mark Indelicato, Eric Mabius, and Vanessa Williams was a beautiful, brilliant idea, and I cannot believe that their run together is over. This was one race I never wanted to end.

I almost want to postpone watching the last show for as long as possible, as if that perhaps makes the finale less real. At the same time, I have been reading glorious reviews about how everything ends on a happy note, and that audiences are left feeling optimistic about Betty's future in the fashion world. In the recent episodes, Betty's braces have come off, her hair has become less frizzy, and her botched fashion sense has developed into a more cohesive, stylish mess. She's more confident, more... fearless. Proof? "Maybe you're thinking of the old Betty, because the new Betty is fearless. Look, no bangs!" Wait, you mean that Betty isn't ugly after all? Shocking, I know.

When TV shows end, I always worry about the cast of the show. What is next for this bunch? I'm not sure, but they are all so talented, and I am positive that good things will come to them. I must admit, I'm not sure that I am ready for Michael Urie to be anyone other than Marc St. James -- he is fantastic as that character. Marc and Amanda's zingers will be missed for sure -- "I swear on the abs of Mark Wahlberg", says Marc. "Wow, you are serious," quips Amanda.

Last night, "Ugly Betty" became a top trending topic on Twitter for the first time -- where was the support all along the road? Was there nothing we could do to save the show? I suppose that I will have to accept the reality sooner or later, and bid the show farewell. Bye, bye Betty!

In January, Pepsi launched their newest campaign, Pepsi Refresh, which is a single, year long marketing effort engaging consumers, businesses and nonprofits by allowing them to submit their ideas on how they can positively affect their communities. Suggestions are posted to the Pepsi Refresh website (refresheverything.com), and visitors are able to vote for the best ideas. The winners will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 in one of 6 areas: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods, and education. By the end of the year, Pepsi expects that it will have given out more than $20 million in grants. WOW. I think that this is a fantastic idea. It reminds me of Dell's IdeaStorm, only a million times better.


On the latest episode of "If I Can Dream", the marketing director at Pepsi made an appearance, announcing their promotional tie-in to the show. The 6 cast members have been asked to come up with three ideas to help their community, which will be posted to the "If I Can Dream" site. Viewers will vote for their favorite suggestion, and then Pepsi will grant them $10,000 to enact the idea. Good PR for both Pepsi and "If I Can Dream". Touché.


Not only do I really like Pepsi's newest initiative, I also love the commercials that are promoting Pepsi Refresh, especially the most recent one that I've seen "One People", created by none other than TWBA\Chiat\Day in LA. May it's the catchy music (Black Eyed Pea's "One Tribe"), or the incredible graphic effects that are made by the people in the spot, or maybe it's that I'm partial to the ad given my support of the Refresh Project. Who knows? All that I am sure of is that it is a wonderful, creative advertisement. Unfortunately for the company though, I still won't be drinking Pepsi anytime in the near future. But my perception of the social responsibility is much higher, if that's worth anything.


One suggestion for Pepsi? Have a Pepsi_Refresh Twitter account -- It's ridiculous to depend on the #PepsiRefresh to spread awareness about the campaign. I definitely think that a separate account is needed to retweet people's comments, ideas, etc. 


Watch Pepsi's "One People" Ad

I feel like I have been seeing Ford advertisements everywhere recently -- kudos to their marketing department, they should get a big high five. Perhaps they are trying to capitalize on Toyota's woes and launch themselves far ahead of this competitor? Or maybe they just want to tout all of the new snazzy features that their recent models have to offer. My little sister just got a new Escape -- I drove it for the first time last weekend and loved it. Ford really does pay attention to details, such as removing the gas cap and having a more streamlined way to fill up on gas, a process that I strongly dislike.


Ine of the most prevalent campaigns that I have been seeing on TV, Hulu, and internet sites is the "Ford: Drive One" initiative, created by WPP's JWP Team Detroit. The ads have long intrigued me due to the fact that the seem to feature "real people" talking about their favorite features of the car. A qualm I have with the commercials is the fact that none of the statements made by the individuals seem very genuine. The group of good looking "everyday Ford drivers" seem so rehearsed, like their lines have been fed directly to them. And hey, I'm sure they have been. That's what commercials are, right? The number of takes needed to direct and film the short 15-second spots was probably pretty high, which is fine. The thing that frustrates me is Ford's determination to make the campaign so believable, going right now to the shaky camera style to give the ads the viral YouTube feel.


Interested in who these real Ford drivers were, I went online and did some research, learning more about Team Detroit and the campaign in general. Low and behold, these authentic Ford customers are also Ford employees -- who would have guessed? I understand the logic in using "their own", yet it feels sort of deceptive, like there should be fine print along the bottom that reads "Ford Employees". After all, when actors are used to endorse other products, there is the same tiny text that runs along the bottom of the screens, and who's to say that they haven't ever used the good they are selling? The supposed difference is that they are being paid to tell the world how much they love the brand, but isn't that just what Ford is doing?


With all of this said, I truly do not hate the ads. I think they are short, sweet, and convey a memorable, overlying thematic message -- Ford drivers really do adore their cars. I just wish that they could have found Ford drivers who are not receiving paychecks from Ford Motor Co. to tell us how much they like driving the whole Ford experience. All you need to do to know this is read the comments on YouTube for the different ads, like MarkerDude (really?) who said "Great spot! Ford has really improved... Best car company in America!" Clearly he is not from around here, because he'd be singing another jingle -- common, you know I have to..."Ford is the best in Texas."


Becky Just LOVES Her Ford

At the keynote speech yesterday, Apple unveiled one of their newest additions to the iProduct category - iAd. As Steve Jobs continues his global domination strategy, he moves into one space he had yet to pioneer until recently, advertising. During the presentation, Jobs described the new advertising network, which will help app developers create higher quality, engaging advertisements that allow users to click on the ad without having to leave the app, since it is played on the OS itself. Jobs also mentioned that the average iPhone user spends 30 minutes a day on their iPhone applications -- which is an incredible amount of time for an average. Although I love to play Words with Friends, I definitely do not spend 30 minutes a day doing so. I would love to see how long the average consumer spends making dinner, because it is probably more like 3 minutes in the microwave -- just sayin'.


The new iAd platform will have the capability to serve over 1 billion ad impressions per day, which like Steve Jobs said, is "an incredible demographic." Apple's foray into advertising will allow developers to get 60% of the revenue from the ads within their applications. This figure seems reasonable enough, but I guess I feel that they should get more like 75% of the money, but I am sure that there is a "reasonable" explanation for the cut.


The iAd was announced in conjunction with the revealing of the iPhone OS 4, which is being positioned as the PSN or Xbox Live of the iPhone community. This operating system will allow gamers to tap into a centralized network where gamers can play against each other -- very interactive, which makes sense, given that the top downloaded apps are games, and that the most successful games had been those which you can play with other iPhone users. It looks like my iPhone Original 1.0 will need to be updated soon, not only because I will now be 3 models behind, but also because of the number of people that send me picture messages that I never get due to the lack of that functionality. Why the iPhone did not always have this feature from the get-go, I will never understand.


MacBooks, iPads, iMacs, iPhones, iTunes, iPods, and now iAd. My prediction for the future? Say hello to Steve Jobs and goodbye to Obama - Apple is going to take over the world. 

The Masters start today, which is reason enough for mass media coverage and buzz online. Nonetheless, the kickoff of one of the oldest and most prestigious golf tournaments in America is not what people are chatting about. As a matter of fact, they are talking about one thing, and one thing only -- Tiger's back.

After a public leave of about 4 1/2 months, with exception of his terribly unsympathetic public apology, Tiger has been gone from the public eye, spending time on his private yacht named "Privacy", training, and a stint at rehab for sex addiction (so typical).

Yesterday, Nike rolled out their first advertisement featuring Tiger since the whole scandal broke loose in November of last year. Did it feature him golfing? No. Was he making another public apology? Nope (thank goodness). Instead, the black and white commercial starred Tiger, wearing a Nike vest and hat, standing with those big, sad puppy eyes, staring straight into the camera, as you hear a tape of his late-father saying "I want to know what your thinking was, I want to find out what your feelings are, and did you learn anything?" Wow. I commend Nike (or should I say Weiden & Kennedy?). Tiger has proven to be rubbish at stirring emotion in the hearts of Americans (predominantly women), but this message from his father, who passed away a few years ago, made my eyes water. This emotional reaction may be related to the recent death of one of my best friend's dads, but that's exactly why this spot will move people -- everyone knows someone whose dad has passed away, if not their own. Do I like Tiger any more because of the ad? No, but maybe it's just the start of the journey back into the spotlight. After all, it is none of our business what he does in his personal life.

Simon Fuller, the mastermind behind American Idol, has a new pet project -- "If I Can Dream". This web-based reality show follows a small group of young Hollywood hopefuls as they train, audition, perform, etc. The premise is about watching these talented individuals grow from nobodies to stars, right in front of our eyes. An online American Idol, if you will. 


I had heard about the show in January when it aired, but it wasn't until the other day that it was brought to my attention again. I have long been an American Idol fan, but unfortunately this semester has been rather chaotic, what with graduation looming on the horizon. Over spring break, I was lucky enough to catch up on some of this season's Idol performances. I was absolutely heartbroken when my very favorite contestant, Alex Lambert, got kicked off way too early. At that moment, I swore that I was through with this season. And true to my word, I haven't watched a show since. 


Just two days ago, I read online about how Alex Lambert would be joining the cast of "If I Can Dream", and I was ecstatic -- even sent out a tweet saying "Our God is good for SURE. @truealexlambert is BACK -- Looks like I'll need to start watching @ificandream". This little message was retweeted and replied to by a fellow fan, @ohalexlambert, who told me that I need to check out the show's website. Late last night, I did just that. And boy was I creeped out by what I saw. There are lots of cameras throughout the house streaming LIVE footage. Not only that, but at the bottom of the page, there is a little picture of each individual and if you hover your mouse over the person, it will tell you which room they are in, and you can go to that room and watch them... live... all day long. It is literally Big Brother style. I had to get off the site ASAP because I felt intrusive and inappropriate. I still intend to watch the show, which is shown once a week on Hulu; however, I will probably be avoiding the website from now on. 

Yup, I've filled out my census form -- have you? To be honest, I don't really see how people couldn't have. Or more importantly, why they wouldn't have. I mean, there were all of 6 questions, nothing personal, nothing difficult to answer. The form was very cut and dry (and not Scantron, what were they thinking??). What's more is that the postage on the return envelope is already paid, meaning that there should be no excuse not to take the 45 seconds to write in your responses. Still, I have seen lots of US Census advertisements on Metro buses, on the TV, in the papers, etc., all encouraging individuals to submit their forms. It seems a little excessive to me, especially since you are bound by law to fill it out.  According to United States Code, Title 13 (Census), Chapter 7 (Offenses and Penalties), SubChapter II, if you're over 18 and refuse to answer all or part of the Census, you can be fined up to $100. As a recap -- it's easy to understand, very few questions to answer, the postage is covered, and you can be fined $100 for not responding. Why in the world is all of the advertising necessary? It seems like common sense to me.


The advertising effort for the 2010 Census doesn't just feel like it's everywhere, it literally is. And in lots of different languages, targeting lots of different niche demographics in the United States. A plethora of advertising agencies were hired to help advertise the census, including DraftFCB, GlobalHue, GlobalHue Latino, D'Exposito & Partners, Allied Media, IW Group, PLUM Agency, G&G Advertising, and DraftFCB Puerto Rico.


I did not originally realize the intensity of this campaign, but after thinking about the nature of the project, it is quite a task. Rarely does a communications message need to be disseminated to the ENTIRE United States. For the few media planning projects that we have done in TexasMedia, we have had fairly narrow target markets which has made communications material easier to prepare. I cannot even get my head around tackling a plan that needs to reach every individual living in America. So while I still may not think that this campaign was necessary with regards to the frequency of message delivery, I applaud the communications team working for the US Census for work.