Poorly Marked Netflix Insert A Promotion For VH1
When the latest Netflix envelope arrived in the mailbox, it contained an ad on the inside sleeve promoting some sort of concert broadcast honoring Kiss, Queen, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. We saw that the broadcast was set to air Wednesday, May 31 at 9PM. Maybe we're just dumb, but we had to stare at the ad for several minutes before we figured out the broadcast was occurring on VH1. The logo was tiny and buried in a way that was very hard to see.
Not one hour after receiving that ad on the Netflix envelope, we received an email from, we assume, a PR type that announced VH1 had placed "rocks" all over Manhattan supporting the program. Ah, now things became a bit clearer. The announcement tells us, "Rock Honors celebrates four of metal's most imaginative groups; Def Leppard, Judas Priest, KISS, and Queen explaining how each band came up with its sound and measuring the influence each has had on modern music. Godsmack, Foo Fighters, and the All-American Rejects help praise the heroes of metal."
Now that that's settled, we;re told a second wave of "rocks" will appear next week to further promote the program. At least the rocks displayed the VH1 logo in a manner that could be easily seen.
Comments
So that's what the ad was for? I threw it out without ever knowing what it was for exactly.
Damn you Steve! Now all the clients out there are going to see this and have us make gigantic fullpage-bleed logos. They never know where to stop. Very irresponsible journalism. :)
Oops. Sorry:-)
The ad is a co-op with Lenscrafters.
Fans and Celebrities Confess Their Sins In The Name of Rock for the 1st Annual “VH1 Rock Honors”
Fans and celebrities find out if their stories have true rock n’ roll grit when they share their outrageous rock n’ roll stories.
LOS ANGELES, May 25, 2006 - Leading up to the 1st Annual “VH1 Rock Honors” fans will confess their wildest rock n’ roll stories for a chance to win great prizes. For two nights, confessionals will appear in and around popular Los Angeles venues where rock fans will get their chance to share their outrageous stories or confess their secrets.
“We hope that these events will build awareness of the VH1 Rock Honors tribute and reignite the passion we all feel for rock n’ roll” said Jeff Frumin, CEO of Universal Consulting Group, an experiential marketing firm helping VH1 make this campaign come to fruition.
“VH1 Rock Honors” will pay tribute to KISS, Queen, Def Leppard and Judas Priest on May 25th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will premiere May 31st at 9PM. The show will include three live performances by each of the honorees as well as three live tribute performances each by Godsmack, Foo Fighters, The All-American Rejects and Paul Rodgers.
The confessions will provide true rock n’ roll fans an opportunity to be recognized along with their idols. The influence of the VH1 honorees will be told through the stories their fans share. When select confessions appear on Rock.VH1.com, rock fans will see how their stories stacked up against the competition.
Confession booths, aesthetically similar to the common Catholic confessional, will be present at each event and during the official after party at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. Not to worry, each booth is fully sound proof, guarded by men in black and fans can opt out of having their confession posted on Rock.VH1.com.
Tickets priced at $60, $125 and $175, not including applicable service charges, are currently on sale via www.ticketmaster.com and at all Ticketmaster outlets, in Las Vegas by going directly to the Mandalay Bay Box Office or by calling 877-632-7400 or 702-632-7580. For VIP Tickets Contact VH1 Save The Music at 212-846-7882 or rsvp@vh1.com.
Confirmed confessional dates and locations are listed on page two. Additional venues will be announced.
About VH1
VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at www.VH1.com.
About Universal Consulting Group
Universal Consulting Group, Inc (UCG) is a full service experiential marketing and promotions agency that creates and executes integrated programs connecting brands to their target consumers.
Media Contact:
Ashley Biever, 617-713-3800
abiever@beabigfish.com
VH1 Rock Honors Confessional Event Dates
Sunday, May 28th
9:00 PM – 10:45 PM
Roxy Theatre
9009 West Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Sunday, May 28th
11:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Viper Room
8852 Sunset Blvd. West
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Sunday, May 28th (INDUSTRY NIGHT)
12:30 PM – 2:00 AM
Rok Bar
1710 Nth Las Palmas Ave
Hollywood, CA 90028
Monday, May 29th
9:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Whisky A Go-Go
8901 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Monday, May 29th (CONFESSIONS AND PREFORMANCE BY METAL SKOOL)
12:00 AM - 2:00 AM
Key Club
9039 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Yea, yea, yea. We're aware of the press release. We like to approach our news reporting a bit differently. We like to, OMG, focus on it as if we, ourselves, were the consumer. After all, the consumer doesn't receive press releases or creative briefs to fully explain the project. We'd venture to think insight offered based on a consumer viewpoint might be a bit more informative to marketers than republishing canned releases. Not that we've never done that:-)