Mornings May Never Be the Same......For Your Friends

The possibilities are endless (all mischevious of course) with a new service that allows you to send "wake-up" calls to any phone number. Drunk dialing without the after effects of getting drunk; that's genius. If this gets big, maybe we can look at creating stock 'wake-up messages' from our artists for a nominal purchase amount: something like, "Mornin', this is T-Pain, it's time to wake up so that you can get your drank on."

The Clash / Nissan Rogue spot

I had to post this. Really creative spot with a great music bed.
http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=5f1c6d18

If the Shoe Fits, Wear it on Two Feet

As we consider global solutions for artists whose music and appeal find legs beyond their home territories, it is interesting to examine big brand companies hard at work on the same task. Check out Reebok's newly launched 'Two People in Everyone' global campaign. The personalities and languages featured on the .com site reflect a broad lineup of iconic figures of varying degrees of international renown.

Go Go Gadget Ads

Google unveils a new ad format to complement web 2.0. The advertisements themselves can feature video, maps, audio, and flash or html actions in what was once the domain of flat, one-dimensional displays. I wonder how long it will take for the first adisode to be produced?

Not So Bunny

Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" meets the anti-Sir Mix-A-Lot in a recent burger chain commercial that has numerous educators' associations up in arms. Is anyone considering the Patty Melt in all of this?

Painfully Entertazeing

An incident at a recent University of Florida John Kerry forum has the phrase, "Don't Taze Me, Bro" showing up everywhere from t-shirts to bumper stickers to music video remixes. Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em; He's already been tazed.

http://www.dylanmessaging.com/index.html

This is a brilliant bit of marketing (simply because it features Bob Dylan) and is precision-built for me. It allows you to 'doctor' the iconic cue card sequence in Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' video with your own (invariably rude) message.

This Video is the Shi...sh Kebab

This Parisian Kebab Vendor's ditty on his cuisine specialty earned a deal with EMI. Maybe the follow up single will promote whatever beverage goes best with his fare.

Cadbury Gorilla ad

I love that this has nothing to do with chocolate, but makes the brand cool. Cadbury has made a lot of noise and fans with this ad.

Loose Lips Sink Ships or Set Them Asail?

The preponderance of recent music leaks to the internet from big name artists is a little perplexing. Is it really becoming an uphill battle to preserve early tracks for an album's street date? Or is intentional leaking the new piece de resistance for a viral marketing strategy? An interesting Village Voice article insinuates such a conspiracy theory around the leaks of Kanye West's Graduation and 50 Cent's Curtis on the same day last week.

Remember in grade school how by way of flirtatious speculation you'd be asked if you liked someone, which was then followed by, "but do you like them, like them?" It seems we may have to start asking internally not whether a song was leaked online, but was it leak leaked?

A New (and valuable?) Offspring of the Music Video

Youtube continues to spawn phenomenons. Most recently, anyone wanting to get up to speed on Hip Hop artist, Soulja Boy's 'Crank That' dance need only visit the video site for a literal step-by-step tutorial on how to be official with one's moves the next time the song plays. The instructional clip featuring Soulja Boy himself has received over 3 million views in the month it's been posted (half of the 6+ million of the actual video). Soulja Boy, or his team, has even displayed the wherewithal to scroll the online address for his merchandise store across the lower third of his video to entice greater revenue out of the song's/dance's popularity.

To take it a step further, the web site nowplayit.com recently launched in beta phase offering downloads for purchase of instructional clips from artists like KT Tunstall and Coldplay on how to mimic the guitar mastery of their hit songs.

Makes some sense, doesn't it? We admire our favorite artists for their skill, showmanship and musicianship, and often attempt to emulate their dances, guitar play and singing short of ever having a how to video to follow. If an instructional clip is coming straight from the artist we admire, wouldn't it be worth a reasonable fee to download, keep, play and imitate?