A good way to watch your company die is to bite the hand that feeds you. In order to protect my integrity as a lowly bit player in this industry, I will change the names of the offending parties to which I refer.
The Bleinstein Company, no stranger to disappointing revenue, now plumbs its reputation as a champion of independent cinema and the voices behind them in press releases for their DVD distributions banner, Third Rail Releasing (not an offending party). That reputation, however, was earned back when the Bleinsteins ran Bliramax. Now, with their chips relatively down and no Oscar prospects on the foreseeable horizon, they’re quick to regard their straight-to-DVD acquisitions as mere cash grabs, and Third Rail’s work as “a good way of differentiating between what we really believe in, and what has been for ancillary value.”
I am quick to respond.
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For a long time, advertising on television was a no-brainer. It was as if the technology was invented solely to plug the full, rich tobacco flavor of Winston cigarettes. Entire game shows were branded by coffeemakers. The good lord Kraft smiled and all was well.
I still think it’s a viable resource for advertisers, but some of them are starting to sweat the advent of DVR culture. To them, that’s thousands of potential consumers, breezing past entire pods, catching only a glimpse of the last spot before Heroes resumes. As usual, sea change in response to new tech is just not an option. Small, petulant resistances are the order of the day.
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If you haven’t checked out Redbox, I recommend you do so. The idea is pretty simple — they have a kiosk, usually inside of a grocery store, that stocks some of the more recent DVD release films. You stick your credit card in, movie automatically comes out. The real kicker is the price — you get to keep the movie until 9pm the next day for only one dollar.
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I am in no way a fan of The Hills. I have many legitimate reasons for disliking that show. However, I do have to commend MTV for integrating a brilliant method of music marketing intoThe Hills, and possibly other shows as well.
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