March 27, 2008
"Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog" is a Gathering Storm
If you're any kind of Joss Whedon fan you already know what this is all about. The rest of you will just have to do your best to catch up. It won't be too difficult as this thing has become a *virus*.
- Joss Whedon talks the big catless and the NPH(Neil Patrick Harris)
- Doctor Horrible fansite
- Doctor Horrible - Myspace
- Dr Horrible - Facebook
- Doctor Horrible official website (????)
- Everything else Joss Whedon
- Doctor Horrible has a lair
- Dr Horrible webcomic love
Joss Whedon, seriously man, what the fuck?!
Stop geek baiting and show me the good stuff.
(via all over the place)
Posted by Groonk at 05:37 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Intertube Madness, Marketing
March 22, 2008
BLIND CLICK 28
How I did is under the cut.
(via ponzu)
I caught 12 passes and completely missed the bear.
Posted by Groonk at 01:42 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
February 19, 2008
Marky Ramone has Condoms. Oh, So Many Condoms.
What do you get with each kit, you hesitantly inquire? Why, a couple jimmy hats, some lube, and an STD resource card, packed in a discreet Marky Ramone-themed tin with the motto "Too Tuff to Break" emblazoned on top. Available in black or silver! And, as Ready Two Go reminds us, the tins are easily refillable with "coins, pills, cigarettes, stash, mints, gum."
(via ontd, pitchforkmedia)
Posted by Groonk at 12:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Music, Sex
February 14, 2008
Steve Novick Bought My Vote, with Laughter
Someone will have to tell me what his goals and ideas are someday.
(via daily kos, steve novick's twitter, virally you tube)
Posted by Groonk at 04:08 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Marketing, Politics, Video
February 13, 2008
His Attention, You Now Have It
Jesus, is that a lip balm or are you happy to see...EVERYBODY?
The Yahoo page this was originally on seems to deny the product ever existed. Curious.
NPR reports the product was yanked from Singapore shelves after people complained about it. People don'tlike questionable marketing avenunes regarding their faith.
Sinagapore. Really. How long have you been on this Earth?
(via medicmike)
Posted by Groonk at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Religion
February 07, 2008
More Free Stuff: This Time, Comics I Know Nothing About
Crazy things happen on the internet. Myspace Comic Books has been blowing up my email with free samples of random comics the past few days. I've no idea of their calibur, but who am I to turn down free as a marketing gimmick?
(via myspace comics)
Posted by Groonk at 11:34 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Digital Share, Marketing
January 24, 2008
Sundance gets Access to One Last Shot
Last year it was that "What's Your Crime?" bit. This year, it's polaroids of celebrities.
"I forgot to bring my deodorant, so I've been checking all day to make sure I'm not too offensive!"
-Transsiberian star Emily Mortimer on forgetting to bring one of the must-have items for a grueling day of press interviews.
"I'm trying to keep it all inside, but I could not be happier!"
-Colin Hanks to reporters at the premiere of The Great Buck Howard, which was produced by his famous father, Tom.
I'm not as amused as I was with last year's scheme, but professional photos of "celebrities" always tends to draw my eye.
(via ontd,instyle magazine, One Last Shot Project Polaroids )
UPDATE: more Sundance polaroids
Posted by Groonk at 08:08 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Marketing, Movies, Photos
December 17, 2007
JJ Abrams is Geek Baiting: 5 Minutes of Cloverfield is Shared
In the beginning Abrams announces the widget that gets the most clicks will win a hometown screening of CLOVERFIELD.
Oh, the ideas are turning.
I'm still calling your movie MONSTROUS though.
(via ontd)
Posted by Groonk at 05:05 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Marketing, Movies, Video
December 12, 2007
BLIND CLICK 20: Oh, You Clever Little Jeans Advertisers
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 07:25 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Sex
BLIND CLICK 19: Because you forgot
That hurt me so much that I am compelled to hurt others, too.
That's the human way.
(via last year)
Posted by Groonk at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Holiday, Intertube Madness, Marketing, Movies, Weird
November 18, 2007
Nokia's Gone a Bit Strange
Scott Beale over at Laughing Squid says this little ditty is via Nokia's viral marketing team.
I think they may have gone a bit funny in the head over at Nokia HQ.
(via laughing squid, web 2.0 explainy you tube)
Posted by Groonk at 03:25 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Video
November 16, 2007
Fox News ain't Nothing but *PORN*
(via Cliff Schecter)
Posted by Groonk at 06:18 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Marketing, Sex, Video
November 14, 2007
A Talk with Monkey Punch
Monkey Punch created the LUPIN III manga that the anime was based on. He's got some neat views on comics in The Future.
His work was discovered by an editor of Futabasha, the company behind Weekly Manga Action, for whom he created the Lupin III series, loosely based on the Arsene Lupin novel series and 007 movies. The artist's strange pseudonym, he explains, was given to him by his editor, who compared his characters' faces to those of a monkey.
[...]
Monkey Punch began using computers in his work nearly two decades ago.
"Digital technology allows me to look closely at the details [of the images] and easily change minor things several times. This means, though, that it's sometimes hard to give up the details and complete [the images]."
Cooperating with famous mangaka, including Machiko Satonaka and Tetsuya Chiba, Monkey Punch established the Tokyo-based Digital Manga Association five years ago to explore and develop manga content for the Internet.
"I thought it would be a waste not to utilize the Internet, since it allows us to directly communicate with people around the world," the creator said.
"Japan's manga culture is drawing international attention, but we don't even have an archive containing information about all the manga published here," he said. "I want to find a way to set up such an archive, getting cooperation from other mangaka and relevant experts."
(via green jacketed josh hechinger, daily yomiuri online)
Posted by Groonk at 03:23 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Digital Share, Grammar, Interviews, Marketing, Only in Japan
November 12, 2007
That's Another 20 Dollars Out the Damn Door
(via glarkware)
Posted by Groonk at 06:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Tee Vee
November 06, 2007
BLIND CLICK 16: A Website Rube Goldberg can be Proud of
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 02:14 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash, Marketing
September 25, 2007
Cory Doctorow On Giving Away Books and Getting Paid for It
Cory Doctorow, writer of stuff and co-editor of Boing Boing talks about how selling his printed books and giving away editions in ebook form has actually helped sell more printed copies of his works.
Many of us have assumed, a priori, that electronic books substitute for print books. While I don't have controlled, quantitative data to refute the proposition, I do have plenty of experience with this stuff, and all that experience leads me to believe that giving away my books is selling the hell out of them.
--Cory Doctorow
(via locus magazine)
Posted by Groonk at 03:01 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Digital Share, Marketing
August 30, 2007
Space Wolf: Awooooo!
There is more than one way to kill a werewolf, yes?
Plus: you may now wear Space Wolf on your body. The other mark of true fame is t-shirts.
(via hickee hub and wolfy youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 05:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Video
August 15, 2007
James Bond is Stuck in the 60s
No duh, Mr Damon. The recent CASINO ROYALE was a good effort in renewing my Bond movie interest, but it's been boring before that. Not to mention silly and nonsensical.
"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes," he told reporters.[...]
"The Bourne franchise is not about wearing Prada suits and looking at women coming out of the sea with bikinis on," Damon said. "It's about essence and truth, not frippery and surface."
Good job of pushing your movie. Extra points for using "frippery" in a sentence.
(via bbc)
Posted by Groonk at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, Quotables
July 27, 2007
Nerd Prom 07: Yes, That is a Real One-Legged Model
Now that's true Grindhouse marketing. For unknown reasons she modeled for DEATH PROOF rather than PLANET TERROR.
The height of this re-sized picture is 666 pixels. I don't know. Just sayin'.
(via San Diego Dreaming)
Posted by Groonk at 03:12 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
June 06, 2007
London did Something Horrible to 2012 Olympics Logo
The jagged emblem is based on the date "2012" and comes in a series of very bright shades of pink, blue, green and orange in a modern take on the Olympic colours.
Lord Coe, chairman of the London 2012 organising committee said: "This is the vision at the very heart of our brand.
"It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world. It is an invitation to take part and be involved.
The only reason it would "reach out to young people" is because the damn thing looks like a 6 year old let his 3 year old brother play with photoshop for an afternoon.
Get off it, London. Rethink that noise. Previous Olympic logos managed to not look like a hot mess.
And your noise apparently induces brain sickness:
A segment of animated footage promoting the 2012 Olympics has been removed from the organisers' website after fears it could trigger epileptic seizures.[...]
Christopher Filmer rang BBC London 94.9FM to say he suffered a seizure while watching the footage on television and his girlfriend also suffered a fit and needed hospital treatment.
"The logo came up on TV and I was thinking about the 2012 Games and then I was out," he said.
(via telegraph.co.uk, warrenellis, bbc news)
Posted by Groonk at 06:34 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Sport
June 01, 2007
The Necessary Evil Myspace Presents:
(via neil gaiman)
Posted by Groonk at 11:08 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
May 30, 2007
When SUPERBAD gets KNOCKED UP, Funny Happens
It looks like Judd Apatow decided to parody the I HEART HUCKABEES disaster that leaked on the intertubes many moons ago. Apatow's parody is basically an advertisement for the Heigl-icious comedy movie KNOCKED UP that's hitting a theater near me soon. I Watch Stuff explains:
This one imagines Michael Cera of Arrested Development and the upcoming Superbad as the original star of Knocked Up who gets fired for being difficult.
Katherine Heigl, you know I could watch you sit at restaurant tables all day. Twice on thursday. But my observation focuses on Micahel Cera.
Hearing Michael Cera say 'fuck' is like watching a smurf...well...fuck, right before your eyes. You're amused by what you just saw/heard but you can't help but think some part of your soul just died. You're gonna have to work hard to shed that ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT George Michael-image.
Otherwise, Judd Apatow, you're just a damn genius. As are you, Michael Showalter.
(via iwatchstuf.com)
Posted by Groonk at 10:35 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, Video
May 25, 2007
Blinky, Flashy Transformers Shirts Aim to Hide General Displeasure
Too tired to snark. If you want to afflict your eyes with 7 more of the Bruckheimer Transformers movie marketing machinery via body wear, you can follow the link to ONTD and make your own jokes while I do my best to coax my childhood memories out of the fetal position long enough to pry that bottle of Jack Daniels out of his hand.
Did I say I was too tired? I meant I was too tired to snark effectively.
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 01:09 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
May 23, 2007
Worth 1000 Blasts Your Soul
Fine art mixed with current marketing schemes equals rollicking good times for all.
(via boingboing and worth 1000)
Posted by Groonk at 03:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Funny, Marketing
May 22, 2007
BLIND CLICK 10: Believe in Harvey Dent
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
April 28, 2007
Nine Inch Nails Loves The Pirate Bay
Releasing Nine Inch Nail material online is an avenue the industrial rock band has been familiar with some time. Many tracks are readily available one the NIN.com website, downloadable via the traditional client/server method. However in a brief announcement made yesterday, a surprising element appeared. Not that new material was available for download, but that it was available via the BitTorrent protocol. Even more surprisingly, the torrents were uploaded to The Pirate Bay.[...]
Although it has earned the scorn of the US entertainment industry, it appears that not all entertainers feel hostile towards the Swedish BitTorrent site - particularly Trent Reznor. Three audio tracks are currently being indexed by The Pirate Bay, "Capital G", "My Violent Heart", and "Me, I'm Not." This is an interesting move by NIN, and one that lends a hand of legitimacy to The Pirate Bay - as it shows that entertainers realize the importance of reaching out to their target audience.
(via ontd and slyck news)
Posted by Groonk at 08:38 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Marketing, Music
April 25, 2007
FOUND: Kryptonite in Serbia. Orphaned Babies Nowhere Closeby
Researchers from mining group Rio Tinto discovered the unusual mineral and enlisted the help of Dr Stanley when they could not match it with anything known previously to science.
Once the London expert had unravelled the mineral’s chemical make-up, he was shocked to discover this formula was already referenced in literature - albeit fictional literature.
“Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral’s chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film Superman Returns.
“The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite.”
DC's PR team wasted no time in commenting:
“The universe is full of mysteries, and some have been foreshadowed by comics,” said Paul Levitz, DC Comics President and Publisher. “We look forward to scientists figuring this one out.”The real world version of “kryptonite” – which according to media reports will be officially named “jadarite,” after the place where it was discovered and because it does not contain the element krypton – is white, does not glow and is reportedly harmless to humans and/or natives of the planet Krypton.
Wait a tick...Goldilocks is orbiting a red dwarf(that's a tiny red sun to you and me). Then real life kryptonite is found in Serbia. Where is the Ubermensch? The Nietzschean ideal can't be far away. All the signs are there. Show yourself!
As long as you still "fight for truth, justice and the American way," that is.
Posted by Groonk at 12:40 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Marketing, Science
April 14, 2007
Drinking Just Got a Lot Geekier
Would love to know if this is real or not.
(via geekologie)
Posted by Groonk at 06:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
April 04, 2007
NIN Re-Dabbling in Strange Marketing Practices
Actually, it's all part of the elaborate (and somewhat terrifying) concept behind Nine Inch Nails' upcoming Year Zero album (due April 17), details of which are currently being disseminated through a series of increasingly spooky — and downright odd — Web sites.Strangely enough, the story actually began on the back of a T-shirt sold on NIN's current European tour. Dates and cities are listed, with certain letters highlighted. When those letters were arranged, they spelled out the phrase "I am trying to believe," which most saw as just another statement of shattered hope from NIN mastermind Trent Reznor ... that was, until one particularly, uh, "enterprising" individual decided to Google the phrase.
What was revealed was a rather unsettling site (IAmTryingToBelieve.com) dedicated to information on "Parepin," a drug allegedly added to the water supply by the federal government at some unknown date to protect citizens from bioterror attacks. While all appears to be normal, the author of the site — who is not identified — paints a different picture, referring to Parepin as "bioterrorism" being waged on U.S. citizens without their knowledge, designed to placate them.
The concept album Year Zero comes out April 17th and takes place 15 years in the future.
(via The Engine and VH1)
Posted by Groonk at 12:54 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Music, Web Design
March 28, 2007
Jane Magazine asks: What’s Your Crime?
Whoever thought of this photo shoot was a damn genius.
(via ontd: page one, page two and the official Jane Magazine link)
Posted by Groonk at 03:00 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Photos
March 13, 2007
Life is Incomplete Until I Own One
(via thinkgeek, gizmodo, digg)
Posted by Groonk at 04:47 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
February 28, 2007
Bring Me the Head of Optimus Prime!
And if I find that Michael Bay's noggin is ensconced inside...you get a cookie. I take that back. I'd rather find a decent fucking Transformers movie script inside.
This is a first look at the Optimus toy via Hasbro.
"they should have left me inside the Matrix"
Still not looking forward to this new movie Transformers adaptation. But that's ok. I have my memories of the 80s toons to keep me warm. That and a bundle of 90s Marvel comics in the fireplace. They burn like a brushfire in California in summer with the distinct scent of failure rising from the embers.
(via empire movie news)
Posted by Groonk at 06:53 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
February 27, 2007
John Waters is the Crypt Keeper...er... Groom Repear
Look what's coming to Court TV.
Court TV becomes "cult TV" as writer/director John Waters (Hairspray, Serial Mom) takes the starring role in an irreverent new series that shows how love and marriage, in the words of the underground auteur himself, "goes together like a horse and the glue factory." With a tip of the veil (both wedding and funeral) to some of television's most famous scripted mystery and murder anthologies, each episode features the fabled director introducing us to a husband and wife whose marriage, despite its happy beginnings, inevitably leads to spousal murder. Posing as the wisecracking, cynical "Groom Reaper," Waters appears at several pivotal moments of the disintegrating relationship to guide the audience through its darkly hilarious twists.
It is so true. You live long enough, you get to see ideas re-hashed over and over and over ad nauseum. There's a first episode comic preview at Court TV. The flash comic viewer for it is pretty spiffy. Even though they get the word balloons screwed up in lots of places.
I'm not watching it. I'm just in weird of it.
Posted by Groonk at 06:33 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash, Marketing
February 24, 2007
The Future of Graffiti? LASERs!
Boston PD, please make a note. The public now has the ability to paint on the sides of buildings with light. Your world may never be the same.
(via The Engine, laser tagged YouTube, graffiti research lab, how it works)
Posted by Groonk at 09:19 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Research, Technology, Video
February 18, 2007
Ok Go Likes to DO WHAT YOU WANT
Looks like Ok Go is looking to own that simple but gosh darn cute music video niche. More power to them.
At least I know this video won't get yanked off of You Tube any time soon. I mean, look at those marketing links, man.
Posted by Groonk at 05:44 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Music, Video
February 07, 2007
"Americone Dream" The Flavor of Truthiness?
I'm not sure of this is real. The claims are it'll be ready April 2007.
(via nofactzone.net, ONTD, letter from Ben & Jerry's PR guy)
Posted by Groonk at 01:16 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
February 05, 2007
Food Network Subliminally Advertises McDonald's During TOP CHEF
(via Eli8Bit's YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 07:56 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Video
Best. Non-Official Wii Commerical. Ever.
From Super 78 on the above Wii spot (via Gizmodo):
I really love the Wii and I had been reading these stories about Wii controllers flying out of peoples hands. We had some down time at the office so I got together with one of the animators and I sketched out a storyboard of the spot. In the board the controller is this high energy maniac and the nun-chuck just wants to get away. So our most talented animator Michael Smith created this fun spot there is a lot of character...This was done by us, Super 78, using our own resources, no agency was involved, no money changed hands. I am hoping that you could post it so we can see if it catches fire.
(watch out! YouTube, gizmodo, awesome Super 78 animators)
Posted by Groonk at 12:03 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Marketing, Video
February 01, 2007
Boston Police should Watch more Adult Swim
It would save them from that keystone cop image.
How the hooha started:
Nine blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city on Jan. 31 in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a late-night Cartoon Network series, the Associated Press reported.Peter Berdovsky, 27, of Arlington, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, were each arrested on one felony charge of placing a hoax device and one charge of disorderly conduct, state attorney general Martha Coakley told the AP.
In a news release announcing Stevens' arrest, she said the men worked together to place the devices. At an earlier news conference she said Berdovsky had been hired to place the devices.
[...]
Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the packages in question were magnetic lights that pose no danger and added that the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia.
The offense in question:
I need to re-investigate the throwie movement.
(via scifi wire for link, 7d for heads-up, pentacleus for the vid, and quad-laser YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 02:12 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Research
Weird Local TV Commercials Beyond All Commomn Sense
Rocketboom gets credit for finding livejamie.com's Weird Local TV Commercials:
flea market montgomery - montgomery, al
(via rocketboom, livejamie.com, and commercial YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 12:33 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Alabama, Marketing, Video
January 26, 2007
TO: All Sexy Hollywood Ladies-- Scott Baio Probably Fucked You
The thought of Scott Baio being a rampant poon hound is not as bewildering as the Screech sex tape, but it's just as disturbing.
What's a guy to do when he's "dated and made love to some of the most desirable, beautiful starlets in Hollywood" but still can't find love? If you're Scott Baio, you find two co-writers to package up your pinhead thoughts and try to sell a book.[...]
Hey Baio, here's a thought: kissing and telling about those kisses in a book might not be the best way to fix you're "alone problem."
You're excerpts are fuuny though:
On being a teen heartthrob:"I got tight with Charles Laufer, the owner and publisher of Tiger Beat, which became an effective promotional tool.... One girl sent me her underwear that she'd peed and menstruated in, didn't wipe and ran a mile in, so I could have her natural body fluids and odors.
[...]
On his attempt to pick up Beverly D'Angelo (the Vacation movies, Entourage):
"Beverly was standing there at Liza's party. I didn't even introduce myself. I walked right over to her and confessed, "You know, you have one of the sexiest qualities a woman can ever have.
'Oh yeah? What's that?' she asked. 'You have an overbite.'
'I don't have an overbite, dear,' she said. 'I have a cocksucker's mouth.'"
Ms D'Angelo, I may have fallen in love with you a little bit.
Is that strange?
Posted by Groonk at 02:55 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Marketing, Sex
January 18, 2007
R2D2 TV Projector is a Feisty One
Know this: I understand how unforgivingly geeky this R2D2 TV projector looks to the rest of the world. I get that. But you should also know that the damn thing would look best in my sweet home entertainment room. The one that lives in my head. The R2 projector only has an 800x600 wide screen. What's with that? Bump up that res, Master Geeks and I'll happily give you my booze money for the next decade.
The Millenium Falcon remote is a bit much, though. I've lost countless get-laid points by wanting the TV droid. I don't need to fall into monkhood by owning a remote that can do the kessel run in record time.
Ah, hell.
(via scifi tech and switched-on google video)
Posted by Groonk at 02:31 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Technology, Video
January 06, 2007
You Can't Handle THE TRUTH IN AD SALES
These bits of cool/awesome video posts seem to come in threes. I'm unsure who made these THE TRUTH IN AD SALES videos but may waves of awesome forever crash on their shores.
(youtube's strategic branded inflated ROIs via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 06:08 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Video
December 13, 2006
HOW: Your Car Suspension Works
UPDATE: I moved the damn thing under the cut. I can't abide videos that auto-start.
(link via ponzu)
Posted by Groonk at 04:32 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Marketing, Sex, Video
December 12, 2006
NERD WAR: Decemberists vs Colbert is On
This is how it happened.
The Colbert challenge was made.
The Decemberists homage.
Colbert throws the gauntlet:
The Decemberists, counterchallenge.
"Mr. Colbert, assuming that we watch his show (ok, we do), went on to suggest that we had stolen his idea, calling us 'a bunch of coat tail riding jerks!' Who's riding on whose coat tails, sir?"We already played out the light saber thing months earlier, live and on stage-- sans animation, stunt double and fancy green screen-- with pure rock, sweat and C batteries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51fCwGAue5Q
[...]
http://www.colboard.com/cn/challenge.php
"and send them to us here:
The irony of all this is I'm aggressively unfond of The Decemberists sound. Yet I find myself drawn in by the hooha Colbert has created.
Damn you marketing concepts.
(via ONTD, pitchfork news, and various nerd bravado)
(Check out a legitimate non-Colbert infected entry.)
Posted by Groonk at 04:54 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Marketing, Music, Video
December 07, 2006
Horny Manatee, Strange Joke
Conan recntly learned the power of the internet. He once made a joke about a website name for some skit that had a modicum of laughter(www.hornymanatee.com). His story claims that his standards lawyers made him buy the website url cause any url announced on TV has to be bought and used by the show who made said statement.
I call bullshit on that. TV shows, movies and whatnot have been doing the url joke for ages and they almost never take advantage of that bit of free advertising. Oh well, at least it led to a useful way for Conan to create a net prescence.
(via conan's Dec 6th show)
Posted by Groonk at 12:42 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
December 04, 2006
Bravia Blows Stuff Up... in Colour... and with Clowns
I was well into enjoying the hell out of this commercial. It was filmed in Scotland. The buildings were the epitome of artsy urban decay. There were explosions. Glorious explosions. I'm talking literal hits of color all over the place.
And then the damn clown ran by destroying all my bliss.
I can't abide clowns.
Bravia
There's a making of video explaining all the ins and outs of blowing shit up with color. I dropped it under the cut as well. I'm a generous bastard today.
(via ifilm and ifilm the making and 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 02:39 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Video
December 03, 2006
The Wii is Cheap, Fun, and Easy
And it's beautiful and blonde and vivacious and playful. I've got to get into one of those Wiis:
(via 7d and ifilm)
Posted by Groonk at 08:19 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Sex, Video
November 27, 2006
One.org Wants You to Vote Wisely
I hear this ad runs on TVs in all of California.
(via 7d and political YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 12:54 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Politics, Video
November 20, 2006
Shag Your way through the Bond-verse
And by "shag" I mean "fuck" and by "fuck" I mean "make love with your eyes."
The James Bond franchise is dead and buried in my head. The last shovelfull of dirt was thrown when they pushed the idea that Denise Richards could be a Nuclear physicists. I mean, at best she's radioactive waste.
But this is about love not hate of one of the silliest Bond girls in the history of double 0's. The following links are all the bond trailers and intros ever made.
WATCH: 45 years of Bond trailers
WATCH: 45 years of Bond intros
who does do it better?
it was a tough call for the promo vid. I'm a little bitch for the Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger. Diamonds are Forever is full of shiny inuendo. Yet The Spy Who Loved Me is one sexy piece of musical alright.
For Your Eyes Only is a close runner up for sexiness, but I have issues with a musical artist forcing her visage into a movie in order to sell her albums.
(via i watch stuff and spy-licious YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 04:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, Trailers
November 07, 2006
Hilary Swank: See How She Runs
This was found over the weekend during one of my "I'm bored as hell let's see what the kids are posting about" trips to ONTD. Where did she get the mini sized ghetto booty? Has that always been there? She's come a long way since THE NEXT KARATE KID.
She looks kinda like a gazelle. I'm not sure whether to shoot her or fuck her.
(via ONTD)
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Please excuse the half-assedness of the above graphic. I'm currently pressed for time and trying to commit to a new style at the same time. I know. I suck.)
Posted by Groonk at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, USA
October 19, 2006
Optimus Prime Might Say Something Stupid
The Transformers movie submission gig is over. The phrases are in and the lion's share of them are twice as dumb as fuck.
When the popular phrases are, "Do a barrel Roll!" or "These pretzels are making me thristy," I realize the world isn't ready to be a screenwriter.
Oh well, the Prime Speak voting debacle is ready for your vote.
(via iwatchstuff)
Posted by Groonk at 03:37 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
October 18, 2006
Marvel Comics has Lost its Damn Fool Head
I dared not read the full article in one sitting for fear that my head would 'xplode.
A backup tale in select Marvel titles starting Oct. 25 will find Marvel’s New Avengers visiting the town of Springfield, home to the frothy passions and dastardly deeds of "Guiding Light."
Then, on Nov. 1, an episode of the soap titled “She’s a Marvel” will pay tribute to Marvel as one of the “Guiding Light” characters gains superpowers.
[...]
Marvel characters and "Guiding Light" characters fight side by side, he says, with the ending "very much a soap-opera cliffhanger."
McCann left the ending open-ended, he says, “because Marvel and Procter & Gamble, along with 'Guiding Light,' are having such a great time that we both hope this can continue.”
(via Dunc! the Daring)
Posted by Groonk at 09:19 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Marketing
October 12, 2006
Danger Doom Solves All Life's Problems
Matthew Lesko pushes the Doom. How fucking awesome.
(via myspace Danger DOOM)
Posted by Groonk at 07:26 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Albums, Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Music, Video
October 10, 2006
"The Prestige" is Like Trippy, Man!
(via iwatchstuff)
Posted by Groonk at 02:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, One Sheets
October 04, 2006
Make the Tranformers Movie Suck a Little Less
Vote you little 80s freaks. Vote like your very childhood(memories) depend on it.
Cause they do.
(if the form below doesn't work, go here.)
Vote early, vote often, and spread the word.
(via Iwatchstuff and the superficial)
Posted by Groonk at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
September 26, 2006
Uwe Boll Likes to Suckerpunch People and Make Ass-Stupid Movies
All I can say is, I want my shot at that hack, too. Give me a couple of his movies to get a good murderous rage going and have the DVD rental cost come straight from my bank account for that extra hit of bloodlust.
That bitch will go down before the last bell is done ringing.
Donde esta Uwe?
Uwe esta DOWN!
He said Boll, 41, had told him it was just a joke, a public relations stunt.
Horror-movie journalist Chris Alexander became my new hero with this move:
And what in hell is up with Kristanna Loken? She's too hot to be spending time with that waste of art, Boll.
(via Dunc)
update: my god. There's video of the fight on gloriously sinful YouTube.
Uwe vs Lowtax
Lowtax interviewed after his beatdown
Posted by Groonk at 01:19 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, Weird
September 25, 2006
The Evil of Two Lessers
I finally know where my vote's going in 2008.
This one's just silly. How can the same being hold two offices? It's riduculous, I say!
Re-damn-diculous.:
(via jmsnews and cthulhu press)
Posted by Groonk at 12:41 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Marketing, Politics
September 14, 2006
What in All Hell is Going on in Bend,Oregon?
They're selling hobbits as a way of life.
In The Shire you will find good, sturdy homes with personality and character and great neighbors who share common values and a desire for the sanctuary of home.
The Shire is conceived to be a retro community in its exterior appearance. Inside The Shire dwellings you'll find a blend of quaint and charming styling cues melded throughout completely modern floor plans, conveniences and appliances.
To achieve the character and feeling of English cottages and village townhomes, The Shire designers have specified only high quality fixtures and materials. Some materials, seldom seen in residential construction for a hundred years, have been resurrected and manufactured from contemporary compositions.
I don't know if I'm horrified or amused.
(via neil gaiman)
Posted by Groonk at 07:12 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, USA, Weird
September 12, 2006
Dragon*Con TV was Clever
The fine folks who ran this year's Dragon*Con found clever ways to entertain the literate freaks and geeks in attendance.
They payed homage to Adult Swim's bumps and did a funny job of it. Funny haha.
fandom feast (my favorite)
http://dragoncontv.com/videos/123/
sf vs not sf
http://dragoncontv.com/videos/141/
please don't sue
http://dragoncontv.com/videos/138/
no one cares(another favorite)
http://dragoncontv.com/videos/134/
(via dunc)
Posted by Groonk at 02:48 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Blogged, Culture, Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
August 25, 2006
Michael Bay Likes Killing My Childhood
First it's the Fox and the Hound 2.
Next, it's that clusterfuck of an idea turing the Thundercats into a Teen Titans-like rock band who lives in LA, Mum-ra with wings, and a three-eyed snarf as their leader.
Then there's this:
this is what you get when Michael Bay takes on a project
How that in anyway relates to any of Megs' previous incarnations, I'll never know.
Hollywood's latest attempt to destroy my fond childhood memories is this bastardization of The Transformers "Megatron" who looks like some cyber-mecha gimp's S&M rape fantasy.
A fellow from the movie production told the rabid Transformer fans to chill and that you're still working out the details behind the movie. That's a fair statement. But damn, man. Sometimes you can look at something and KNOW that shit ain't right.
Everyone needs to take another look at that model and re-think your efforts. It's ok to admit that you were wrong. That's called being grown-up.
You bastards.
(via i watch stuff who has more pics of this travesty)
BTW. Kneon Transitt put this noise in less offensive words.
And while I understand how much time, money and effort is being poured into the movie, please Mr. Murphy, don't talk down to the fans like we're being unreasonable with our complaints. This movie isn't being made because you're "on our side" -- it's being made because the studio thinks it'll make money. Let's at least drop the facade and stop patronizing the fanbase, okay?
Nothing against you personally, but it's just business. We're all old enough to understand that. So let's just be honest about it. That being said, how much business do you guys expect a film to make when you're alienating the very fans that have made it endure this long? Honestly?
Posted by Groonk at 04:43 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
July 29, 2006
Welcome, to the End of the Computer Age!
Laughable doesn't begin to explain this. And it may be why I don't use macs. If a rapper popped onto my computer screen and rambled on for 10 minutes why I shouldn't use my floppy drive to copy whatever it is you can copy onto a floppy drive...feeling "put out" wouldn't begin to describe my emotional state. :
You know what happens to kids dumb enough to fall for this kind of anti-piracy marketing?
They grow up to work for the RIAA.
snap
(via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Video
July 27, 2006
Proof the Universe Hates Us Very, Very Much
(via neil gaiman)
Posted by Groonk at 08:13 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Technology, Weird
CBS Backs Egg-Disaster Advertising
Marketing can be inventive, profitable, and sometimes even human.
This "Outernet strategy" is downright asinine.
More than 35 million eggs will be marked with phrases such as “CSI: Crack the Case on CBS” and “The Class, New Grade-A CBS Comedy” as part of a deal between the CBS Marketing Group and EggFusion, an egg-coding company.
The campaign is part of what the network is calling its “Outernet strategy,” an effort to reach viewers “outside their homes as they go about their daily lives…”
(via warren ellis)
Posted by Groonk at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
Fruit Stickers are Definitely My Future
A University of Arizona professor has invented a sticker that can tell consumers if a fruit or vegetable is ripe. The stickers will be available to growers next year and should make their way to supermarkets within two to three years, said Mark Riley, a UA assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering.
He said growers and grocers throw out thousands of bushels of fruit each year because it ripened faster than it could get to market or be sold.
With no simple way to tell whether fruit that looks good on the outside will taste good on the inside, consumers often buy peaches, pears and melons they can't eat because they're under-ripe or overripe.
"Right now, picking fruit is more of an art than it is a science," Riley said.
(link via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 09:35 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
July 24, 2006
Cory Doctorow Talks on Charisma and Why Artists in the Future Need It
Boingboing's Cory Doctorow has an interesting word or two to say about the file sharing world of the 21st century. In it he compares the advances of file sharing with that of the radio only a few decades before.:
But what kind of artist thrives on the Internet? Those who can establish a personal relationship with their readers — something science fiction has been doing for as long as pros have been hanging out in the con suite instead of the green room. These conversational artists come from all fields, and they combine the best aspects of charisma and virtuosity with charm — the ability to conduct their online selves as part of a friendly salon that establishes a non-substitutable relationship with their audiences. You might find a film, a game, and a book to be equally useful diversions on a slow afternoon, but if the novel's author is a pal of yours, that's the one you'll pick. It's a competitive advantage that can't be beat.
See Neil Gaiman's blog, where he manages the trick of carrying on a conversation with millions. Or Charlie Stross's Usenet posts. Scalzi's blogs. J. Michael Straczynski's presence on Usenet — while in production on Babylon 5, no less — breeding an army of rabid fans ready to fax-bomb recalcitrant TV execs into submission and syndication. See also the MySpace bands selling a million units of their CDs by adding each buyer to their "friends lists." Watch Eric Flint manage the Baen Bar, and Warren Ellis's good-natured growling on his sites, lists, and so forth.
Don't be shy, read the entire essay.
(via Locus)
Posted by Groonk at 01:02 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Marketing
July 21, 2006
The Simplest Things Amuse Me
what if...
(via Comic Con 06 Flickr Pool)
Posted by Groonk at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flickrlicious, Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
July 14, 2006
Made in Eureka: We're gonna make that mean Something Again
Sci Fi Channel's new hourly series EUReKA is a mere days away. I stumbled upon this wholly fake advertisement website a few days ago.
I'm all about the Short Range Personality Scanner, the TemporalVision monitor and the Plasma Screen Interior Walls.
Posted by Groonk at 08:58 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
July 08, 2006
"Nobody's Watching", But You Damn well Should Be
No words. Shoulda...brought a...poet.
Televisionary, please explain:
Nobody's Watching cleverly plays with classic situation comedy trappings such as three-sided sets, live studio audiences, multiple cameras, etc., but it's all seen through the modern (and somewhat jaded) lens of single camera comedy and juggled with the surreal, pop culture reference-laden humor of Scrubs. Just look at the show's title for a sense of the off-kilter humor in the show. Part of the title's joke is the fact that Will and Derrick decide ultimately to name their amorphous sitcom Nobody's Watching, knowing full well that the critics will savagely use that very title to bash the show; also, everybody's watching Will and Derrick: the network, the live audience, the video cameras in every nook and cranny of the sets, including their "secret bathroom" (don't ask). It's a telling commentary on the state of shock television today. It's even more telling that network execs thought this wouldn't find an audience, despite boffo numbers over the years for lousy sitcoms According to Jim, Coach, and Yes, Dear, all of which get mercilessly mocked -- by name, no less -- by Will and Derrick. (It's worth noting that the creator of Yes, Dear, Greg Garcia, who went on to create the superb My Name is Earl, had a falling out with Bill Lawrence after seeing Nobody's Watching's pilot.)
Have a taste with Part 1:
Part 1
Thanks to Televisionary and "God's loving heart" for sharing.
View the rest after the jump.
UPDATE: Paul Campbell's fan site posted an article that raves about "Nobody's Watching" possible second life.
And he would prefer that to the current system, relying on network executives and focus groups, where a show's fate is in the hands of ``sweaty people being asked leading questions.''
UPDATE #2: In true cheesy network TV announcing fashion, Carson Daly(July 21, 2006) "called up" the president of NBC Entertainment and "got him" to release Nobody's Watching unto the world.
When I think on it, that's the perfect way to advertise the rebirth of this neat little program. A tired, weak TV stunt for a show that expertly mocks tired, weak TV stunts.
Chew on that for a while.
Part 2
Part 3
Posted by Groonk at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, USA, Video
July 06, 2006
50s/60s Commercials Make Great Italo-Disco Music Videos
There are lady gyrations, naughty beach balls, and even hand washing imagery(for those into that kind of thing) galore in this Putsch '79 video dubbed "Asian Girls". Yet there's nary a hint of any asian girls. Now that's either extremely avant-garde or outstandingly pretentious.
(via yourbartender)
Posted by Groonk at 11:22 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Music, Video
June 22, 2006
Vongo is Crafty and Legal
VONGO is an online service that let's you download major movies to up to three computers, legally. They have about, or over, 1,000 movies ready for download, legally. They have three clever online hosts/actors featured in three equally clever commercials to push VONGO to average Joe's like me and you...legally.
Did I mention the whole deal is legal? I know they did.
Legally.
Posted by Groonk at 12:24 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash, Marketing
June 20, 2006
The Microsoft iPod Marketing Plan
Where was I when this hit months ago? That's right, I was out doing things. Being productive.
*snicker*
Where ever I was, this MS internally created video that answers the question, "Wha