oh sarah marshall

(Photo courtesy of ihatesarahmarshall.com)

I have been putting off writing about the Sarah Marshall billboards for a few weeks. I've just been enjoying observing the efforts from the sidelines and now I feel compelled to say something. Now I will commence the rambling...

Not sure if many of you have seen these billboards all around time. They are plastered everywhere, even buses and the like.

"I hate Sarah Marshall"

"You SUCK, Sarah Marshall!"

"My Mother never even liked you anyway, Sarah Marshall"

etc. etc. Just white billboard, black lettering. Tiny URL on the side. A few weeks ago I made a mental note to myself to check out the site when I got home from my drive.

http://www.ihatesarahmarshall.com
Check it out

It's a blog "written" by character Peter Bretter pretty much as an obsessed ex-boyfriend. Lovely, it happens to be a new movie (I thought it was a TV show at first) Forgetting Sarah Marshall, with my faves, Jason Segel and Kristen Bell.

Ok, seeing as Jason Segel wrote the script is it safe to say that he is obsessively updating this hate blog, too? It would be nice to think that he is.

And everytime I come back to the site I like to ponder how amazingly far and in depth they are going for this ad. Simple traditional billboard prompting one to check out the site out of sheer curiousity.

They even shot these staged photos of "Peter" tagging up the city and buying billboard space. And they even shot tabloid-tv show-esque footage where Peter is interviewed about his tactics.
(Currently at 20, 951 views). Click on his director's page to see what else he has on there. Naturally they made sure to stock up his director page with other videos to look more convincing. Handful of video diaries started 2 weeks ago.

Many candid photos. They even have sister sites (www.sarahmarshallfan.com) and a video site only for 18+ year olds (because it leads to the official movie site and the movie is rated R) which of course I can't get into because they can't validate my over 18-ness properly.

In a nutshell, do I like this ad campaign? Yeah, I'm enjoying it and have been frequenting these various spaces. I enjoy them more than the actual tv ads. It is nice to see them utilizing these web properties and I give a kudos to them for keeping things updated properly. Probably because they have the budget and willing participants. I mean, hell, they are going all out and it's pretty damn amazing that they are pulling it off, ball out, taking their budget and running with it!)

But how many more of these types of campaigns are we going to see?

I read this article in a marketing blog about how the author of the article hated microsites. His musings may not fit well with this campaign but I think he is right that in many brainstorm meetings now, people are always suggesting creating these pages, these blogs, these youtube videos, etc. They see it worked for past TV shows and some movies and it's what's in now, right? So why not! They want to bank on this not-so-novel idea. But to unknowing audience eyes this is pretty damn creative. (And don't get me wrong, I love what they are doing! They are embracing these web properties to their advantage)

I love that these same people who were afraid to do such things are embracing every bit of it now. And there are new ideas brewing right now, being tried out by others who want to take the risk with their product while others are wary. But when it works the latter will want in. It's wonderful.

What is going to be the new big thing? Maybe that Rolling Rock ad where they were going to try to get the logo on the moon? Did that happen already? Because if not then I want to look up at the sky that night. And if it did go down, did people even look? Will they have fake videos on their microsite with their "attempt"?

I'm just sayin'...

Music Musings

My boss wrote an entry in his blog about the state of the Music Industry in response to Seth Godin’s address to said industry. It got me thinking about the “good ol’ days, too, when I (and perhaps many like me) was excited about music. Don’t get me wrong, I love music and can’t live without it but I do remember a time when I was truly excited in this whole different way. It was this sincere love and passion that was...I dunno...compared to digging your hands into the soil. It was when music was something you can possess but in a tangible sense.

Remember New Music Tuesdays? When was the last time we were all truly excited and anticipated Tuesdays? I remember when I was a kid and I would scope out Rolling Stone and other music mags alike, when the radio was always on and I’d feverishly call radio stations to play the songs I loved and befriend DJs because they ruled the airwaves, they played the soundtracks of my life! It was a time when I religiously watched MTV (when music actually reigned that network) and other music channels. Remember “The Box”? You know, the channel where you call in and request a music video and you wait for it to come on? I’d watch the bottom right of the tv screen and would squeal when I saw the code of my favourite artist. My VCR was ready to record the video so that I could watch it over and over again. This was before the internet, before YouTube where I can watch any music video with a click of a button. Tuesdays would be days I’d beg my mother to drive me to Tower Records or the Wherehouse. Sometimes I would even march block after block to these stores and raid the new music racks. All my allowance money was spent on new tunes! Man, those were the days!

I guess times have changed. Ok, I don’t “guess”. Times have changed. These stores that supplied me with my weekly fix are pretty much defunct. We get our music at electronic stores, Target, and online. Most of the time we don’t even BUY our music – we download them before actual release dates or have our friends burn them. Hell, I work with the music industry and reap the benefits of promo cds or I can just ask someone because we all know someone who is in the band or knows the band, etc. etc. And we get our music that way. We work for people who want the public to buy their products but we don’t want to support the cause. Is it because we don’t have to? We’re in the system so why pay? But new music is pricey, too. (We all know what spiel). It's all about "instant". That excitement and anticipation is out the window. Many of us don't even set foot in record stores. Just click on over to Amazon and your cd will be at your door in a few days. Want your tunes sooner? Hit up iTunes and you'll get your music within seconds! And this music isn't even tangible! Everything is digital. The only thing tangible is the actual player.

When was the last time I purchased a CD? Just today I looked in my mailbox when I got home and found a CD from an acquaintance in the band Loverlee. Justin sent me a cd and I didn't want to get it for free because I wanted to support the band so I paid for shipping. But I should've just paid for the whole CD if I wanted to support the band...

Funny how I will spend all my measly allowance on CDs every week but now, with a steady paying job, I won't even pay for a CD. Ahhhh!

The new Mates of State album drops in May. May 20th, if I remember correctly. And I am fuckin' excited! I rarely get excited for New Music Tuesday but here I am circling the date in my calendar. Big fat red circle! Why am I compelled to purchase their album and not other music that is out in stores now? Because I've been in love with them for years!
But I've loved the band silverchair sine HS and when their latest album came out....I don't think I even actually bought it! I think I got my hand on the mp3s somehow and the rest is history.

But yeah, MOS makes my heart smile. However, I do feel this connection to them. I know they aren't on a major label and I know they gave up alot to live out their dream to make music. They are the cutest couple! I follow Kori's blog on Babble.com . I was happy for them when I heard they were pregnant with Magnolia. I was happy for them when I found out about the birth of their second daughter, June. I know about their hardships. I know I want to purchase their cds and all the merchandise I can to help pay for their mortgage, their travel expenses, their baby's food, their cat -- everything! I PAY for my concert tickets instead of call in a favour. I want to give them my money!

Maybe that is what we need. We want to feed connected. We don't want fluff. Bands don't need to jump through hoops for us.

It was interesting today as a few of us were driving back from lunch, Jillian (Taking Back Sunday's manager) was talking about the music industry, how festivals here need to be a certain way, how there isn't enough money to do this or that, how times are scary but she wants to really help make sure things remain interesting and fresh for her clients and for the fans. Times are a'changin' and she wonders how the upcoming TBS album will do in this post-emo state in music. She's up for the battle.

People do want to help change the system but it's tough. If a band doesn't reap what they should, the people who helped back them jump ship. No time to fix things. No time to be creative. Need to make money. Need to keep our jobs.

Is it like some accident or incident of some kind where you drive/pass by and see something wrong and you know you should stop and help but you can't because you have yourself to think about? Can't risk getting involved?

I don't know...