'Family Guy' now gives Microsoft the willies
Who doesn't like jokes about the Holocaust, incest, feminine hygiene and deaf people? Microsoft, apparently, as the software giant has pulled out as exclusive sponsor of Fox's upcoming Family Guy variety special, which reportedly includes such potentially offensive material. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, it sounds like a fairly typical Family Guy episode, and the show's been a hit for years, so it's tough to take Microsoft at face value when it claims to have just realized "the content was not a fit with the Windows brand." Now, if this is part of Microsoft's marketing strategy, it's almost inspired. The company gets lots of free pre-show press without paying millions for the airtime. Plus, it gets to enjoy an in-show plug, also free, when Seth MacFarlane retaliates with a dream sequence of a devil-horned Bill Gates commanding Peter to slaughter his family and bury the parts in Windows 7 boxes. Or maybe the gibe will be more subtle. Lois could ask Peter why he "pulled out prematurely," and he could respond: "I got the idea from Microsoft." Actually, the show will probably be funnier without Microsoft's involvement. Laughing at this particular company is always more satisfying than laughing with them. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 27, 2009 | Permalink
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Marge Simpson poses for cover of 'Playboy'
Everyone has a favorite MILF, but how many of those are animated? Well, cartoon-MILF lover, your day has come: Marge Simpson will appear on the November cover of Playboy. The plan is to attract "younger readers" to the mag, and believe it or not, this is actually part of Fox's 20th Anniversary Simpsons Celebration. Marge is the first cartoon character ever to appear on the Playboy cover, and this collector's item will be available only on newsstands. Playboy has even struck a deal with 7-Eleven (which has done a lot of Simpsons promotions, including changing stores into Kwik-E-Marts) to carry the magazine, something it's done only once before in the past 20 years. As 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris put it: "We love Marge." (Eww). Marge recreates Darine Stern's pose when she became the first black woman to appear on Playboy's cover. Though the outside is tasteful, Playboy assures us the inside will be, "very, very racy." Of course, the tarting-out of Marge, an icon of devoted motherhood, could be risky. But if I know Playboy, they're fully committed to breaking the boundaries of objectification, whether they come in black, white or banana yellow. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 14, 2009 | Permalink
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'Cleveland Show' ads are man-child's dream
Seth MacFarlane has made a career out of capturing the divided attention of the coveted man-child demographic. His latest offering, The Cleveland Show, is a spin-off of Family Guy that stars the Griffins' neighbor Cleveland Brown and his family. The show starts when the Clevelands move from Quahog, R.I., to Stoolbend, Va., so Fox started its advertising campaign by wrapping three 16-foot moving vans with the Cleveland Show logo and slogan ("Honk if you enjoy having relations") and deploying them to those veritable hotbeds of man-child activity: college campuses. Street teams dressed in mover jumpsuits also passed out sweet Cleveland Brown mustaches in an effort Fox insists was "an equal-opportunity giveaway." Hey, I know I would line up for a free porn-star mustache. Fox must have done something right, because Sunday's Cleveland premiere drew the highest ratings for any new show this season among adults 18-49, and an impressive 22 percent of all men 18-34 watching TV at the time. That'll have Seth MacFarlane giggity-gooing all the way to the bank. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on September 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Homer goes HD'oh in new 'Simpsons' intro
In case you missed it, here's the new, high-definition intro that debuted Sunday on The Simpsons. It's rare that a TV show's intro merits much chatter, even online, but The Simpsons has sputtered by for more than 19 years on the same poorly drawn animation. Even long-absent fans may have tuned in this weekend to see how one of television's most famous openings had evolved. Or they at least checked out the official YouTube clip, which was posted Friday and already had over 750,000 views by Sunday. The result was a healthy burst of buzz for a show that's otherwise been on the cultural back burner for years now. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on February 16, 2009 | Permalink
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Fox plans a giant 'Simpsons' birthday party
Hard to believe The Simpsons is still going after 20 years. Fox has decided to celebrate the show that bucked the odds and remained on the air (despite losing its relevance) in a yearlong 20th-anniversary Simpsons-fest wittily dubbed "Best. 20 Years. Ever." To kick things off, fans are invited to submit their designs for a poster contest. The deadline is March 4, and the winner gets a trip to L.A. to attend a Simpsons party and tickets to The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood (which you can enjoy virtually on the ride's own Web site). Simpsons maniacs can expect more fan-based contests as the year goes on, as well as some special guest stars. For example, in an apparent nod to how the show has traded much of its cultural commentary for a more MacFarlane-esque brand of humor in the wake of Family Guy's popularity, Seth Rogan himself—the poster child for man-children everywhere—has written an episode to which he'll lend his voice (actually, the premise for the episode does sound kinda awesome). I predict the ad saturation will be so bad that by the end of the year, I'll want to scrub my eyes out anytime I see that unmistakable Simpsons yellow. Via Underwire. |
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Published on January 15, 2009 | Permalink
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Jim Cramer takes more pot shots from Fox
—Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on October 17, 2008 | Permalink
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