No, I’m not talking about New Year's Eve … just one of the biggest nights of the year for American marketers and advertisers: The Superbowl. After years of coming up with those clever, snazzy (and sometimes not so much) ads to fill million-dollar time slots between a sporting event watched by nearly half of U.S. television households, advertising heavyweights are passing the torch to the wannabes. As the AP reports, 30-second advertising spots during the Superbowl have a “reported average price of $2.6 million,” so counting on amateur advertisers to conceive and produce worthy commercials “isn't for the faint of heart.” But major advertisers are taking the plunge into territory pioneered by MySpace, YouTube, and American Idol. Doritos, Chevrolet, and the NFL all ran contests this year for creating ads or ideas for ads that will appear in Superbowl spots. The advertisers’ strategy appears to be based on two “buzz” topics in the marketing, media, and entertainment industries. First, like MySpace and YouTube, and even sites like Wikipedia, the commercials tap into the presumed (or perhaps proven) appeal of “user-generated content.” Other companies have made even more substantial investments in consumers’ thirst for user-generated entertainment, e.g., News Corp.’s purchase of MySpace and Google’s purchase of YouTube. Second, the Superbowl advertisers counted on the "wisdom of the crowds" to choose the commercials, or commercial ideas, they will run. For example, the five finalists in the Doritos commercial contest were posted online for a popular vote. The winner will be revealed when it airs on game night. Sound familiar, American Idol fans? As Carey pointed out last week, other companies are achieving success by relying on user submissions and the judgment of a community or consumers. And still others, such as Simon & Schuster, are sponsoring contests inspired by these consumer trends. So the question is, what will get the biggest buzz on February 4th – the professional football or the amateur commercials?
No, I’m not talking about New Year's Eve … just one of the biggest nights of the year for American marketers and advertisers: The Superbowl. After years of coming up with those clever, snazzy (and sometimes not so much) ads to fill million-dollar time slots between a sporting event watched by nearly half of U.S. television households, advertising heavyweights are passing the torch to the wannabes. As the AP reports, 30-second advertising spots during the Superbowl have a “reported average price of $2.6 million,” so counting on amateur advertisers to conceive and produce worthy commercials “isn't for the faint of heart.” But major advertisers are taking the plunge into territory pioneered by MySpace, YouTube, and American Idol. Doritos, Chevrolet, and the NFL all ran contests this year for creating ads or ideas for ads that will appear in Superbowl spots. The advertisers’ strategy appears to be based on two “buzz” topics in the marketing, media, and entertainment industries. First, like MySpace and YouTube, and even sites like Wikipedia, the commercials tap into the presumed (or perhaps proven) appeal of “user-generated content.” Other companies have made even more substantial investments in consumers’ thirst for user-generated entertainment, e.g., News Corp.’s purchase of MySpace and Google’s purchase of YouTube. Second, the Superbowl advertisers counted on the "wisdom of the crowds" to choose the commercials, or commercial ideas, they will run. For example, the five finalists in the Doritos commercial contest were posted online for a popular vote. The winner will be revealed when it airs on game night. Sound familiar, American Idol fans? As Carey pointed out last week, other companies are achieving success by relying on user submissions and the judgment of a community or consumers. And still others, such as Simon & Schuster, are sponsoring contests inspired by these consumer trends. So the question is, what will get the biggest buzz on February 4th – the professional football or the amateur commercials?
From Matt: The scriptwriters made quite a few changes from the book, but they were all for the best - and booklover though I am I have to admit that its better to see magic than to read about it.
From Mina: I adore this film. Monsieur Hulot’s very modern sister and brother-in-law don’t know what to do with Tati’s charmingly untidy and bungling protagonist, who inhabits a world where meaning is still more important than appearances.
From Carey: A must see Hayao Miyazaki’s anime is Laputa: Castle in the Sky, originally released in 1986. A fantasy film that explores the altruistic and compassionate nature of humans, aspects lost through repeated exposure to power, technology, and the complexities brought by the combination of the two. 
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