promotion
'Glee' Premiere to Be Screened for Charity

Is the marketing and promotion for 'Glee' stoking the flames of enthusiasm among the fans or do they risk overdoing it by jumping at every opportunity to hype the show? Can't say for sure, but as long as the Gleeks are screaming in joy, they must be doing something right. And the latest idea is not only good for the show, it's good for charity, too.
Fox is arranging a sneak preview of the spring premiere in movie theaters around the country. Fans will be able to see the show a week before the program airs on Fox, Tuesday, April 13 (at the special time of 9:28 PM), and on the big screen as well.
Jay Leno's 'Tonight Show' Promo Gets a Music Makeover
Anyway, the new promos have been using a cover version of the Beatles' "Get Back" to not-so-subtly greet the host back from prime time hell. But one very clever YouTube user found a much more appropriate song to accompany Jay on his return back to 11:30 p.m.
[via Buzzfeed]
Remember the V skywriting stunt? Forget it!

About two weeks ago, with much fanfare, ABC issued a press release about a big promotion for the new sci-fi remake of V. The idea was skywriting giant red "V's" over national monuments around the country. When I read about it, I thought it was pretty clever.
Like ABC media, I didn't contemplate the environment hazard posed by spraying the skies with red skywriting materials. The skywriting stunt has been canceled because one clever reporter did. She snagged ABC in its own press net.
New Smallville promo trailer
It's somewhat different than the leaked Comic-Con trailer, and that's a good thing. As for the outfit itself: others have said it reminds them of Neo's outfit from The Matrix. While there are similarities to that, it reminds me more of the outfits worn by the Phantom Zone villains in a recent Superman comic co-written by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns. Given this season's big bad, the costume design was likely done that way to evoke Clark's Kryptonian heritage.
So what do you think of the trailer? Does it make you want to stay in Friday nights and not miss an episode?
NBC turns to Facebook to preview Community
I've been pretty down on a lot of the stuff NBC has done about the new fall season, especially the Jay Leno experiment. But here's something that strikes me as a smart move. NBC is streaming the pilot of Community on Facebook. It's sans commercials and free for anyone who's a Facebook user who's willing to become a fan of Community. Or they can send a link from the fan page to friends, or place it on their Facebook profile.Marketing-wise, this makes a lot of sense. The demographic NBC is targeting is the Facebook generation. And just the idea of seeing something before it previews anywhere else -- on your laptop for free just by going on Facebook -- is easy as pie.
KFC and the power of Oprah
It was a nice idea. Oprah does a promotion for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) involving their new grilled chicken offering. She mentions on her talk show that the chain is offering a free grilled chicken meal if you hand in a downloadable coupon available at Oprah.com. Sadly, it didn't turn out so well for the franchise.Oprah's insane popularity caused about a bazillion people to download the free meal coupon. So many, in fact, that KFC wasn't ready to give out so much free grilled chicken and has now offered rainchecks for the existing coupons.
Things I Hate About TV: DVD release dates
No, it's not another lamentation about those overlooked shows that really do deserve a DVD set, but just can't seem to get them. I've grown accustomed to having Bob's weekly DVD release post arrive like a slap in the face as Beggars and Choosers is not on it, again. Instead, this is about those shows that do get their DVD set, but are late for no good reason at all. At least, not one that I can come up with.
I started thinking about it last week as I was talking with a friend and we were watching the Hellboy/Chuck promo. She commented that she really should start watching Chuck. In full agreement, I quickly pointed her to the Chuck page on Hulu. But wait, there are only three episodes available on Hulu. I guessed that it must be because they don't want streaming to cannibalize DVD sales. So I headed to Amazon. Chuck isn't out on DVD until September 16th. What the hell?
Psych does Ebony & Ivory - VIDEO
So, I'm minding my own business the other day, watching one of last season's Burn Notice episodes in anticipation of the new season, when I see a commercial that made me laugh out loud. It was a promotion for the new season of Psych. Gus and Shawn (Dule Hill and James Roday) in a familiar-looking black and white set, at a grand piano, sitting side by side singing "Ebony and Ivory." It was hilarious. So funny that I decided you had to see it. (below)James Roday laying on a Paul McCartney accent. The giant keyboard with the title Psych where Steinway should be. Dule Hill in the Stevie Wonder part, with impossibly wide collar flaps and a toothy grin.
TiVo offers Blue Moon special: $698 TiVo HD lifetime service bundle

Of course, if you expect to scrap your TiVo within a year or two, you can save a few bucks by picking up a $299 TiVo HD and signing up for an annual or monthly contract. But if you plan to keep your TiVO HD for 3 years or more, it's hard to beat this price. Oh, and TiVo will throw in a plush toy. So there's that to consider.
The offer is good through June 16th, but TiVo loves to extend offers like these. I mean, don't come hunting me down with burning torches if this offer really does expire, but I think it's a safe bet that once this promotion expires, TiVo will offer a different one.
TiVo offers Spring rebates, extends product lifetime service offer

- The TiVo HD product lifetime offer which had been set to expire on January 7 has been extended through April 1.
- The $200 rebate on Series3 boxes and $150 rebate on dual-tuner Series2 units has been extended through April 5 (PDF link).
- The $170 rebate on single-tuner Series2 units has been dropped to $150, and is also available through April 5.
[via TiVo Lovers and WeaKnees Blog]
Rare Simpsons Xbox on eBay
So, back in May I told you about a limited number of Simpsons-style XBoxes being given away at promotional events in anticipation of the upcoming movie. If you weren't lucky enough to snag one of the yellow consoles with Homer's visage at one of these events, you can try bidding on one that recently popped up on eBay. Just bring a lot of cash, 'cause the bidding, as I type this sentence, is at $1,900.
Best Buy offers free TiVo with high speed internet orders
Best Buy and TiVo are running a promotion that lets you get an 80-hour Series2 TiVo for free after rebate, or a dual-tuner box for $50 after rebate. They'll even through in a free Wireless G adapter.What's the catch? You've got to sign up for high speed internet service through Best Buy. And you've got to print the coupon and take it into a store. This deal is not available through the TiVo or Best Buy websites.
No word on how long this promotion will last, but if you sign up before July 31st, you can get your first three months of TiVo service for free.
[via Troy on TiVo]
Seinfeld returns to NBC (sort of)
In order to promote his upcoming animated feature, Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld is creating twenty "minisodes" to be shown on both NBC and NBC.com.
Live-action spots for the film have already been made, but it's not clear if these "minisodes" will be more of the same or something completely different. I've placed one of the movie spots at the end of this post.
The Simpsons Xbox 360 console you'll never have
Excuse me if I salivate like Homer standing near a box of donuts, but this is awesome. I want myself a Simpsons Xbox so bad and I don't even play video games. Our pals over at Endgadget, who know more about such things, say that the new system, created as a promotion for the upcoming Simpsons movie, is an Xbox 360 Pro and not an Elite, which apparently means less GBs.
Don't bother trying to find it in stores, though, because only one hundred of these machines were created and they'll be given away at different promotional events as we get closer to the film's release on July 27.
I suppose if you want to you could always just draw a picture of Homer on your Xbox with a Sharpie. Heck, draw Homer on everything in your house and pretend you won some kind of sweepstakes.
7-Elevens may be converted into Kwik-E-Marts to promote Simpsons movie
Now here's a case of synergy I can get behind: According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7-Eleven is in talks with the producers of The Simpsons Movie to convert eleven of the company's stores into Kwik-E-Marts in a promotional stunt. The converted stores would sell items that Apu Nahasapeemapetilon might sell in his fictional store, like Krusty-Os, Buzz Cola, and Squishies (lucky for the 7-11 folks that they have a very similar product, huh?). Also the images of Simpsons characters would be placed on other 7-11 products on sale, like their deli sandwiches (with Homer going "mmmm... sandwiches," of course).It's a pretty interesting idea, if they do it for a limited time, like maybe for two weeks before the movie's July 27 opening and maybe for a week afterwards. Any longer, and those temporary Kwik-E-Mart signs are just going to look kinda sad. And, hopefully, they won't sell the Krusty-Os with the free jagged metal O inside. That's just asking for trouble.
[via Netscape. Thanks to sister site Gadling for the funny composite picture.]
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