Just like in the interactive zombie film The Outbreak, you keep running from the creatures, and just when you think you’ve found a new sanctuary, they sniff you out and keep coming and coming and coming…
The creatures I’m talking about here are Hollywood stars and studios, and the “you” is the independent movie producer or fan looking for a place to call their own… (more…)
Categories: Media News
Tagged: advertising, Brooklyn's Finest, Hollywood, Hulu, Lazy Sunday, Pop Rocks, Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, Steelers, Sundance, UGC, user generated content, William Morris Agency, YouTube
Why? Why? Why?
Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Versus… Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Apparently, not too many people know about the small sports network, which I personally appreciate for bringing me football games from the PAC-10 and the Ivy League. Where else would I be able to catch the Harvard-Cornell game in L.A.?
Obviously, Versus wants more than us middle-aged marketing geeks. So in an effort to generate awareness, Versus is asking for more than a show of hands. They’re literally asking people to “Show Me Your V.”
Really. (more…)
Categories: Case Studies
Tagged: advertising, branding, buzz marketing, controversy, marketing, sports, television, TV, UGC, user generated content, Versus
Different is good. And one of the primary responsibilities of a marketer is to make sure your brand stands out from the competition — ideally in a good way. (Yeah, I’m talking to you, Chrysler.) (more…)
Categories: Case Studies
Tagged: best practices, branding, campaign, logos, marketing, McCain, Obama, politics, Presidential election, slogans, UGC, user generated content
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC
So I’m thoroughly digging on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog — the surreal webisodic series by Joss Whedon — and I’m thinking that Hollywood’s foray into online video might not be a bad thing… (more…)
Categories: Media News
Tagged: Charlize Theron, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible, Gemini Division, Hollywood, Joss Whedon, Metacafe, movies, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosario Dawson, UGC, user generated content, video
So I’m walking through my neighborhood counting the foreclosure signs when I develop this mighty thirst. Fortunately, I find a lemonade stand run by an enterprising six-year-old named Zucky. Just as I’m about to pay $4 for a cup (obviously, Zucky graduated from the Starbucks Preschool of Management), I see another lemonade stand across the street run by another enterprising six-year-old. This one, however, has a sign saying “Free Lemonade.” Free? I like free. Free is good. Plus, I’m trying to save enough money to fuel up my car. So I cross the street to the land of the free, and find myself talking to Zucky’s arch rival, Sergei… (more…)
Categories: Random Observations
Tagged: business, dot-com, dotcoms, humor, new media, satire, Silicon Valley, social media, social networking, UGC, user generated content, VC, Web 2.0
Behold: the premiere episode of The Worldwide Scoop, the original online series produced by my agency, Atomic Tango…
Categories: Atomic Tango News
Tagged: advertising, Atomic Tango, branded content, content, paranormal, supernatural, The Worldwide Scoop, user generated content
He sits there before his microphone, round and retro, emanating the cuteness that made him an icon in America. On this occasion, he’s in somber black, though he’s usually seen decked out like a jelly bean. And then he speaks…
Categories: Case Studies
Tagged: advertising, auto industry, automobiles, Beetle, cars, cats, Crispin Porter Bogusky, German, Herbie the Love Bug, marketing, mascot, UGC, user generated content, Volkswagen, VW
"Common sense is the little man in a gray suit who never makes a mistake at addition, but it's always someone else's money he's adding up."
- Raymond ChandlerLet's hear it for uncommon sense: that inner itch that inspires you to stray from the herd, ditch the training wheels and leap into the fast lane. As we all know, it's the risk takers who get their faces on the cover of Wired magazine and their words on National Public Radio. No one ever remembers who won "honorable mention"...
Cool Rules Pronto celebrates uncommon sense in marketing and media. It's written by Freddy J. Nager, the Founder & Fusion Director of the L.A.-based marketing agency and production company Atomic Tango. For Cool Rules Pronto, he draws on two decades of experience in advertising and entertainment, including 15 years in new media. He has created campaigns and projects for agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Magnet Interactive, and for such clients as Toyota, MCA Records, National Lampoon, Nissan & Infiniti, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the NFL on Fox and numerous startups.
Freddy also serves on the Board of Directors of City Garage Theatre in Santa Monica, California. He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from USC (go Trojans!), and currently teaches marketing through Antioch University L.A. and the University of Wales/Robert Kennedy College. He also wrote the satirical book, Claw Your Way To The Top: Ten Things I Learned About Business From My Cat, which he'll get around to marketing someday.
