Dino Baskovic Can’t Lose

Leave it to my ol' boss to remind me, the 35-year-old whipper snapper that I am, to keep on top of nonsensical wacky web fads.

Do you remember that one goofy viral video of the band OK Go on treadmills from a year or so ago?  Their newest installment blows well past it.

Remember when MTV used to have innovative videos like this?  Heck, remember MTV?  Anyway, there is a back story to this Rube Goldberg machine-inspired meme.  Apparently the band was upset when their record label prevented them from earning royalties on the YouTube version of the video if said video was embedded on other websites and not directly viewed on said YouTube.  A recent op-ed by OK Go's lead singer elaborates on the issue.

What makes this new video -- 3.4 million views and counting -- even more intriguing than the last -- only 1.4 milliion views -- is that State Farm subsidized it.  "State Farm," you ask?  Yeah, me too.  Some where, some how, the band and the insurance behemoth made fast friends so that the video would benefit both parties (more coverage at BusinessWeek, Digital Media, Mashable and TechDirt).  Social media circles are buzzing about the secret handshake, whether this is a isolated case of strange bedfellows or a sign of brand synergies to come (State Farm has two subtle placements in the first 60 seconds, then the band thanks them outright at the close).

Business speak aside, it's just a refreshingly cool and creative music video.  Watch it.  Love it.  Share it.  You don't even have to like the music.

Thanks, boss.  I owe you one.

UPDATE: YouTube Darlings OK Go Say Bye-Bye to EMI (Mashable, March 10, 2010)

Five o'clock on Friday.  Quittin' time.  As the TGIF status updates spill all over Facebook and Twitter, I turn to my trusted bourbon of choice, Maker's Mark.

Not that I need a bracer so late in the day.  Then again, the night is young, I haven't blogged in a bit and I need some "spirited" material to end the week.  'Nuff said.

The above billboard photo is borrowed from the Maker's Mark Facebook fan page.  Like most bourbon/whiskey/spirits/beverage brands, Maker's is an active social marketer.  Bill Samuels, Jr., president of Maker's Mark, personally and frequently blogs with new recipes, sampling events and other good reasons to get my butt back to Loretto.  (Last time I visited, I dipped my own bottle in red wax, dined at their downtown Louisville steakhouse and ordered a personalized barrel which awaits my return.)

I am also a card-carrying member of the Maker's Mark Ambassadors -- and that's no joke, they give us business cards.  So when I stumbled on the fan page today, I was pleased to see the Ambassadors in action.  I don't know how this started, but the M.O. is to announce yourself as an Ambassador from where ever you live along with well wishes on their wall.

Now that is grassroots branding at its best -- from the Bluegrass State, no less.  Simple, personal, influential.  I guess all of those holiday tchotchkes they mail each year to Ambassadors pay off.  That, and some consistently good and reasonably priced hooch helps.  So what if Maker's Mark "only" has 40,000+ fans on Facebook, compared to one pickle's 1,500,000+?  Memes come and go, but the marketers will take a smaller but fiercely loyal fan base any day, myself included.

Hats off to you, Mr. Samuels and company.  Online and off, your sense of community is truly on the mark.  And now, I think I'll find myself a rocks glass.

I have a sense of humor.  I really do.  And I, ahem, read the articles.  But why Marge Simpson is posing for Playboy is beyond me.

Maybe Murdoch hopes to rejuvenate the "Simspons" brand.  Or is it Hef hoping to lure Maxim readers back through the rabbit hole?  For that matter, didn't Maxim have the dirt on Marge back in '04, making Playboy guilty of copycat-- er, copybunnying?

CNN sauces it up:

Playboy's lackluster showing as of late can be attributed to two things, [Media Industry Newsletter online editor-in-chief Steve] Cohn said. One, the audience transferred some of their desire for tastefully disrobed women to the Web. Second, Hugh Hefner got old.

"The reason for their audience shift can be seen in Hugh Hefner. I went to college in the '70s and Hefner was in his 40s back then. He was the symbol for what kind of guy I wanted to be," Cohn said. "Now he's in his 80s -- it's hard to identify with someone like that. That's a problem for Playboy."

Almost makes you wonder if a good chunk of the Twitter generation has even heard of Hugh Hefner.  Regardless, it's harmless fun and PEI expects to sell out the issue to honorary citizens of Springfield across the globe.  I will say that, in doing extremely NSFW research for this article, I was impressed to see use of social media tools throughout the site, including a slick AJAX toolbar resting at the bottom of the browser chrome chock full of widgets.  (Ah, there I go talking like a web geek again...)

It plays well for FOX, too.  They shot some carrot juice into a 20-year-old brand competing with the "Girl Next Door" and the rest of the Griffins.  The two shows trade friendly barbs on-air while jockeying for top-of-hour Sunday night slots, and it's fun to watch who's winning (answer: FOX).  Aside from cancelling "Family Guy" twice, taking a chance on Seth MacFarlane proved to be pivotal in building needed street cred for the "fourth" network.  Two decades ago, BBSes were long-living Matt Groening.  Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation and the voice of Quahog wouldn't be pitching Windows 7.

Alas, at least one blogger agrees with me that another TV mom should be in the spotlight.  God Bless Animation Domination.