Octagon First Call

With little fanfare in the United States, more than seven million tickets to the Beijing Olympics went on sale in China on a first-come, first-served basis today. But overwhelming demand crashed the computer ticketing system. More than eight hours after ticket sales began, the online ticketing site had a note saying the system was busy and to check back later (anyone who tried to purchase World Series tickets last week encountered the same problem). Tickets are being sold in a three-phase process for domestic sales. In each phase, residents on the Chinese mainland will be able to order tickets through the official ticketing website (http://tickets.beijing2008.com), calling the BOCOG ticketing call center (+86-10-952008), or through designated Bank of China branches. About 75% of the tickets will be sold domestically and the rest will be available to the overseas public. For overseas sales, the process will be determined in each country and territory by its National Olympic Committee and its ticketing agent.

Gary Levin from USA Today writes a fantastic piece this week about how TV shows are reacting to shifting consumer habits. Or better yet, how they are taking advantage all of mediums to capture an audience. He points to Gossip Girl, CW’s big fall show about an elitist high school crowd in Manhattan. While the show only draws 2-3 million viewers per week, the episodes have been downloaded more than a million times on CW’s website this past month. If you watch the show, you can’t miss the advertisements driving you to Gossip Girl blogs on CW’s website. And you’d be remiss if you didn’t check it out for yourself - http://cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl. It is a fantastic site that is and will be the future of TV programming (actually, all programming). It has music, widgets, animated characters to build, ways to view old shows, clips from upcoming shows, fashion tips from their costume designer and an explanation of the fashion worn by the actors in the show.

Celebrities, who are accustomed to being in the spotlight and scrutinized for what they say (and don’t say), cease to surprise me lately. First you have Mel Gibson. Fans of his argue he was drunk and functioning with impaired thinking. Others say he is flat out racist and anti-Semitic. Don Imus, king of the conservative controversial, clearly went to far when speaking of the Rutgers basketball team (yet is getting a second chance). Former Seinfeld actor, Michael Richards, got a little too caught up in his stand-up routine and last week. And former Friends star Matthew Perry made an offensive remark toward Native Americans while emceeing an event. Now we hear that while taping Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Halle Berry said an offensive comment about her nose looking like her “Jewish cousin,” which ABC subsequently edited out and added a laughing track before airing. She has officially apologized, but when are stars going to think before they speak? I am all about Freedom of Speech, but lately celebrities have gone too far. When a celeb is on a radio show or late night show, or anywhere in public while cameras are rolling, discretion is necessary. Between the celebrity-obsessed culture and the widespread reach of the Internet, information travels faster than ever. They are being judged by what they say, and if it is even somewhat controversial, everyone will hear about it and fast. Before the public apology, before the heartfelt PSA, just stop and think. Publicists worldwide would appreciate it.

The countdown is on. More than 90% of writers (roughly 5,000 votes) have given the Writer’s Guild (WGA) authorization to strike on November 1 if a new deal is not in place. The current agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers expires Oct. 31. The two sides have been negotiating since July with Internet compensation and other pay issues still not resolved. Management believes writers should allow the free re-use of WGA-originated content over the Internet in some circumstances. Obviously the Guild would like to be paid for this additional usage. Management has also been seeking to revise current residuals that allow studios to recoup certain basic costs on film and TV projects before paying any future residuals. The Guild rejected the proposal immediately back in July. No strike would be without substantial pain for both sides, but some maintain a fall strike might have more disruptive effect on TV schedules than one called in the winter or spring. Writers are needed on movie sets for scene re-writes and some fall TV programming that is not yet written. A strike could lead to quick, new reality programming at the networks.

Gatorade announced a 5-year licensing partnership with Tiger Woods yesterday. It has been a long-standing rumor and if you watch golf closely, Tiger has been drinking out of Gatorade bottles on the course this fall. The partnership makes sense and it is Tiger’s first foray into the beverage category (which is a bit shocking). What’s different for Gatorade is how the deal is structured. It is a licensing program in which they will sell Tiger branded products and use his name and image on packaging do so. In return, Tiger will earn a royalty of sales (that number typically ranges from 8-15%). VitaminWater has been doing this with their celebrities (or at least giving them a stake in the company). So it is a smart move by Gatorade to keep up with the trend and lock in this country’s most powerful athlete.

What does a star from Jackass and a political figure have in common (besides both being Democrats)? Both are using their celebrity status as a means to further their cause of choice. Steve-O recently joined Alicia Silverstone in promoting PETA through a series of PSAs and print ads that were revealed at L.A. Fashion Week. The trend of the moment in Hollywood appears to be environmental awareness, led by none other than former Vice President Al Gore, the latest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Using the platforms provided by his Oscar and Emmy wins, Gore has been able to push green initiatives into the forefront of Americans’ minds. More and more celebrities are taking the leads of Steve-O and Al Gore in joining charities to promote positive change. So remember, next time you earn 15 minutes of fame, make sure to use it for good. By Tamara Alfred & Jill Mogensen

Last week the Los Angeles Times suggested that recently released movie/musical Across The Universe may be on it’s way to cult classic status. Despite a limited opening 4 weeks ago, the film has steadily grown it’s distribution (and revenue), keeping pace with the positive word of mouth that viewers have been eager to spread. With a healthy per screen average this weekend in less than a thousand theaters (most major releases run in 2,000-3,000 theaters), the movie may go wider in the next few weeks and really pick up some steam. Despite decidely average reviews, this movie has found a dedicated audience. Reminds me of another film, albeit a TV movie, that critics were equally ambivalent about: a story of young love + wildly choreographed musical numbers + average indifference of movie critics = High School Musical all over again?

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Teens and twenty-somethings have voted, and when push comes to shove, alternative is king. When asked to write in their two favorite bands/musical artists, teens favored Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park and Green Day (in that order), while twenty-somethings preferred U2, Metallica and Linkin Park. It is no surprise that teens chose music that can be heard on any Top 40 station, and twenty-somethings veered to the more classic variety. The rest of their top tens differed quite a bit with 50 Cent, T.I., Nickelback, Justin Timerblake, Akon, Beyonce and Eminem rounding out the top ten for the teens and Rascall Flatts, Eminem, Dave Matthews Band, 50 Cent, Nickelback, Tim McGraw and Korn for the twenty-somethings. In the second section, which allowed respondents to mark if they recognized an artist/band and mark if they liked them “very much”, one thing was clear. Teens liked more of the artists and to a higher degree. It is well known that when marketing to teens (and tweens) too much is often not enough. When a teen likes a band, they want to see, hear and learn as much as possible about the band. If his/her friend likes XX, he or she will like them too! Eighteen artists were liked “very much” by 30-40% of teens, while only four artists were enjoyed that much by twenty-somethings. When it comes to genres, twenty-somethings don’t seem to like rap and R&B as much as their younger counterparts, and instead prefer country or more alternative rock (think Daughtry, Hinder and Brad Paisley). If you want to score with both, stick to Nickelback and Green Day.

When marketing to teens and young adults, research is key. What do they like? What do they not like? How much? When and where? Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a division of Research International, published a very interesting study about the athletes and musicians recognized and preferred by teenagers and twenty-somethings. Inside were some great findings. On the athlete end, everyone wanted to be like Mike. In a section of the survey where no options were provided and respondents were asked to write in their two favorite athletes, Jordan ranked first for both age groups. The rest of each list was surprisingly similar, except that Peyton Manning ranked 5 spots lower for teens than their twenty-something counterparts. Brett Favre made an appearance on the twenty-something survey (un-ranked with the teens) and Barry Bonds squeezed his way in at #10 on the teen list. Other athletes included Tiger, David Beckham, LeBron, Shaq, Derek Jeter, Kobe and Alex Rodriguez. A separate section listed 60 “relevant” athletes, and asked respondents to mark whether or not they were familiar with a particular athlete and if they liked that athlete “very much.” Forty-six percent of teens knew and liked Tony Hawk “very much,” the highest ranked athlete of the list(although he was not mentioned in the list without athletes provided). Thirty-eight percent of both teens and twenty-somethings knew and liked LaDainian Tomlinson “very much,” but he ranked highest on the twenty-something list. The largest discrepancy: Shaq. Forty-five percent of teens knew and liked him, versus twenty-five percent of twenty-somethings. Are twenty-somethings just too used to having Shaq around? Check back tomorrow to find out what musicians made the cut in the eyes of these influential young people.