Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Do you Look Twice for Motorcycles?

I actually jumped off of my couch when I saw this commercial. The impact of the Look Twice Motorcyle commercial is proportionate to the size of the television screen you see it on and the sound system you hear it with.

I don't know how the "Look Twice" motorcycle commercial was done. It wouldn't surprise me if the commercial was done using a real motorcycle and as a real time stunt.
I don't approve of this type of filmmaking if in fact was done as a "real time stunt" that risked the safety of the participants. However, the commercial is very effective and impactful, that is for sure.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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Monday, June 28, 2010

Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel, how is that possible?

A while back I read a piece on another blog that complained about the History Channel. They questioned how the History Channel could create new programming that apparently had nothing to do with History. I think I responded to their article and agreed with them.

Recently I noticed a very clever History Channel slogan that skids the way for the channel to do whatever they want. The History Channel slogan I heard was, "History.....is made every day". This slogan is pure genius, perhaps evil genius. It is so clever it's the kind of thing i wish was on my resume.
I feel badly for our society when history can't seem to compete with twitter, reality tv and tv in general. Come to think of it, has anybody come up with a history app in which famous people from the past send out twitters of their most famous sayings and moments? Could you imagine Winston Churchill twittering you once a day with a famous saying? "Hey everybody, Winston Churchill just twittered me! He's in talks with the United States about how to handle food ration ratios between his troops and his civilians".
Back to the history channel and ice Road Truckers. I find the concept of Ice Road Truckers intensely provocative and a tribute to those who truly risk their lives delivering goods and supplies in remote, very cold locations.

However, when I see shots of the truckers talking towards the camera person in the passenger seat, I begin to question the methodology of how the show is put together.

In other types of potentially dangerous reality TV situations such as "Cops" or "Parking Wars", the camera person can choose whether to turn left or right to avoid danger during possibly hazardous moments. When the camera person is sitting next to the trucker, and they are in the middle of nowhere in -40 degree weather in the middle of the night, and the trucker says "we may not make it out of this mess", the camera person can't really choose to go left or right.

Is it possible that these particular trucker sound bytes are staged and are based on real events, or does the camera person actually go along for the ride, or is there a chase car that follows the trucks? It all sounds like a logistical and dangerous nightmare.

I just saw an episode of Ice Road Truckers where the trucker trouble shoots, identifies, and then repairs a broken alternator electrical line on a stranded motorist's car. If the Trucker had not fixed the alternator line, could the driver have died in the cold once the car lost its remaining battery power? This is really scary stuff.

I just don't exactly see how Ice Road Truckers can sort of show us the problems truckers face while avoiding the really nasty stuff that probably occurs on a semi regular basis. (pardon the accidental pun).

There is another television show called 1,000 ways to die that shows 1,000 ways that people have died under strange or crazy circumstances. I supposed I would be interested in learning ways someone in a cold weather situation could doom themselves just in case I were ever in that situation, so maybe a spin off is in order of Ice Cold Truckers because I certainly don't want to see the truckers have a tragic ending to learn how to avoid dying in the cold.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Popular Commercials such as Credit Report dot com and Baskin Robbins Birthday Song Commercial replace their popular music, and fail.

I don't know why Baskin Robbins changed their zany Birthday Cake commercial song, but in my opinion the new Baskin Robbins version is a complete musical failure when compared to the original Baskin Robbins Birthday music song and commercial.

I don't know why the band that does the Credit Report dot com music has been replaced either. Are both musicians trying to shake down the commercials for more money? Is the ad agency and the company itself deluding themselves into thinking their prior music is easily replaceable?

Can't they all just get along? Times are tough economically. Are the presumably starving musicians involved really shaking down the ad agency and the advertiser for too much money, really? Who can put a price on a memorable commercial because of the music? When is replacing the same memorable music versus trying a weak knock off a good idea?

There are a handful of good commercial's music pieces that I can recall such as "Subaru saved my life", The Toyota Lexus commercials, Baskin Robbins Birthday commercial, Kia Sorento, Hometown Buffet "What did you get", and Credit Report dot com. People actually enjoy these music tracks, making the commercials that much more memorable and these commercials are probably not channel surfed when they come on.

Credit Report dot com was probably slipping a bit with their new musical pieces, but using the same group helped keep the continuity of the commercials going strong.

So the question becomes, why has Baskin Robbins and Credit Report dot com dropped their popular music scores? lol, I wonder what they got for $9.99


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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by Alessandro Machi at

Monday, June 21, 2010

Yes, Hot in Cleveland is better than the promos.

(Edit update - January 10, 2011), second season of Hot in Cleveland promos are much shorter, funnier, and better than the first season, good to see.)

AlexLOGIC avoids slamming other people whenever possible, but the 30 second promos for the pilot of Hot In Cleveland were absolutely awful. I was actually afraid to watch the TV Land original comedy show after seeing the promos because I like all four lead actresses, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli and Betty White, and was afraid to watch them crash and burn.

While the show is not great, yet, it is not awful either, but the promos are really bad. It is far too early to claim the show is either bad or good. I like the idea of Betty White being the crafty senior rather than the one who exchanges insults with Jane Leeves.
If the three gals and Betty White stop insulting each other, where will the antagonism and conflict come from?

It will be interesting to see if the show can develop story lines and plot points that don't revolve around Betty White one liners and insults, or should i say, insluts?


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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You can also view more
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by Alessandro Machi at

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The British Petroleum Gulf Oil Spill, is it harder to live on the ocean floor than on the moon?

I don't know the answer to the question,"Is it harder to live on the ocean floor than on the surface of the moon",
but I am guessing that it is actually easier to live on the moon's surface.

I know many of us are tired of more governmental agencies, but if it is harder to live on the surface of the ocean floor than on the moon, why do we have a space agency called NASA, but no agency for the world's oceans, and just as importantly, for any research or mining that is done in the ocean and on the ocean floors?

If it is easier to live on the ocean's floor than on the moon, then perhaps we need to rethink what is the minimum maintenance requirement for oil exploration that goes through the ocean floor.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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You can also view more
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by Alessandro Machi at

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Fox Television usher's in Sneaky "Article Sharing Tactics" for the show, So you Think you can Dance.

If you click on the title of this article, it will take you to the Buddy TV article "So you think you can Dance! Top 11 Dance Clips."

However, Fox Television, (or is it Buddy TV?), has done something very sneaky. Normally, you can view a video clip located within an article without having to do anything but hit play.

However, in this instance, Buddy TV provides the embed code, and it is up to you to copy it and then play it back, somewhere else. In my opinion, this is sneakiness of epic proportions. If a million people are curious what the top rated 11 dances were for the show, So you "Think You Can Dance!", (aka Fox 11, as it is known in Los Angeles), those one million people will have to copy the embed code and then play it back.

A one to one initial ratio for an embed coding to number of viewers? One embed code for every person who wants to see the video? Wow!

Once the first several thousand people repost the embed code somewhere on a blog, or within an email, others will then view the embedded video multiplying the viewing effect into the millions.

However, I REFUSE to post even one embed code on Alex Logic from the top eleven dances from "So you Think you Can Dance, top eleven list", specifically because I should be able to squeeze the fruit, before putting it on my blog.

In this instance, I would need to embed the video into this article just to see the video for the first time!
Why can't I just see the video unless BEFORE I post THE embed code?
The Fox, or is it Buddy Tv shenanigan is both crazy brilliant, but highly unethical as well. Unfortunately, there is nobody to call Fox, or Buddy TV out on this stunt. I'll do it here, but who will join me, and who will care?

Why is dealing with an imbed code so scandalous? Imagine having to "download" a song before being able to hear it for the first time. Somewhere in the internet stat counting universe, you would be pegged as having downloaded a song even if you were just curious what the song sounded like. This creates misleading, amplified, and highly inaccurate viewer statistics.

Just because ten thousand people embed the "So you think you Can Dance top eleven dances list" does not mean they all wanted to embed the code.
There IS a difference between an embedder and a viewer, and Fox TV and Buddy TV have now blurred that line.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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You can also view more
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by Alessandro Machi at

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Betty White Sold on Ebay Auction.



If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Betty White being Sold on Ebay Auction.


In an unusual move, Betty White has decided to sell herself to the highest bidder on ebay. Unconfirmed sources claim Betty was selling now because her price may never be higher and why shouldn't she cash it in before someone else auctions her off instead.

When informed the eBay auction proceeds would be going to a 501c non-profit called the Onyx and Breezy Foundation, Ms. White allegedly uttered something about "details, details".

Auction info found via Carol Leifer on Facebook, and shipping is free!

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...
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You can also view more
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by Alessandro Machi at

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