Let’s face the fact that no one can agree on what makes a good movie.  If you think that a broad consensus is necessary for a film to receive an Oscar nomination, think again.  The nominating process has a complexity that rivals the judging at the Olympic ice skating competition.  The Academy affirmed its experiment to expand the Best Picture category.  Nine films have been nominated.  This makes for an interesting stew and the potential for a dark horse winner, especially in a very competitive year.  In addition to the intimate, small-scale films that have dominated the Best Picture race in recent years, there is a well-rounded representation including an extensive digital effects film, a biographical sports drama and a silent movie.  A more subtle comparison is how the top nominated films were initially regarded by professional critics upon their theatrical release.  By this informal measure, “The Artist” leads the pack, followed closely by “Hugo”, “Midnight in Paris” and “The Descendants”.

Here is a closer look at who will bring home the top prize and what criteria help determine the winner.  Praise from critics is important.  If a film is well received in New York and Los Angeles and wins some critic’s awards, then the film will be a factor.  Box office impact is a definable measuring tool.  Rarely does a disappointment at the box office win the top prize.  Strong acting performances are essential.  Superior acting is a film’s most identifiable mark of quality.  Tackling an important theme instills relevance.  This reinforces the popular opinion that Academy voters are drawn to films with social significance.  Cachet of a heavyweight director attracts votes.

The Oscar winner is not always the pinnacle of filmmaking achievement.  The truth is, more often than not, that Academy members, voting as individuals but thinking as a group, award films that will bring honor to the Academy.

So, now you have all the information necessary to correctly pick this year’s winner.  Good luck.

I found the audio track on for Ideal on YouTube.

Remember the New Jersey retailer that dominated the local air waves with this awesome jingle?  Let me know where I can find this spot.

And, of course, let me know what you think of this awesome ditty!

Check your pick for each nominee. Entry must be received no later than Friday, February 24 by 5:00 PM. Only one entry per person. In the event of a tie, the winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries.

This year we have exciting prizes!

1st Prize:  $50 PrimoHoagies Gift Card

2nd Prize:  $25 Regal Cinemas Gift Card

3rd Prize:  $25 Regal Cinemas Gift Card

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Over the past few decades OOH industry and media planners have used Daily Effective Circulation (DEC) as the primary measurement, which has been based off of traffic counts surrounding specific outdoor boards.  OOH was used as a broad reach vehicle.  Given the DEC measurement, it was almost impossible to demographically target a specific audience.  OOH was purchased via “showings”, typically a #100, #75, #50 and #25.  The showing number represented a percentage reach of the market population.  The number of units/panels required to achieve a specific showing varied by market.  As a way to standardize OOH delivery, The Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement (TAB), developed the Eyes On concept as an alternative to the DEC.

TAB developed what they call the four building blocks of Eyes On – Circulation (more accurate traffic counts); Visibility Research (travel simulation eye tracking data that actually converts the number of people passing a display to the audience that actually sees the advertisement); Demographics (Census and trip survey data is used to identify the demographic composition of people passing each display); Reach and Frequency (trip origins and destination information).  The research program was designed to determine the portion of the population who pass an OOH advertisement and actually see it.  It also takes into account how a unit’s format, size, road type/speed, road side, angle to the road and distance to the road effect the likelihood that the advertising will be noticed.

The transition from DEC and showings will take some time to completely comprehend the new metric with many new terms:  CSBA’s, EOI’s, VAI’s, PRS, MAP and many more.   With Eyes On measurement, buying OOH will be more sophisticated, accurate and more in-line with numbers and terms media planners/buyers are more familiar with.

As of January 1, 2012 Eyes On is the currency for the OOH industry and data is now available for the Philadelphia market.  If you would like to hear more about the new metric please feel free to contact your friendly media managers – Debbie, Alena or Holly.

In some cases, brands have gone above and beyond to create more than the standard :30 or :60 spot, such as the new Honda CR-V spot featuring Matthew Broderick, playing off his classic Ferris Buellers Day Off. 

or the Acura NSX commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno.

How about teasing your own TV spot as Volkswagen has done with their “Imperial March” performed by a group of barking dogs?  This is a gentle reminder of last years “Darth Vader” ad and transitions into their freshly released New Beetle ad, even if just slightly.

So why choose to release a lengthened/shortened version of the spot that you spent millions on through a free social network before the release on your scheduled 3.1M air time?  Is it possible that viewers feel a sense of entitlement the night of the event, and therefore have increased brand loyalty? Is there a hightened sense of anticipation as you await the spot to air? Is it possible that pre-releasing your spot can enhance the viewing experience for the viewer rather then diminish it?

What are your thoughts and if you had the choice, would you release your spot early?

Between April and September of 2011 eighteen sequels, re-issues, remakes and re-boots were released.  That number does not include popular sequels released at year’s end during the lucrative holiday season: “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1″, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked”, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”, “Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol” and “The Muppets”.

2011

Arthur (2011)

Scream 4

Fast Five

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

The Hangover Part II

Kung Fu Panda 2

X-Men: First Class

Cars 2

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Final Destination 5

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Fright Night (2011)

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

The Lion King 3-D

Straw Dogs (2011)

In ’2012 Hollywood’s obsession with movies based on other movies will continue.

2012

Titanic 3-D

Scary Movie 5

The Avengers (2012)

Men In Black 3-D

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

The Amazing Spider-Man

Ice Age: Continental Drift 3-D

The Dark Knight Rises

Step Up 4

The Bourne Legacy

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Total Recall (2012)

Sparkle (2012)

The Expendables 2

Finding Nemo 3-D

Resident Evil 5

Savages (2012)

How long will movie goers be willing to watch the same six or seven movies over and over

again, year after year?

I’m not a big soda drinker.  But I can remember my folks consuming this product by the gallon.  It was the early 1970s.  I remember asking my mom, “Do you like Tab?”  She said, bluntly, “No. It’s pretty bad.”

Years later, I saw it in the grocery store and bought it for a party I was having. I thought it would be funny.  Kind of a novelty.

Suffice to say, I ended up throwing away the six packs after the party. Apparently everyone else thought it was pretty bad.

A few years ago, I stumbled across this ad for Tab. I think it came out in 1972.  It’s a classic.  I can’t believe that it aired.  Or at least, I can’t believe that network executives didn’t get an earful from the women’s lib movement.

Check it out.

Let me know what you think.

It’s for De Beers. To my knowledge it never ran.  At least I don’t recall seeing it in this market.  I came across the ad when doing research for a pitch.

I’m not sure what the definition of  “great creative” is.  But for me this comes close.  It’s beautifully shot.  It tells a story, visually. Dusty Springfield’s rendition of “What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life” is spot-on.  The commercial is simple yet powerful.

Let me know what you think about this spot.

Gillespie Group staff, including Mike Gillespie, Sr., Gregg Smith, Debbie Field, Alena Minarovicova and Mike Gillespie, Jr. volunteered by serving lunch.  With a limited budget, St. John’s relies on an army of volunteers and supporters which allows the organization to continue feeding homeless men.

In addition to volunteering to serve meals, people provide clothing and deliver prepared casseroles which are the main meals served to the men.

Learn more about St. John’s by visiting www.stjohnshospice.org.

Google’s +1 button shares many similarities to Facebook’s like, but in the world where over 50% of a website’s traffic comes from Google, the +1 button all of a sudden becomes a powerful tool. Unfortunately, just like with any social phenomenon, it takes a while to reach a significant mass. Nine months later, Google has reached this critical mass and is now integrating +1 button into its search algorithm. The integration into search algorithm brings a whole new level to a developing social venture. As you may know, there are several elements in Google’s algorithm, including inbound and outbound links, fresh content, headers, meta tags and others. With +1, Google now introduced a social component that is going to play a role similar to Google’s quality score in the AdWords Program. Sites will increasingly rely upon +1 button to achieve higher search rankings hence more visitors to their websites. However, in order to achieve that the website content is going to be even more important than ever before, because at the end of the day that is how you’re going to get more +1s.

Bottom line, +1 button isn’t exactly similar to a Facebook “like”; it is a lot more powerful! If you are a business, integrating a +1 button into your website should be on the top of your to do list. With Google’s ever-changing search algorithm, you always have to be ready.