By ROBERT GOLDRICH
and low-ends of the spotmaking spectrum are beginning to surface. The former consists of public service campaigns from The Advertising Council. Pleas for pro bono PSA airtime have frequently fallen on deaf ears. In a new twist, such work will instead begin to fall upon def eyes.
As reported by SHOOT’s Carolyn Giardina in this week’s DTV and Advertising Supplement, Barry Rebo of Rebo Associates, New York, has been named high-definition television consultant to The Ad Council. Rebo is charged with the development and implementation of a plan to bring HDTV format versions of upcoming public service spots from The Ad Council to the nation’s digital broadcasters.
Deemed a win-win situation by Rebo, the scenario satisfies the needs of retail outlets, local broadcasters, and the spot production and post community-all the while promoting the civic-mindedness of Ad Council endeavors. Although HDTV set penetration is minimal, the road to correcting that runs through consumer electronic retail showrooms. HD fare for demo purposes is essential to captivate the buying public during peak retail selling hours. Ultimately, the sale of more sets will eventually make HDTV a viable ad medium. And The Ad Council PSAs will provide production and post houses with the chance to explore the creation of DTV advertising.
"Our aim is to help all parties in the equation move forward," related Rebo.
Meanwhile, as alluded to earlier, another experimental pursuit is also translating into exposure for ad fare-but in this case, it’s low-end, usually amateurish work. But ironically, it’s the amateurism that’s part of the messages’ appeal. A man peddles a sofa. Another tries to sell a motorcycle. A kid looks to raise money for summer camp by putting some old furniture on the sales block.
These makeshift spots are being shown during a half-hour (11-11:30 a.m.) weekday program that recently began a three-week pilot run on the Pax TV station in West Palm Beach, Fla. If the flyer pilot proves successful, Pax may place the program-Pax People TV-on its network of 100-plus TV stations nationwide.
The proposition is inexpensive on two levels. Five days of :30s cost $27.50 if the item being sold is less than $500. For bigger ticket merchandise, the ad time buy jumps up to $62.50. Nothing off-color or of a political nature is allowed.
And Pax TV gains potentially entertaining programming that’s literally produced on the cheap. The West Palm Beach TV station time slot in which Pax People TV is running would normally be reserved for infomercials.
The mix of elements in the pilot program has potential; a little bit of "funniest home video"-type appeal, some blooper overtones, and a sense of kitsch. There’s something charming and often inherently funny in people from different walks of life making their own sales pitches while gaining a half-minute of quasi-celebrity status.
In a newswire story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Pax TV executive VP Steve Sohmer, who conceived the idea of Pax People TV, contended: "There are some things that belong on television. I’m a big ballet fan-the ballet doesn’t belong on television. But this thing works. There’s something ‘television’ about it."
“Smile 2” Tops Weekend Box Office; “Anora” Glitters In Limited Release
Horror movies topped the domestic box office charts and an Oscar contender got off to a sparkling start this weekend. "Smile 2," in its first weekend, and "Terrifier 3" in its second proved to be the big draws for general movie audiences in North America, while the Palme d'Or winner"Anora" got the best per-theater average in over a year.
"Smile 2" was the big newcomer, taking first place with a better than expected $23 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Parker Finn returned to write and direct the sequel to the supernatural horror "Smile," his debut. Originally intended for streaming, Paramount pivoted and sent the movie to theaters in the fall of 2022. "Smile" became a sleeper hit at the box office, earning some $217 million against a $17 million budget.
The sequel, starring Naomi Scott as a pop star, was rewarded with a bit of a bigger budget, and a theatrical commitment from the start. Playing on 3,619 screens, it opened slightly higher than the first's $22 million.
Second place went to Universal and DreamWorks Animation's "The Wild Robot" in its fourth weekend with $10.1 million, bumping it past $100 million in North America. Family films often have long lives in theaters, particularly ones as well reviewed as "The Wild Robot," and some have speculated that it got a bump this weekend from teenagers buying tickets for the PG-rated family film and then sneaking into "Terrifier 3," which is not rated, instead. Either way, Damien Leone's demon clown movie, which cost only $2 million to produce, is doing more than fine with legitimate ticket buyers. It added an estimated $9.3 million, bringing its total to $36.2 million.
"Rumors like that are PR gold," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "There's... Read More