Ypulse Essentials: Classical Music-Loving Robot, Debatable Success of 'Gossip Girl', CBS Gets Hip
Posted by casey on 05-15-2008
Miley's Got Milk (and is clothed in the latest ad campaign for milk) (E! Online)
- A childlike robot gets kids excited about classical music (Honda's ASIMO robot danced around the stage during a recent Detroit Symphony concert, entertaining kids and sparking a newfound interest in orchestra) (Washington Post, reg. required)
- 'Gossip Girl' isn't as popular as you think (enormous online presence makes it seem much more successful than it is) (National Post)
- CBS to partner with "lonelygirl15" company EQAL (expect to see more online television series in the future.) (Mashable)
- None of us are free (MTV's new film/campaign on Burma — Burma appears to have become the new Darfur in terms of attention)
- New "dude-analia" video comedy site launches (BushLeague.tv is a manly mix of "jackass opinions on video games, tech, news, sports, boobs, 101's, and all the other essential tools every dude needs") (ReelPop)
- Late night show hosts compete for youth attention (ex-SNLer Jimmy Fallon will likely bring in lots of young viewers, though Lorne Michaels acknowledges that "no one under the age of 18 comes home and turns on their TV before their computer") (Portfolio)
- Teens watch DVR commercials more often than seniors (only 21% of males under 20 regularly skip ads, compared to 52% of men over 50; teens are more tolerant because they are constantly multitasking) (Ad Age, reg. required)
- 'Big Brother' campaign sends anonymous text messages via Bluetooth (the first says "Im watching u. Ur at [current location here]". Then, after a sufficiently uncomfortable pause, a follow-up message gives the show details. Kind of cool, very creepy) (Trend Hunter)
- Sugar Mama Facebook app allows users to 'earn' wireless airtime (when friends watch ads, Sugar Mama credits Virgin Mobile users with up to 75 minutes a month) (Mashable)
- Cell phones are more important than car keys, iPods, even wallets (one-third of workers choose cell phone as the most necessary item to grab before leaving the house) (Reuters)
- Depression on the rise among teen girls (12.7% of girls versus 4.6% of boys have experienced depressive episodes in the past year) (Jezebel via Reuters via MSNBC)
- Youth exercise potentially protects girls from breast cancer (physically active teens were 23% less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer; just over three hours of running can make a difference)
- YouTube confessional (very sad story of a teen girl using YouTube to talk about her alleged rape and the justice system she feels failed her)
- Do brands need virtual worlds? Or do virtual words need brands? (real life brands benefit from virtual platforms and vice-versa) (Kzero via Izzy Neis)
