Finally, the NFL did something Right

I actually have to give the NFL credit for allowing the Pats vs. Giants game to be broadcast on CBS and NBC as well as the NFL Network. Originally it was only going to be on the NFL Network which was not an issue for me since apparently I’m one 6 people in the country that actually get the NFL Network which is funny because I never watch it because I view it as a complete waste of time outside the actual football games.

And of course, the NFL turns the whole thing as a giant promo for the NFL Network. But as a promotional tool I thing it backfired since it showed the public that the NFL Network has the worst play-by-play team in all of football with Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth. Plus they might want to rethink their ad campaign featuring the two guys at the diner as it portrays the typical NFL Network viewer and a single bum that does nothing more that sit on his ass and watch shows from NFL Films, so basically a loser.

Forget Touring, the Money is in Ads, Bitch!

Anybody remember that cute little song by the weird-looking lead singer of Nickleback and another guy with a striped goatee call “Hero” for the Spiderman soundtrack a few year back? Well that other guy has a band of his own, Saliva. Saliva has done ok for themselves with a couple of gold albums, but nowhere near buddy band Nickleback.

So what is Saliva to do to have the cash to throw around when they go for a night around town with their buds who have a much bigger record contract? The answer is simple, write songs that marketing minions will droll over. And that’s what they did.

You’ve probably heard the song “Ladies and Gentlemen” by Saliva. It was the WrestleMania 23 theme song, featured in the newest PlayStation 3 ad campaign, promos for the new American Gladiators, ESPN Radio, NFL Network, and just about every sports arena in the past year.

If you listen to the song by itself, it’s quite forgettable and somewhat stupid sounding. It can be broken down into two parts:

Rock on, Josey

• Lead singer Josey Scott (yes, that’s his real name) sounding like a one of those guys they had outside freakshows talking them up
• Heavy guitar riffs overlaid with Josey Scott yelling “Let me hear it Ladies and Gentlemen.”

Oh, and it goes like that for over 3 minutes, perfect for a 30 second ad, not so much for the radio.

It makes me want to go and make an album made up of songs designed solely for ads. I’ll call it “Songs for Commericals.”

Christmas is coming…

Christmas is in two days and for the first time in years I’m not out running around like a headless chicken looking for gifts for people that I’ve only talked twice in the past year. The secret to my success? Barnes & Noble, baby!

But despite the fact I don’t need to go out in the madness and the road rage, part of me wants for old times sake good out there and purchase something for myself. Circuit City had a 50-pack of DVD-Rs on sale.

Now that I’m looking back at this post, maybe I should see how many retailers I can drop in here, maybe they’ll give me some kick backs.

Let’s see, I could go to Sears for some new Craftsman tools, Kohl’s for shoes, PetSmart for dog food, Tractor Supply Co. for new fencing material, Lowe’s for a snowblower, and finish off the day with a bigass Whopper at Burger King.

I expect my check in the mail.

Chow-Chow

If you know anything about blogging for profit, you probably know about John Chow and his website johnchow.com. In the last 18 months, John has taken what began as a personal blog costing him money, to a full-blown business site that now makes over $20,000 a month. Not only that, it also help lay the foundation for his own advertising network TTZMedia, which brings in who knows how much.

I first heard about John Chow via Leo Laporte and his radio show The Tech Guy. Since then his site has been in my Bookmarks. Once, I was an almost religious reader, but now I probably only check back once every day or two and only briefly.

What caused this change? Well, I’ll tell you.

For his credit, John has always been straight forward that his site is a money-making venture, and helped who knows how many people make money from a hobby. However over the past few months the character of the site has changed. When Leo talked about John’s website he noted that, yes, he had about 15 different advertisers on his site but they were tastefully done and not that intrusive. Today, the front page of johnchow.com now looks like one giant ad and has the feeling of one of those early morning get rich quick infomercials.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Maybe not. John himself admits that his total number of page views in November 2007 is down slightly compared to November 2006. But his monthly increased 10-fold because of the changes I noted above.

On one hand I applaud John for building a blog that makes over $200,000 a year, something I could only dream of, but on the other I question if John may end-up destroying his creation as tries to pump all he can out of it.

Clap On, Clap Off

Since the Chia Pet has been covered, I might as well discuss the other pop culture idol given to us by the good folks at Joseph Enterprises, the Clapper! Yes, the Clapper, helping your grandma turn off her TV without getting out of bed since the mid-80s.

What can be said about the Clapper that already hasn’t been said? No, really what can you say? Who cares, it’s a blog!

I’ve often wondered what would happen if you had your TV hooked up to the Clapper and when you had the volume up really loud and the Clapper ad came on? Would it turn your TV off? Is the Clapper designed to ignore its own ad? Will the world just explode from the pure paradox of it all?!

Wow, I have WAY too much time on my hands, and let’s be honest, you have too because you’re reading this damn thing. I know, you’re not suppose to piss off your audience, but hey if it works for Borat (R.I.P., actually I don’t really care, I didn’t find his movie that funny) why can’t it work for me?

With those thoughts I leave you with the world famous “The Clapper” commercial: