Last night I was watching this video from Vayner Media front man Gary Vaynerchuck and it really hit home with me and seemed like a no brainer for brands to be looking to expand their reach.

The thought of adding a call to action after a commercial – to a micro-site, Facebook page, Twitter page, YouTube channel, etc. seems too easy. Sharing the commercials on video sharing sites would seem to make sense too, but oftentimes is not the case. Folks seem reluctant to change because they have a system that works.  For every auto company that is embracing this, there are two McDonalds or Stop & Shop’s that are ignoring the free call out. Chances are, unless you are on the Home Shopping Network or hawking a ShamWOW, your product isn’t being sold on the boob tube.

While Gary focuses on commercials in his videos, I would also suggest that companies are missing the boat with their offline and radio ads as well. Radio has the same limitations as TV in selling products, but you could gauge the reach on top of the metrics the stations offer by offering a specific Facebook page with a survey that asks where they heard the commercial along with some interesting content. You could also add the URL to magazine and other print ads because it puts something tangible and actionable on an ad that won’t immediately garner a sale on the john. By adding a link you could also get someone heading to the site if they happen to have a BlackBerry or iPhone handy in their *ahem* office. What could it hurt? A tiny URL or Facebook call out in the corner of the ad won’t hurt anyone, but will add some more bang to your buck and some additional metrics to track.

Before tossing this to ya’ll to see what you think about the proposition, I wanted to share an oddity that I got from a few of the folks I spoke with during the #soxup for the book release party of Steve Garfield’s Get Seen (my review). Now the event was about using video to get seen, so it took me by surprise talking to some folks only to find out that they were terrified of getting in front of the camera or opening their company up to user generated video. I wonder if that has anything to do with the hesitancy of adding new media to traditional media pieces. What do you think?

As today is officially the night before Christmas, I figured that instead of just sitting on my butt and watching TV waiting for my wife to get out of work I would do the next best thing – scouring YouTube for some of my favorite Christmas moments from the ghosts of Christmas past (in no particular order). The title may be a bit misleading, these are simply some of the better ones that I found while lounging around. Feel free to let me know if I missed any or linking back to some of your favorites.

10. Snoopy vs. the Red Baron

9. Punky Brewster Shoplifts at Christmas
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZGz1Ajg7QU]

Some things grow better with time, wine, cheese, scotch, etc. However many have complained that the Simpsons have been sliding down the slippery lame slope. After seeing the new opening, I am jacked to see what the season has to hold.

My favorite part was Barney under Willy’s leaf pile.

What’s yours?

Ahh finally back after having no home access to the computer due to a nasty little virus for a week. It was like the cat from that old schoolyard song…you know it came back the very next day.

Well what a week it’s been. I am sure by now everyone is done with their Super Bowl hangovers. Outside of Pittsburgh and Arizona, everyone tuned in for the commercials – and I’m sure some viewers in Arizona were wishing they saw the commercials. (more…)

Image courtesy of www.gocomics.com

I saw this cartoon earlier today on the homepage at GoComics and couldn’t help but see the sad reality that we now live in. I am not talking about the extinction of the rabbit ears, but rather the state of the youth in the country.

Instead of playing outside and building a relationship with good ole’ dad, the child would rather stick inside watching the Jonas Brothers, Cheetah Girls or American Idol. By blatantly marketing these shows as can’t miss broadcasting the Idol results on evening news, these shows become larger than what they really are ~ Entertainment.

With the media further glamorizing (and here) these pop stars and reality show contestants, it is no wonder that today’s youth shuns playing outside, joining Little League, or going for a hike as it’s simply easier and more profitable to strike it rich with some stupid human trick.

I thought I would never say it, but maybe we are better off without the constant drum of the TV.