Viral Watch: Team Conan or Team Leno? Either Way, NBC is Dying Nick Butler, January 12, 2010 NBC has tried to embrace viral marketing by launching multiple campaigns for shows like The Office, Community, and even Late Night, but it seems that NBC is now shooting themselves in the foot. I’ll admit their not “launching” a campaign this time, but their recent handling of the Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien problem has caused quite the stir on social networks, like Twitter, creating a negative campaign against the already dying NBC.Tens-of-thousands of people are tweeting “Team Conan” in support of the late night comedian who recently announced he’d leave NBC if “The Tonight Show” is pushed to a 12:05 time slot, allowing “The Jay Leno Show” a half-hour time slot starting at 11:35. “I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting,” said O’Brien. “The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.”While the internet-savvy “youth” may support Conan, Leno is the safe choice for NBC. Jay Leno has already proven himself in the 11:35 slot, something Conan never had the time to do. FOX has shown interest in late night comedy shows, but has yet to go after Conan – at least officially. NBC has yet to respond to Conan’s statement, so it will be interesting to see how they deal with all of this late night chaos.This debacle has shown the negative impact of ‘viral consumers,’ who also outed Sacha Baron Cohen docu-comedy – Bruno. Social networks are a very powerful thing, and are not yet completely understood by companies – like NBC. In any case, NBC is trying to deal with this in the most formidable fashion possible, but recent history has shown that social media can be a deal breaker or a life saver (sometimes, literally). I wish NBC luck, because I have no idea how they’re going to get out of this one.What do you think – Should NBC take Leno over Conan . . . or Conan over Leno? How do you see social media impacting the future of “private business?” Leave a comment below. Viral Marketing Late NightNBCViral Watch
Current Viral Campaigns January 31, 2009January 30, 2010Now you know who we are and what we do. So what movies currently have viral campaigns going on? Here’s a quick introductory summary. Don’t worry, we’ll have much more coverage leading up to these films. Watchmen (Opens 3/6/09): This film, adapted from the critically-acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore,… Read More
Viral Marketing ESPN Brings Admiral Ackbar to Primetime September 9, 2010October 18, 2011It’s probably not quite the same thrill as destroying the Death Star, but for one evening, everyone’s favorite squid-faced rebel hero, Admiral Ackbar, was the talk of the college football world. That is because ESPN aired a commercial documenting the now infamous campaign by University of Mississippi students to have… Read More
20 New “Oldboy” Viral Posters Takes A Look Back On The Last 20 Years October 9, 2013October 9, 2013When you have been locked away from civilization for the better part of 20 years, chances are you will miss quite a few major events in history. Bill Clinton getting impeached, Dolly the sheep being cloned, the invention of Google, the invention of Facebook, 9/11, Barack Obama becoming the first… Read More
This is all secretly a plot to get FOX’s ratings to go down. I’m guessing they aren’t exactly going to go running to Conan.
As much as I dislike Conan, I dislike Leno more. He has no class. I hope this whole thing backfires in his face and Conan walks out victorious.