We love our reality television shows, but there’s a new tv show that will be right up the alley of all creative professionals.  If you’re a fan of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice or Celebrity Apprentice, then you will definitely like the new AMC TV series The Pitch even more.  Here you can watch the first episode, S01E01 of The Pitch for free (also viewable on Netflix through May 28th in HD). The Pitch gives us a real life look into the lives of creative professional and process behind landing the next huge marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.

Another Reality Series?
Yeah, it’s another reality series, but we don’t have that many relating to the creative fields.  Sure there are cooking shows, bakery series like Cake Boss, and custom motorcycle documentaries like American Chopper; but it’s not often that we actually get a show relating to our field of marketing and advertising.  That’s what makes The Pitch so exciting!  In the first episode, we see two competing advertising agencies travel to Milford, CT to pitch their ideas to Subway on their next breakfast sandwich marketing campaign.  The two agencies literally are working head to head just to win the job.

What’s Cool
Celebrity Apprentice and The Apprentice are a little similar, because we get to see an entire marketing campaign from brainstorming sessions through the final branding and execution. With the The Pitch, these advertising pitches aren’t made up for the sake of a TV show.  This is the real thing – the big leagues in the marketing and advertising world.  We get to see the agencies’ branstorming sessions, the good ideas, the bad ideas, and even their creative processes. You get to see how they interact with one another.  We even see how some of the creatives’ ideas become things they are personally attached to, while other members of the team don’t always see the value in them.  You also see how hard these advertising professionals have to work, and travel.  It even gives us a glimpse into the private home life for some of them.  Let’s just say it’s not the type of job we’d all like to have.  Unless you like to work to live; working long hours, lots of travel, and

Advertising in a Show About Advertising
Not surprisingly, you have to remember that the point of all television shows and movies are created to also bring in advertising dollars. At one point in the Subway pitch episode you will see them browsing for stock images on the Getty Images website.  Getty is obviously of a traditional stock agency (non-microstock pricing) where iStockphoto is their microstock collection.  Not surprisingly enough, at the end credits, you’ll note that it says “promotional consideration by Getty Images and iStockphoto”.  Talk about a great advertising opportunity, because ever single advertising/marketing/graphic designing creative type (at least that I know) is going to be watching this show. Getty is smart to have added this paid product placement, but it would be nice to see if we could also see behind the curtain to when the ad agencies actually purchase from microstock agencies, as well.  We probably won’t, because that is what the promotional consideration Getty has paid for will mask.

Let us know what you think about The Pitch.  Leave a comment below, and please share this post!

For those that are looking to advertise their blog or website to increase traffic and brand recognition, they just might soon realize that internet advertising almost always costs an arm and a leg.  Not everyone has a huge budget for facebook, google adwords, or other banner advertising services.  Thankfully, there is a brand new free ad banner exchange called Miloads.  I gave it a shot a few months back, and it has generated some really decent traffic.  All you have to do is sign up, and then embed the tiny bit of code in your blog’s sidebar widget.  That’s it!  If you look at our lower right hand column, you’ll see the layout we chose (there are a variety of shapes, sizes, and customization options).  Having used facebook and google advertising in the past, I can honestly say it’s very similar.  You can customize your banner designs and ad content text just like the others.

It takes no more than two minutes to get everything up and running.  When you log in to the Miloads website you can view each of your ad campaigns, track your traffic, and see which ads are getting clicked on the most.  Anyone else who runs miloads on their website will be advertising for other users on the Miloads network, so your ads will appear all over the internet, instantly.  With over 2 million unique ad impressions already, Miloads is definitely an ad banner exchange that will get your ads viewed, and clicked on.  Our website has already had close to 1150 clicks and over 176,00 impressions, in just 2 months.  I’m very impressed thus far.  The statistics will continue to increase and improve as time goes on, as more and more users sign up; and the ad banner network’s reach will expand even further.  There’s no cost, so you have nothing to lose. Try out Miloads today, and see this powerful little link exchange tool can do for your website.

This is a powerful example of how rewording such a simple phrase gets an entirely different reaction. The blind homeless man has a cardboard sign with the words “I’m Blind – Please Help”. An onlooker stops and changes his sign to read “It’s a beautiful day and I can’t see it”, and then the spare changes starts coming in like money is falling from the sky.

Thinking outside the box (as cliche as that expression is) when it comes to slogans and advertising propaganda is definitely necessary. Sometimes being overly simple and direct with your message can cause your audience to overlook it. We all are being inundated with information on a daily basis; so much that we tend to zone most things out, sometimes without even realizing it. Think about this video on your next marketing project, whether you are designing a simple ad, or titling your next tweet or blog post; I know I will.

I had to share this very-well-put-together commercial for the brand new video game installment of Forza Motorsport 4 for Xbox 360.  It’s a live-action trailer entitled “Endangered Species”, narrated by famous automotive guru Jeremy Clarkson.  This is another example of an effective ad spot that doesn’t even show more than a glimpse of the product until the last few seconds.  This method often induces intrigue within the audience;  the element of surprise or curiousity in the product is heightened, especially toward gearheads and car lovers.

Ever wonder how to get paid for testing video games?  Check out http://bit.ly/uqHmLG