Rerun Commercial Creation - Discussion Thread

[saska]

Okay, folks, time for me to step up to the plate with something more than my interpersonal recruiting skills. :)

I'll take the helm for starting this discussion on what the commercial airing during reruns should sound like. I can't claim to know what it should look like but I can do work on background graphics and recruit people later when we need them.

I'll also start surreptitiously researching what it would take to get this commercial running nationally on the SciFi channel, during the Farscape reruns. Right now my target would be to have them run for perhaps three weeks straight, during the re-runs of Season 2, which the Schedulebot places somewhere in May (Nerve runs on 24 April, if I recall correctly). Obviously this depends on price, but I think we can get better pricing by running in consecutive episodes, and possibly for an entire month. More on that later.

So here are my very rough thoughts for what to say in the ad on SciFi:


Are you enjoying this episode of Farscape?

TV Guide calls it ""...the most irreverent, unpredictable, sexy, intelligent and exciting sci fi show on TV."

If you'd like to see more of Farscape, we invite you to join the Farscape Fan Community. Visit www.watchfarscape.com, or call 866-*******, to find fellow fans and make your opinion count. Keep watching the story unfold here on the SciFi channel at midnight Monday through Thursday.

This message has been brought to you by Scapers everywhere.


Grapeshot suggested in The Thread That Started This we might want to advertise during other likely crossover viewer shows, especially those close to the Farscape rerun timeslot. Here's a stab at some verbiage there:


Tired of the same old science fiction? Tune in to Farscape! Truly out of this world aliens fight for money, love and justice in what TV Guide calls "...the most irreverent, unpredictable, sexy, intelligent and exciting sci fi show on TV." It's so good, fans of Farscape everywhere paid for this commercial.

Catch Farscape Monday-Thursday nights on the SciFi channel, or learn more at www.watchfarscape.com.


Comments? Thoughts? If you are the Scaper who tried to get rates before, and you got any tangible information, please post here or pm me.

Thanks!

Saska

[Stargate2077]

Saska: We have someone who is going to give us ratings for the reruns, so we can try to recognize a trend, like a certain night gets more viewers, we can use that night to play the ad.

[saska]

Stargate2077, that's excellent. That will be very valuable information. I started with S2 both because it's a doable timeframe and because that's when the story really becomes a juggernaut you don't want to miss from episode to episode. I do not think we could get this rolling before S2 episodes start to air, both in terms of production and negotiating the airtime.

Saska

[shaith]

I guess it all comes down to costs - hard to plan anything until you have figures to work with :)

[saska]

Agreed, Shaith. But I think there is value to producing a commercial (or two) that can be used in local DMA's for the groups willing to foot the bill in their own community, even if we can't make a national commercial happen. And that's the point of this discussion right now - to be ready to go when we know we can do it. :)

[grapeshot]

Just a reminder, because the ad images fade in and out, and the tv screen's usable area is surprisingly small, please keep the sentences short!

I have some thoughts:

It would be nifty to get some space illustrations from childrens' books in the sixties. And then you could superimpose writing on them that says:
Frame 1: Ever wonder what it's like to live in galaxy far far away?
Frame 2: Want to see what's "out there"?
Frame 3: Can YOU go where no man has gone before?
Frame 4: Would YOU take that large step for mankind?
Frame 5: Farscape. Weeknights at 12 midnight/11 central

You can see what I mean here:
http://myweb.core.com/photos/brigitta@execpc.com/FS01/

Now...these are still TOO wordy, and the illustrations are likely to be copyrighted, but maybe this will spur someone into another idea. (And these images aren't high enough resolution, either.)

[LiLOrion]

Just so you guys know, the message on the 800# can be changed to reflect the new commercials (if need be). I can actually have mailboxes set up (I actually had them deleted) depending on what commercials are running at the time.

If you got this number at a convention press 1
If you saw the commercial during Buffy/Angel press 2
etc.

and then the messages could be worded a bit different for each mail box and also contain the PO BOX info.

RIGHT NOW THIS IS HOW THE MESSAGE READS:

"Yes, it's true. Farscape's 5th season has been cancelled.

There is a fan-based campaign underway that funded the commercial you saw, the message you are listening to now, as well as many other initiatives underway to save the show.

Want more information?

Have pen and paper handy for the address.

Check out the campaign at www.savefarscape.com.

Or send us a self addressed stamped, business-sized envelope and we’ll send you information on the cancellation, the campaign, and what you can do to help make the next season a reality.

Write to us at - Save Farscape, PO Box ****, Strongsville, Ohio ****. That's PO BOX *****, Strongsville, Ohio ****.

1-888-******* is in no way affiliated with the Jim Henson Company or the SCI FI Channel. Farscape is a registered trademark of the Jim Henson Company. The SCI FI Channel is a registered trademark of USA Networks. "

[AyuRocks]

Saska - two things I'd say about your messages. It think needs to say that Farscape has been cancelled, and should have the url as savefarscape.com instead of watchfarscape.com.

Otherwise it's great, I especially like using a quote :)

Ashley

[saska]

Grapeshot:

My thinking is that this is voiceover copy. A limited amount of text - probably the web address continuous, airdates interspersed, would be on the screen. I have great ambitions of perhaps getting some Guy Gross original music, or alternately I have friends in the music business with studios and great talent who could be enlisted to help us out.

I really like your idea of old style space images. How about something like:

John Crichton finds himself light years from home (animation of earth fading into the distance) in the midst of alien battle. No Federation, no friends, no help - First Contact with no procedure manual. Learn to survive, love, and hope with him on Farscape - the show TV Guide calls etc etc...

Thinkin' out loud... Thanks for the input!

Saska

[StarsGoBlue]

Wow...this has certainly gone places in just a few hours!!!

Y'all might want to check with the Scapers in the graphics forum...for my print ad, Mycattoldme made a lovely standing-man-looking-up-at-the-stars design that we might be able to use as a background behind the text.

****Stars :)
Watching in awe as a juggernaut is born.

[grapeshot]

What about using some of the slogans we voted on several months ago?

Remember?
"Love. Sex. Weapons of Mass Destruction."
or
"Use your mind. Lose your heart"


And this one was used on a banner ad:
"Far from home a man searches for hope
Far from home he finds it"

You can check out the banner ads here:
http://www.shriftweb.org/bannerads/flash.shtml

On second thought, I think these would work very well for a television ad, if we can find high resolution versions of these images.

[StarsGoBlue]

The 'far from home' slogan is what went with the background Mycat made. It's *very* eye-catching....maybe she'll post it so everyone can see it.

*****Stars :)

[saska]

Grapeshot:

I agree about the slogans that came up. I'm trying to work in just enough plot for people to latch on to the idea. I really like the "wormhole" animation in the Christmas Eve marathon banners from Shriftweb.

I worry about conflicting text on the screen and in the voiceover. We would want a very few words - the Love/Sex/Weapons of Mass Destruction string would be good - in order to keep from confusing people trying to watch and listen.

If we have 5-second blocks with the web address and phone number at the end, we could run

Love

Sex

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Farscape
for 5 seconds each, leaving Farscape on the screen with a 10-second web addy/phone number shot and the wormhole fading in the background. I think that would be un-busy enough not to interfere with a voiceover. Also, it would show up when people fast-forwarded their videotapes. :)

Part of me wants to find a word to replace "Sex" in the slogan. Not that it isn't there, and not that I don't like sex. I ran a flyer ad campaign in college where the entire first half of the red paper was taken up with the words "HOT SEX" and the rest of it was copy about how there were other things that could be almost as much fun, like being an Orientation Advisor for the college. It got great response from college students. But. Maybe there's another word, like... Exploration? Discovery? again, thinking out loud. At least "love" comes before "sex" keeping it the way it is. :)

God, I just love to watch this stuff evolve.

[saska]

mycattoldme's newspaper ads, including the one mentioned above, are here in this thread:

http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5843

The original incarnation is in the first post, and at the end of the first page is the more square-looking "Far from home" one. These really are beautiful. The fact that we can get them in PDF at high resolution makes me think we might be able to get 'em in good enough quality for TV.

And now, I REALLY have to do some work, since I'm at work late tonight, since frelling Farscape is frelling cancelled.

Saska

[BlackThorn]

Originally posted by AyuRocks
Saska - two things I'd say about your messages. It think needs to say that Farscape has been cancelled, and should have the url as savefarscape.com instead of watchfarscape.com.

Otherwise it's great, I especially like using a quote :)

Ashley

The reason she left it out is because some of us feel it might not be best to mention the fact that it's cancelled when trying to pull in newbies. They might think that there's no point investing themselves in a "dead" show and won't even give it a chance. This way, it's maybe enough to pull em in for re-runs...and if they like what they see they can find out about the cancellation here or with the 800#. Then they can agree with so many others wondering why the hell something o great was cancelled.

[quendi]

Do you think that a Non-Scaper would be put-off by the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" tag? I feel that some people may be "sensitized" to this due to the current state of affairs.
Amongst us, it's not an issue, but I would hate to give someone a reason to avoid the show with a single statement.

I have always liked the "Share the wonders" line. Would people be more intrigued by knowing who's experience they could view?
For instance,
"John Crichton"
"Far from home..."
"Share the wonders he has seen"
"Farscape....Sun thru Thurs @ midnite"
"on SciFi Channel"

I'm just curious what kind of wording would really pique a viewer's interest, make them want to watch.

[BlackThorn]

Originally posted by saska

If we have 5-second blocks with the web address and phone number at the end, we could run

Love

Sex

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Farscape
for 5 seconds each, leaving Farscape on the screen with a 10-second web addy/phone number shot and the wormhole fading in the background. I think that would be un-busy enough not to interfere with a voiceover. Also, it would show up when people fast-forwarded their videotapes. :)

Part of me wants to find a word to replace "Sex" in the slogan. Not that it isn't there, and not that I don't like sex. I ran a flyer ad campaign in college where the entire first half of the red paper was taken up with the words "HOT SEX" and the rest of it was copy about how there were other things that could be almost as much fun, like being an Orientation Advisor for the college. It got great response from college students. But. Maybe there's another word, like... Exploration? Discovery? again, thinking out loud. At least "love" comes before "sex" keeping it the way it is. :)


Saska,

I like that one. Don't personally have a problem with the sex part. Though if you're looking for another word.....what about.....hope?

As for mycattoldme's ads and the others on that page, I like the third mycattoldme ad, and am kind of partial to the second one CMScaper posted. JMHO.

[saska]

Permit me a moment of utter fantasy. I am about to have to get on a bus for an hour to get home and I'm getting punchy-tired.

Can you imagine the hope swelling in the hearts of Scapers everywhere if we could find a Ben Browder sound-alike for the voiceover, mimicking the opening of the show? Though I would feel bad enough about it that we'd have to ruin it with a "celebrity voice impersonated" bit at the end.

More seriously.. what about these two variants:

Aliens, Sex, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

or

Love, Aliens, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

but I agree with you, quendi, that the WMD bit might be a little off-putting though it's pretty central to the story. Moreso than sex. ;)

Love, Aliens, and Really Great CGI?

nah, too geeky.

Love, Aliens, and Intergalactic Politics?

politics is probably just as off-putting as weapons of mass destruction...

(This reminds me of a running joke I have with my friends, in which we replace the "lime" in "salt, shot, lime" with something disgusting. Like "salt, shot, pate." I told you I was tired.)

Must go home and think. Will be back tomorrow.

Saska

[atlantagirl]

Originally posted by quendi
Do you think that a Non-Scaper would be put-off by the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" tag? I feel that some people may be "sensitized" to this due to the current state of affairs.
Amongst us, it's not an issue, but I would hate to give someone a reason to avoid the show with a single statement.

I have always liked the "Share the wonders" line. Would people be more intrigued by knowing who's experience they could view?
For instance,
"John Crichton"
"Far from home..."
"Share the wonders he has seen"
"Farscape....Sun thru Thurs @ midnite"
"on SciFi Channel"

I'm just curious what kind of wording would really pique a viewer's interest, make them want to watch.

Quendi, you took the words right out of my mouth.

I definitely think the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" would be potentially offensive to people at this moment in time -- it makes me cringe.

My take on the commercial (at least as far as Atlanta). We have the money and will to continue advertising on the reruns to try to interest new people to join the campaign.

You get into talking about a completely different level of funding and participation when you go into advertising on other shows to pull new viewers to Farscape. Realistically, we do not have the funding to manage this. It takes a lot of repetition to get people to tune in, and we are not going to be able to create the type of commercial that's really like to do that (since we don't have access to clips from the show and despite our best intentions, it's going to be virtually impossible to convey the true flavor of the show using anything we do have available). I don't (at all) want to throw a wet blanket on things, but we have gone through the whole commercial idea a number of times before. My personal opinion, is that the best use of our limited time and energy is spent enlisting dedicated new members to the campaign. Commercials on the Farscape reruns will be dirt cheap (they are $20 a pop in Atlanta at Midnight), and we can realistically do multiple commercials over the course of the reruns.

I am hoping that we end up with a commercial that entices Farscape fans (old and new) to join us online. I haven't had the time to give much thought to copy, but I'm thinking something along the lines of:

Do you love Farscape?
Join other fans online at:
watchfarscape.com
Share the wonders we have seen.
Paid for by Farscape fans worldwide.

I agree we should not mention the cancellation. We have a great commercial that does that already and can trot it out whenever we get to S4 reruns. And I think watchfarscape.com will be less off-putting than savefarscape.com for our newbie (and uninformed) friends.

If we are going to keep the PO box and 888 number up and running indefinitely, I think they'd be great to include, but to my mind they are not absolutely necessary if they are going to be causing any individuals a significant amount of extra work. We may be using these commercials for months to come and not everyone will have lots of free time available for months to come.

Just my $.02 FWIW.

[akimbo]

For my part, the PO Box has taken some time this week - over 100 mailers sent out so far - I'm building a mailing list and getting letters copied before sending them to Sci Fi, etc. And there are people who've said they'd back me up if it became too painful.

It has gotten to be a routine and won't be a problem for me as long as people continue to send SASE. I have the PO Box until August (you have to get them 6 months in advance) anyway and won't be gone on an extended vacation until next September.

I assume we'd have to update the mailers from time to time as well (as new stuff and contacts pop up). For example, I'm stuffing an envelope sized "breaking news" sheet to ask people to concentrate on Viacom, UPN and Showtime and we'd have to change the rerun schedule as we move through April into May.

As long as we keep that manageable and don't get too many special requests (this isn't Burger King :) ) I should be fine.

The 800 number costs money to maintain. LilOrion should be able to give you the details on that.

[Stargate2077]

this needs a definate bump

[jfranka]

I like the idea of a starry background, and the copy above.

I was thinking of this:

Fade up with the starry background and the voice-over "John Crichton..."

Then a star in the middle gets bigger until it becomes a wormhole and fills the screen, voice over "Astronaut."

Music is growing to a crechendo (sp?) as we see the camera's point of view going through the wormhole. The voiceover is "Lost, far from home"

There is a flash and then darkness and silence, then the following text fades up on the screen
"Farscape
Sun thru Thurs @ midnight on SciFi Channel
Http://www.savefarscape.com
Paid for by the fans of Farscape"

And the voice over says "Share the wonders he's seen...."

It would be cool if someone who sounded like Ben did the voiceover, but not necessary. (I don't think we need the celebrity voices impersonated disclaimer, only because no one is acting like Ben. It just sounds like him.)

Just my two cents.

[Stargate2077]

Is there a way we can do this commercial without it looking cheap because most likely they will think that the channel paid for the commercial.

Does anyone remember the commercial that aired on UPN a year or two ago that had The Soldier, The Brains, The Brawn, The Priestess, and one guy stuck in the middle. Did Sci-Fi make that commerical and if so, why didn't they put the times the show was on (They just said - Check your local Listings...Only on Sci-Fi)

[grapeshot]

jfranka, I like your idea. Keep it simple is my motto. No need to clutter up the ad with detailed voiceovers trying to explain the show, or written blurbs that repeat what the critics say. (Not everyone is impressed by critics, anyway.) I think an effective ad distills the essence of your product into compelling images and sounds. And the simpler the message, the more likely it is to be remembered by the viewer. We want to create the impression of a sense of wonder about this show that'll pique the interest of the casual late-night viewer who's about to start channel surfing. I think a starry night, with a fade-in to a wormhole can provide a powerful image. And I think that this will be easy and cheap to produce, without looking "homemade" and tacky. (By the way, I think I can get a "wooshing" sound that maybe we could use when the wormhole starts rushing at the viewer.)

The casual late night surfer: that IS our audience, right?? Before we run too far down this path, let's figure out our audience. Are we looking to snag that casual surfer? If you're channel surfing, what are you looking for? Something, ANYTHING that might be interesting to watch.

If the purpose of these ads is to get viewers (and ratings) for Farscape reruns, then I think we need to target the casual surfer who's still around at midnight. In fact, the central time zone slot for Farscape reruns is 11 pm, and our potential audience is very likely to stilll be around. They've probably finished watching Jon Stewart's the Daily Show, Futurama reruns, South Park, or somesuch. Our cable ad rep should be able to clue us in for what is likely to be on at 10 and 10:30 PM. (And let's not forget, we can also buy time on TechTV.) Mind you that repetition will be important -- that is, these ads will have to repeat for some weeks. Also, if we're SERIOUS about repeating these ads, then later on we might want a different ad. (Nothing irritates an audience more than being hammered by that SAME DAMN AD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. We don't want them beginning to HATE Farscape before they even see it!)

As for cost, well someone at the beginning of the campaign suggested that it would be more cost effective to target medium sized markets. Ad time is likely to be much cheaper in those markets, and if we do several such markets, we could maybe get as many potential viewers for less cost then if we hit only a few large markets. (I'd really like to hit LA once, though, just to show the "industry" what we're doing.)

On the other hand, if our purpose is to recruit members to our cause, then the ONLY place to advertise is right DURING the Farscape reruns. Such an ad wouldn't need to be much different than the one that ran during the final episode. I agree that we don't want to "scare" off viewers by proclaiming that this show has been cancelled, so www.WatchFarscape.com is the better web address to use.

[mycattoldme]

Hey you guys are talking about me - I was wondering why my ears were buzzing - LOL - anyway, the images I used in the ad - the guy looking up at the stars IS copyright free and high res so it is available if you would like to use it.

I also did some funky wormhole images in the movie ad thread and maybe in the mousepad thread too I can't remember now - those are also hi res but I don't know what the image area is that you need for tv so I'm not sure if the image size is large enough. I can send the images to whomever will produce the final ad if needed.

A question about this ad --
Is the intent to run the ad during the re-runs?? Or are you running the ad on other networks during shows that have high ratings for that time slot??

Because your message should be taylored to your audience. People watching the reruns should get a message about joining our efforts to save the show. However people watching other programs at that hour will need a message that sounds something like: Change the channel now or you are going to miss out on the best show on television.

Personally - since this effort should be long term I think your best bet is to try to run ads on SFC during the reruns and run ads on other newtorks at the same time.

I don't know about purchasing ad time for TV - but you might want to check into running ads 15 sec. ads not 30 sec. and it may or may not be less expensive to produce and run an ad that does not have any "action" on the screen - its just a still image with a voice over or music.

[saska]

Let's re-establish that we are talking about 2 different ads here. The original idea was to run ads during the reruns on the SciFi channel, preferably on a national level. So there has been some, but not a lot of, discussion about what to do/say with that ad back on the first page. I have seen variations with or without the "fancy voiceovers" but the message is essentially consistent. I like the stars fading to wormhole graphic idea; I would like it if we could add one step to that and begin with a fadeout of earth.. We need to tell people that if they like Farscape there are more people out there who do too, and they should join our community.

Most of this discussion in this thread, though, has been about the second commercial, which would be intended to run during other programming to recruit new viewers. I threw an idea out there to start with but I am not vested in the outcome - the point was to discuss. My suggestion, which you can take for what it's worth as long as you don't take it as fact :) is that we could produce something like this, but it would be up to local groups to research ad rates and pay to run it in their area.

I already see the beginnings of the major discussion regarding what shows it should be placed in, what time slots, etc and that is not a coordination job I want or would wish on anybody - but I *am* willing to research, coordinate, and fund a chunk of the national rerun ads.

I want to coordinate that part of it because I *strongly* believe we have, in divided fundraising efforts, raised enough money more than once to run national ads. But often people funded just their local DMA - which I understand, this is not criticism - rather than contribute to the general fund in order to guarantee they would get their local market. If we go national, everybody gets their local market, no matter what cable provider or satellite provider the viewer chooses.

To my knowledge LilOrion asked his ad rep about 15 second ads and was told they aren't done nationally. I could be confusing that with someone else, though.

Two other thoughts I had last night: we might want to find out what it takes to "sponsor" episodes of Farscape (I know someone else mentioned that) - we would have to run at least one ad during the episode but I don't know if sponsorships are available except during prime time.

Second, why not approach the SciFi channel and ask if we can run a Farscape ad they've already produced? In other words, ask their permission to run an ad they approve of, which includes clips from the show, only we'll update it with airtimes and pay for it to run. That might be an option to local groups who want to recruit new viewers.

That one I would gladly take on, just to see what they say and how they justify their "no" if they refuse. :)

Okay... Back to work for me.

Saska

[LadyCrais]

I've been leaving this thread alone since it's obviously in good hands but I do want to add my two food cubes on two points.

First, I agree that absolutely, positively we do NOT use the WMD phrasing in any shape, form or fashion.

Second, and I believe someone has already pointed it out, including Saska, that we have never seen a measurable response from the off-show ads. That's not to say we shouldn't do them, because eventually we're going to hit on something that draws people's attention. The closest we can come to a response is the fact that we did manage to keep the ratings in a respectable range despite the vacuum of advertising forthcoming from Skiffy.

I admit I haven't spent much time in the thread so the direction is likely have changed, but originally there was mention of something like "Tired of worn out bad sci-fi" or something to that effect. I think it would be in very poor taste to use those words while advertising to someone watching another sci-fi show that they obviously enjoy or they wouldn't be there. It's as though you're suggesting their show sucks.

I'm half-inclined to suggest a Miss Farscape? approach and then direct them to the reruns. I know that's Skiffy's job, but heh, we been doing their job for months now already.

And Saska?? Go for it. Give Skiffy the call and ask them. It certainly never hurts to ask.

[Stargate2077]

For off-network advertising and advertising during Seasons 1-4 (first half of season), I suggest you use the newbie ad. (If we put a cancelled at during the First half of Season 4, they might think there was justufucation for the cancellation since the episodes were not near as good as the second half of Season 4) So for the second half of Season 4 put the cancelled ad on.

Just my .02

[saska]

Here's a progress update:

I called USA Networks and got contact info for an ad rep. Just for fun I told the secretary that I kept seeing all this hullabaloo about Farscape and noticed it was going into late night reruns, and wanted to get that demographic.

A thought:

I always did like Beowulf's "I am Farscape" ads. I wonder if we could tie the "I am Farscape" tags into something like "are you Farscape? Join the fan community and make your voice heard". Just the barest bones of a half baked idea for y'all to ponder.

Saska

[Chaym]

My 2 cubes of input, sorry for jumping in so late on this:

1. Love both quendi's and jfranka's ad ideas.
2. Absolutely think "weapons of mass destruction" should be avoided.
3. Agree wholeheartedly with using www.watchfarscape.com
4. Also like the idea of a national ad. I'm trying to organize the Jersey Scapers into a group so we can start doing things like helping out with funding for our area.
5. Let me know exactly what questions to ask and whom to ask for and I'll contact our local cable provider and local TV stations (UPN and Fox.)
6. Like the 2 ads/market approach. The first for airing during FS reruns and the 2nd targeted at non-viewers on other networks.
7. For the rerun ad, I like the phrase "Are you Farscape?". I'm not saying we have to use it.
8. LOVE mycattoldme's "man looking up at the stars" ad! I'm new to this board and haven't seen it before. If you're still reading this thread mycattoldme, could I use the image and most of the wording for a local flyer? I want to include the airdates. Opperaghost also needed a flyer, so if you would give permission for us both to use it, I'll mail you chocolate :-)

That's it. :-)

[Da-Met]

Let me just chime in and say that imho the Weapons of Mass Destruction may not be the best line to use. Remember the people we're targetnig aren't hardcore scapers. It means something completely different and with world affairs can very easily backfire on us and make us look insensetive to things like deaths of soldiers, etc etc going on in the world.

Personally, I love the slogan tho :cool:

[jfranka]

I like the idea of re-running a Sci-Fi commercial!! The problem with that is that it might be under a contract or some legal stuff like that.

(If this works, be sure NOT to get the commercial where the person doing the voiceover pronounces Aeryn Sun as "AIR-e-in SUN" (not "ERIN SOON")) :D

[Stargate2077]

I would suggest to ask UPN about the commercial since that is the only channel I remember seeing the "Brains, Brawn, Priestess, and one guy stuck in the middle" ad.

Unless we are talking about two different ads...

[saska]

If the ad is for Farscape it was placed either by the SciFi channel, USA Networks, or Henson. I promise you that UPN did not produce a commercial for a competing network's program. They may have taken money in exchange for airing it, but that doesn't mean they own it. :)

Now, it *is* possible that it was developed by an outside advertising agency and SciFi did not get unlimited rights to use it. But I think I'll cross that bridge when I get across the barren wasteland of "Hello SciFi, I am from savefarscape.com and I would like your permission to pay to run ads for Farscape on other channels."

;)

Saska

[akimbo]

Just to ring in on the subject. (my .02)

I really like the idea of a rerun commercial. I love the idea of a national commercial - booked through scifi (if we can manage it).

Watchfarscape.com vs. savefarscape.com doesn't bother me. To me, that horse has already left the barn and we'd be better off just coming clean about the state of the show and getting the people already into the show excited about saving it.

Based on that, the existing "Cancelled" ad by grapeshot would be fine. I really like it.

"Getting new eyeballs from advertising on other programs" I like less. If I had a million dollars I would do it, but I'd do the rerun commercial first. But that's just me, YMMV.

[Da-Met]

btw I just noticed under your avatar AyuRocks, you're from Livonia, MI! that's so cool, I go to school a lil bit away at U of M Dearborn, and even know the occasional person from livonia from school.
Scapers truly are everywhere... we're takin over! :aok:

[Stargate2077]

saska: I believe the commercial I was referring to in my last post was made by Henson because I recall Henson trying to get Farscape syndicated while Season 3 was running on Sci-Fi. I don't know why the syndication never happened.

[grapeshot]

jfranka: the ChicagoScapers have a member who is also a voice-over guy. He did the voice for the SaveFarscape commercial (the one that aired on cable, not the DishTV one or the Atlanta one). I promise you that he knows how to pronounce "Aeryn Sun"!!

[mycattoldme]

we have never seen a measurable response from the off-show ads.

This isn't surprising since the ads ran once or maybe 2 times per market or mulitple times on one day - in order to see a responce you really need to repeat the ad alot more than that - frequency is the key. Plus we don't really know if the ads pulled in viewers or not unless someone came to the board and told us. :)

Chaym - yes - the image came from a royalty free CD and the actual image has more to the sky then what I've been using. PM me with your email and I'll send it to you.

[Dominar of Action]

I don't know why the syndication never happened.Oh, I bet I can take a wild guess :rolleyes:

[Stargate2077]

What is your wild guess, DoA? I want to know.

[akimbo]

Originally posted by mycattoldme
This isn't surprising since the ads ran once or maybe 2 times per market or mulitple times on one day - in order to see a responce you really need to repeat the ad alot more than that - frequency is the key. Plus we don't really know if the ads pulled in viewers or not unless someone came to the board and told us. :)


I think that was the point I was trying to make very badly last night, sorry it was a long day. It will take more tries (more ad runs) to get new eyeballs than to excite the people who have already found Farscape.

We can do both rerun and off program ads. But I'd do the rerun ads first, and run the rest as money permits.

[Dominar of Action]

Stargate2077, my guess is the same reason they can't syndicate now ... they need Sci Fi's consent. But so as not to take this very productive thread off-topic, please feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further :)

[saska]

I'm not DOA and she can give her own answer :) but if SciFi was going to renew for seasons 4 and 5 I highly doubt they would have let Henson syndicate the earlier episodes. Especially when you consider they are unwilling to do it now, they need to collect the revenue from the ads during the reruns to break even on the series.

If I am successful in getting rates for national ads on SciFi, we will be able to get a VERY good idea what they can make from the reruns. It will not take into account what they collect in exchange for rights to local insertion (which are sometimes purchased and resold by brokers like LilOrion's conatact at NCC and sometimes are sold by the local cable company directly), but it will help us understand the financial picture.

On that note I want to caution people about what we might expect for rates. I would not be surprised if midnight reruns nationally are more expensive per run than the Dish network prime time ad. Before anyone gets discouraged, try to figure out what was raised in local DMAs for extras beyond LilOrion's schedule. I would not be trying this if I didn't believe we could make it work. :) And I will repeat this ad nauseam from now until we do it: local groups contributing to the national ad will see it in their local area! That's the point.

More on Tuesday on the rates front.

Saska

[blue]

I really liked what BlackThorn suggests:

"Though if you're looking for another word.....what about.....hope?"

We reject the Weapons of Mass Destruction line,

So how about something simple like:

Love

Hope

Far from home

Action

Adventure

Share the Wonders

Farscape

[jfranka]

He did the voice for the SaveFarscape commercial (the one that aired on cable, not the DishTV one or the Atlanta one). I promise you that he knows how to pronounce "Aeryn Sun"!!

Hey grapeshot!
You know, that's a bad sign when the station who is putting your show on the air doesn't even research the pronouncation of a charactor's name for an advertising spot. And this was back when Sci-Fi LIKED Farscape... :D

..back to the subject at hand:
I think it's important to advertise to new eyeballs. Just my opinion, but if a potential buyer sees high ratings (relatively to normal midnight rerun ratings,) he/she is more apt to pick up the show.

[blue]

"I think it's important to advertise to new eyeballs. Just my opinion, but if a potential buyer sees high ratings (relatively to normal midnight rerun ratings,) he/she is more apt to pick up the show."
We DO want the ratings to be as high as possible. However, it may be that reaching the casual viewers who already have some interest will raise the ratings. They are the reason for the up and down fluctuations we have seen. New people would be nice, too, but I would bet more on the occasional viewer if we don't have enough money to reach both.

[saska]

Originally posted by jfranka
..back to the subject at hand:
I think it's important to advertise to new eyeballs. Just my opinion, but if a potential buyer sees high ratings (relatively to normal midnight rerun ratings,) he/she is more apt to pick up the show.

An attempt again to reestablish the two different things we are talking about here...

Goal 1: Increase awareness of the fan movement to keep the show alive, in order to increase new-viewer recruiting, targeted contact with other potential networks, and keep our movement in the headlines, or at least the text of every article about a SciFi channel programming decision.

Goal 2: Recruit new viewers to Farscape.

I absolutely agree that higher ratings will improve a buyer's likelihood to want to pick up the show. But I think we need to acknowledge that it is unlikely we will be able to (1) agree upon a course of action - shows during which to advertise, and times to advertise, just for starters - and (2) raise enough money to reach all of those diverse targets on a national level with enough repetition to be effective.

It seems we might want to split this thread/discussion to address the two different goals. I am *not* against producing a recruit-new-viewers commercial - but I believe it would be most effective if we can get rights to run SciFi produced ads for the show, which I will look into. And I believe we will need to divide in order to conquer in that case - address DMAs where science fiction as a whole does well, get funding from those local groups whereever possible, and let them make decisions based on their own knowledge of their area regarding where the advertising would do the most good.

I also believe that our swell of new membership and the responses to the toll free number and PO box demonstrate a vast untapped pool of fans who will ALSO help us recruit new viewers and contact other networks.

With the new lawsuit against Vivendi (see the OT in the UT's thread "Vivendi's getting SUED!" for more info) we must face the possiblity that Viacom cannot simply buy up the SciFi channel and gain control of the program in that manner. Thus, keeping them informed of our desire for the show is key! We may have to wait until the rerun rights expire for anything to happen. In the meantime, we can keep DVD sales strong, show support at conventions, and keep writing letters - all things that will only be done by dedicated fans, not casual viewers.

Saska

[grapeshot]

people have posted here before about the difficulty of attracting new viewers to a show. However, let's keep in mind that Star Trek's fan base grew because of the show going into reruns, and word of mouth recommendation, so it's possible to do.

The other reason why I'm encouraged to think that advertising for additional viewers for the reruns will work is this: A significant portion of the chicagoscapers are "new" fans, who found the show within the past one or two years. How did they discover this show?? During the periods when reruns were broadcast! While I can't make a generalization from a group of 140 or so, I find it striking that a significant number of people who have posted to this forum have also remarked about discovering this show during reruns. (Perhaps we should make a poll asking this questions? That's sort of like doing our own marketing research! Perhaps this would even prove me wrong!)

I'm also inclined to think that (just as someone else observed) Beowolf's ad might be the best one to use for this purpose. It's the closest thing to actual "word of mouth". Plus, it has the advantage of already being made; only the final wording would have to be tweaked. At the very least, it could be ONE of a couple ads that could be broadcast.

I've also seen a couple of posts suggesting that an ad campaign promoting Farscape needs to be coordinated with print and radio media; thus providing a constant repetition and reinforcement of the message. This would be far beyond our means. However, if we figure out our target audience, and how to reach them, we don't need to spread our message across all available advertising media.

The ad for SaveFarscape is a good example of this. We knew our target audience would be watching Farscape on 3/21, so we picked the largest markets that we could afford, and any additional markets that individual groups wished to add, and bada bing, bada bang, the next thing you know our website crashes! We certainly wouldn't have found that same audience in such large numbers in ANY other advertising media. While it would be nice to re-inforce the message of that ad in print media, the only sources possibly reaching that same audience would be sci-fi magazines, and I don't know that we would have reached such a large number.

Unfortunately, finding our target audience for that message was a "no-brainer". It will take a lot more thought to figure out who we're targeting with ads for the reruns. Do we want to run ads on SciFi during the show immediately BEFORE Farscape reruns? Or can we trust SciFi to do that? If we advertise on other channels during the hour before Farscape, which channels, and how much repetition? (I agree that repetition IS very important.)

Saska:
Getting a rate from SciFi would only be for the advertisement for WatchFarscape, right?

[Shipscat]

I agree that there are two different goals, which actually could only be satisfied by two different ad campaigns. One would be to advertise for new viewers for the reruns, and those ads should be placed on other networks, to reach those people that do not already watch Farscape.

Ads to let people know there is a Save Farscape campaign should be placed where Farscape viewers can see them, during the reruns.

[saska]

Grapeshot:

I am working on two things with SciFi, trying very hard to keep them separate.

1. Get a rate for national advertising during the reruns, IDEALLY as a sponsorship for a block of episodes. These would be the "join the fandom, join savefarscape.com" ads.

2. Find out if we can pay to run SciFi-produced ads for Farscape (featuring clips from the show) on other networks, provided the ads are produced/approved by SciFi.

(1) is going to get done before (2). I am hoping that I can establish a relationship with someone at SciFi or with their advertising agency who can help pave the way once it is evident we are willing to spend money WITH their network - money they must get to recoup their production costs for the show.

Saska

[Stargate2077]

ok. For newbie ads....should we even have the watchfarscape.com website on there? What if they actually look for it. They might be turned off because the show has been cancelled. Can't we just put "Sponsored by the viewers of Farscape"?

[Stargate2077]

Also, if Sci-Fi is a pain with us about Farscape ads, can't we get a episode sponsor to indirectly pay for the commercial using the funds we have collected or are there legality issues with that?

[grapeshot]

You mean sort of like an "off-shore" dummy corporation? How about one based in the Bermudas?? I'll volunteer to go there and find one....

[Stargate2077]

Well...I was actually talking about someone like FedEx, Kia, or KFC. However, a dummy corporation would work if there are no legality problems with the entire thing.

Anyway, I am only suggesting this as a last ditch alternative if Sci-Fi does not allow us to directly buy national ad time on their channel.

[saska]

I don't think we will be denied the ability to buy ad time. Honestly. Though it could happen, I think the place where I will run into resistance is the right to pay to play ads they've produced for Farscape (remember those two separate goals). We should all brace ourselves for the possibility that cost for ad time nationally on SciFi might be prohibitive, though. THAT is the reason I am going to try my best to keep the nature of our advertising out of the conversation until I can try to nail down a rate... we don't know what competitive rates are, we're not professionals in this business, and an unscrupulous ad sales rep might take advantage of us.

If we remove the web site address from the ads during reruns, I don't see any point in the ads. We are trying to recruit members of the cause, and we're trying to get the point across to them regarding why they should keep watching reruns on the off chance they influence the ratings. I believe someone who is vested enough in the show to take the time to visit the web site will be motivated to try and do more. If they weren't motivated enough to stick with the series after learning it had been cancelled, I am not so sure we have really lost anything.

Saska

[grapeshot]

we don't know what competitive rates are, we're not professionals in this business, and an unscrupulous ad sales rep might take advantage of us.


I'm glad you are aware of this. I think it's very likely.

[StarsGoBlue]

Wow, this thread has really taken off. Pretty cool considering we only started chatting about it on Friday.... :D

Hey Grapeshot, I loved the voiceover guy. If we do another voiceover (like JFranka's idea, which I think ***rocks***), my vote is definitely for him!!

It sounds like (? tell me if I'm wrong) that we're reaching somewhat of a consensus that this is evolving into a two-tier approach, to hook new casual viewers thru a nationwide commercial, and attract more Save Farscape support with a repeat of the 4-22 commercial as the season 4 re-runs start.

I really, really, really like jfranka's idea of merging Mycat's graphics with the wormhole image, and the suggested text with voiceover. I think it's a classy concept that will translate very well, and be less grass-rootsy (and I don't mean that in a negative way at all) than the "I Am Farscape" idea. Just MHO, but having seen both the IAF and 4-22 commericals, which one sticks in *your* mind more?

For me, it was 4-22.

And I think Saska makes a very important point to remember, too.

If we remove the web site address from the ads during reruns, I don't see any point in the ads. We are trying to recruit members of the cause, and we're trying to get the point across to them regarding why they should keep watching reruns on the off chance they influence the ratings. I believe someone who is vested enough in the show to take the time to visit the web site will be motivated to try and do more. If they weren't motivated enough to stick with the series after learning it had been cancelled, I am not so sure we
have really lost anything.

And lastly, just wanted to thank everyone once again for all the hard work being contributed, from kick-starting discussion and debate to researching ad rates to proposing actual commercial ideas.

Thanks to all of you from me, and Scapers just like me.

******Stars :)

[Stargate2077]

Ok...some people have said that the UK Sci-Fi Channel will only accept commercials from professionals. So why don't we put a cancelled ad out for 422 when it comes on the UK Sci-Fi Channel using The Television Viewers Consortium, Inc. as the professional entity?

[LadyCrais]

Originally posted by Stargate2077
Ok...some people have said that the UK Sci-Fi Channel will only accept commercials from professionals. So why don't we put a cancelled ad out for 422 when it comes on the UK Sci-Fi Channel using The Television Viewers Consortium, Inc. as the professional entity?

I've been wondering about using the TVC as the promotor for off-show commercials, myself. Something along the lines of an

Interested in quality television?

approach and then lead them to Farscape. I'm half thinking the TVC might be a more palatable sponsor than the fans of a geek sci-fi show, but what do I know.... ;)

[Stargate2077]

LadyCrais: I think you might be onto something (deja vu) :)

[Stargate2077]

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[Stargate2077]

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