Category Archives: Pop Culture

Aug 22

Response August: Made in the Shade, Short-Form DRTV Billings and Olympian Examples

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Here’s a look at some of the key pieces of Response‘s August issue.

Jonathan Hershberg and SunSetter headline this month’s issue.

  • Our cover story on SunSetter Products and its co-founder Jonathan Hershberg came to us via the team at DRM Partners and Pro Media Group. Fortunately, it came together much more quickly than planned, as we were looking at a late fall timeframe for this piece originally. But if you’ve spent any time in the media business, you know just how often things can fall through at the last minute. That happened to us with this issue, as our original cover bailed just before deadline. However, credit to the DRMP team and Hershberg for jumping at the opportunity with an intriguing story about a product not many would have thought would work in DRTV. Not only did SunSetter create a brand, it basically created its own home product category: retractable awnings. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is again: DR Shines Bright for SunSetter
  • With some staff shake-ups, it’s once again my full responsibility on the magazine to handle analysis of our quarterly media billings results. In the August issue, that means dissecting 1Q 2012 short-form DRTV results, courtesy of Kantar Media. Coming off a fantastic 2011 (especially in the second half, where year-on-year results were up nearly 10 percent on 2010), it was great to see that 1Q 2012 held strong, losing a microscopic 0.8 percent. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 1Q SF DRTV Billings Hold Steady
  • Finally, the London Olympics, NBC’s coverage and a powerful Twitter presence inspired my August Editor’s Note. NBC’s tape-delayed and heavily slanted coverage of the games roiled many early on, as the Twitter hashtag #NBCfail enjoyed a solid multi-day run trending worldwide. However, Twitter was also abuzz with overall Olympic discussion, and mobile usage of the social media tool was a key driver to NBC’s eventual ratings haul that broke viewership and ad sales records. Is this combination of TV, social and mobile something that DRTV marketers can learn a lesson from? If you missed the link above, here’s my take: Controversy Over NBC Olympics Coverage Gives Marketers a Golden Message

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Aug 12

Next Day Review: Jack White at the Shrine Auditorium, L.A.

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There’s nothing better than going into a concert with high expectations and having them met, let alone exceeded. Such was the case with Jack White’s epic performance last night at the Shrine Auditorium near USC.

Jack White and the Peacocks rock the Shrine Auditorium in L.A.

Backed by an impeccable group of six women, dubbed the Peacocks, White blew through a 20-song set that not only highlighted material from his first “solo” record, Blunderbuss (released earlier this year), but also an array of tunes from The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and his work with Danger Mouse. White’s band, featuring keyboards, slide guitar, fiddle, bass, drums and a backing vocalist, added texture to many of the White Stripes numbers in the set, while creating a power that belied their matching frilly light-blue dresswear. At the same time, seeing White truly enjoy performing and bringing a whirlwind of energy to the stage was especially rewarding.While there were many specific highlights, seeing White for just the second time (previously, I saw him kill with The Raconteurs at a KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show, where most of the kids dying for Panic! At the Disco wouldn’t have understood great blues/country/rock if it hit them in the face) proved one thing to me: If you don’t like Jack White, you don’t understand the entire concept of rock music, where it comes from and what it can truly be.

Grab the setlist here: Jack White at the Shrine from Setlist.fm

And, for your aural pleasure, feel free to grab my Spotify playlist featuring the studio versions of each main track on the setlist: Jack White Shrine Setlist 8/11/12

Some brief highlights:

  • The transition from the first single on Blunderbuss, “Love Interruption” to a scathing version of The Raconteurs’ “Top Yourself.” Spectacular work by White and the band.
  • A wonderfully playful version of the Stripes’ “Hotel Yorba” and, just two songs later, a divinely sweet performance of “We’re Gonna Be Friends,” both made more lush – without being saccharine – by the Peacocks.
  • The five-song stretch that closed the main part of the set was about as rocking as you’re going to see. The Peacocks’ drummer, Carla Azar (who first gained recognition with L.A.-based Autolux early last decade) was a massive star on this night, constantly waging battle with White’s incredible guitar work.
  • Anyone who wants to be a bluesman, rock musician … hell, a musician, period … should be so lucky to see the version of “Ball And Biscuit” that closed the set. While always one of my favorite White songs, last night’s performance was above and beyond.
  • The trio of songs in the encore seemed to encompass all of White’s greatness in a 15-minute span.

 

Jul 29

Picture This!? (Vol. 5, Spring 2012)

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Today, I was finally able to pull together an album of images from the spring, shot in and around Southern California. From beach to city to ballpark … and from concert to eclipse to bars, there is a nice bit of diversity to this recent set. Below are a few sample images from my latest set on Flickr. You can see the rest (35 images in all) by simply clicking this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashaire/sets/72157630814083054

Enjoy!