Hasta La Creative!

One would think that winning an Oscar for best script is enough to gain attention. However it seems that the people behind the Slumdog Millionaire are far from over as far as awards are concerned. In fact, they just got awarded another one, taking the top honors at the USC Libraries Scripter Award ceremony.

Simon Beaufoy, who accepted the award from Curtis, selection committee chair Naomi Foner, and Glenn Sonnenberg, president of the Friends of the USC Libraries, said, “There’s nothing like this in Britain to honor the writers. This event is wonderful because it takes the contributions of screenwriters seriously.”

Directed by Danny Boyle, Slumdog tells the story of a chai wallah from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai who captivates all of India with his improbable string of correct answers—all based on his life experiences—on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? A fable set in India during the age of outsourcing and global call centers, Slumdog has so far garnered 4 Golden Globe Awards, 10 Oscar nominations, and 11 BAFTA nominations.

(Source) Press

Virgin Mobile, USA will be the title sponsor for the upcoming concert of pop diva Britney Spears. The concert, titled “Virgin Mobile Presents the Circus Starring Britney Spears”, features special guests The PussyCat Dolls. The circus-themed tour is due to kick off in New Orleans on March 3, 2009 with a planned 31 dates in the United States.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Virgin Mobile on my tour,” said Britney Spears. “They will have cool opportunities for my fans and me to connect, and they’ll bring a lot of excitement to the tour.”

“Britney Spears is about to bring some much needed heat to Canada with what promises to be the tour of the year,” said Nathan Rosenberg, Chief Marketing Officer, Virgin Mobile Canada. “We’re beside ourselves with excitement and have some truly brilliant ways we’ll let Virgin Mobile customers get access to all areas.”

(Source) Press

If you happen to be among the people thinking of a good way to bring family and relatives together, consider investing on HDTVs. At least that is what Samsung gathered. Football fans or not agree that there is no better place to watch games than at home when there is a high definition television in place.

However, the survey also found that football fans are willing to take the show on the road, even to the in-laws, if they had the right incentive. More than four in ten (43%) football fans would be more likely to visit their in-laws if they had an HDTV to watch the game. Among this group, men are more likely than women to visit the in-laws if there was an HDTV waiting for them (50% vs. 34%).

So if you want your in-laws and you partner to get along better, consider getting one. It can make a difference as far as deepening family ties.

(Source) Press

The PETA ad has just joined the ranks of banned commercials because it was far too suggestive and exceeded the network’s standards. So like any other company, spending millions in production alone is quite disappointing. The only way that their ad would be shown is if certain parts would be edited.

This year PETA introduced a new commercial depicting sexy models using produce in sexual manners to illustrate PETA’s message that vegetarians have better sex. They also released another commercial called “Sexy Sausage” for the same message.

It’s not just NBC that feels that the ads go overboard with PETA’s message, and it’s not just PETA’s ads that have been rejected by NBC. Other companies have been told their advertisements were not suitable for audiences while those companies argue that the commercials NBC does run could be considered just as inappropriate.

(Source) Over The Limit

The world’s largest mobile advertising unit, AdMob, has announced the launching of its first advertising unit for Android applications. This announcement will enable developers to monetize their applications on this new device platform. The first developers to leverage AdMob’s new Android ad unit in their applications include AccuWeather, Jirbo, and TapJoy.

AdMob’s new Android ad unit will also allow brand and performance advertisers to reach the rapidly growing base of consumers engaging with applications on their Android devices. Advertisers will be able to use these ad units to drive customer actions such as going to the Android Market to download an application.

(Source) Press

From Mean Joe Greene to Mean Troy is what fans can expect from this new Coke Zero ad set to appear at the Super Bowl. Starring Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu, the first 12 seconds of the new Coke Zero spot are certain to cause double-takes as they mimic the look of the original ad.

The scene opens with Polamalu limping down a tunnel to the locker room, followed closely by a young fan who offers an ice-cold Coke Zero to his battered hero. All similarities end there as the action takes a surprising turn to humorously reinforce that with Coke Zero, it’s possible to have “Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories.”

(Source) Press

We are bound to see a lot of kids troop to the nearest Burger King outlet and it will not be surprising if a large part of those kids are Nickelodeon fans. Why? Well for one thing, Burger King will be selecting 25 winners who will go to Los Angeles to watch the 22nd Annual Kids Choice Awards. The contest will be up to January 28 only.

“Burger King Corp. has partnered with Nickelodeon on its Kids’ Choice Awards for the past 10 years, but the number of prizes being awarded makes this sweepstakes like nothing we’ve ever done,” says Cindy Syracuse, senior director, cultural marketing, Burger King Corp. “With the hottest stars under one roof, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards are a kid favorite, so we know parents will relish in the opportunity to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip for their family.”

(Source) QSR

It looks like Riders Jeans will be having a new endorser in Stacey London. Using the moniker that Rider Jeans help make you look slimmer on TV, London is great choice to carry the colors of the Riders Jeans brand. London is an old pro at product promotion, having worked with brands such as Wonderbra and Procter & Gamble’s Pantene.

Riders hopes London’s celebrity status, as well as the jeans’ affordable price point (less than $20), will resonate well with female buyers, the majority of whom are in the 25- to 49-year-old range and shop at mostly mid-tier and mass-market channels. “Value is important to them, but so is finding a great-fitting pair of jeans they can look and feel good in,” Errington said. This marks the first time Riders has signed a celebrity of any sort to market its namesake brand.

(Source) BrandWeek

Patrick Dempsey, famous for his role as Dr. McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy is one of the sought after fans, at least for his autography. In fact, one fan really waited for him at the tracks later on revealing that his wife told him not to go home unless he gets Dr. McDreamy’s autograph.

“OK, OK the real reason I’m in line is because my wife said, ‘Don’t come home unless you get Patrick Dempsey’s autograph and a picture.’ The reality is I’m doing this for my wife.’

A self-proclaimed “car guy” Dempsey, 43, got the racing bug years ago and turned it into a serious pursuit. He wants nothing more than to be “one of the guys” in a drivers’ meeting or a race favorite on the starting grid.

So the best place to catch Dempsey is at the race tracks. That is until he is finished racing.

(Source) NASCAR

It may be short at just eight-minutes but it was enough to cop an award. Nexus’ “This Way Up”, a short film directed by Adam Foulkes and Alan Smith at London based animation studio Nexus.

The humorous eight-minute film follows two dour undertakers as they battle a series of misadventures while trying to deliver a coffin to the graveyard.

“At Nexus we’ve always been committed to short film animation, so it’s fantastic to be honored with the nomination in this category,” says O’Reilly. “But more than just being singled out by the Academy, the Oscar(R) nomination is important to us because it’s a stepping stone for us to develop feature length animation.”

(Source) PR Newswire