Netflix Uses One Brilliant Tweet to Show Why You Should Be Afraid of Comcast

Netflix and Comcast have been sparring for a while. But on Wednesday, Netflix delivered a quietly epic uppercut to the cable giant and its interests—thanks to a single creative tweet.

It concerns net neutrality, on which the FCC is set to vote Thursday. Netflix is heavily invested in the issue, fearing that without an open Internet, Comcast and other cable companies would create Internet slow lanes for companies that refuse to pay broadband providers for access.

That fear is communicated brilliantly in the tweet below, which stretches on forever. (The tweet has been making the rounds in the net neutrality debate, and was picked up by Netflix today. It was not created by Netflix.)

“What if the Internet was so slow it loaded one word at a time? Don’t let Comcast win,” it says—with a link to the Battleforthenet.com, which argues for net neutrality.

The tweet is particularly impressive because it eats up a giant piece of a user’s real estate when it appears in the feed, making it all but impossible to miss.

Thursday’s vote is actually expected to be a foregone conclusion, with Republicans already conceding defeat on the issue and Netflix and its allies expected to be victorious.
 



Emmitt Smith Printed and Signed 400 Fan Tweets, Including a Marriage Proposal

Most tweets have a shelf life shorter than a fourth down on the goal line, but a few hundred Emmitt Smith fans will be keeping their tweets around for a good long time.

To help promote Comcast Xfinity’s live sports coverage by “re-imagining the sports autograph experience,” Goodby, Silverstein & Partners arranged a Twitter event Monday night, when the legendary running back signed printed banners made from real tweets.

The #SignMyTweet hashtag was used more than 3,100 times, according to Goodby reps, and about 400 were signed. The printouts will be mailed to the fans. 

The highlight was definitely Smith’s signing of a marriage proposal, which (thankfully for all involved) ended in a yes:

(Sure, we could skeptically note that her account is brand new and therefore the whole thing could be fake, but it’s not unreasonable to think she would have created a Twitter account after Emmitt signed his name across a tweet about her.)

A few other highlights:



Comcast: Communicators

Comcast: Communicators

Advertising Agency: Berlin Cameron United, NY, USA
Creative Director: Jason Peterson
ACD, Copywriter: Jason Kreher
Art Director: Matt Hock
Copywriter: Greg Rutter
Producer: Leigh Fuchs
Business Manager: Jennifer Pannent
Account Director: Adam Hunt
Account Manager: Christine Bouyea
Editorial: Cut & Run, NY
Editor: Adam Jenkins
Editorial EP: Susan Willis
Producer: Melissa Lubin
Visual Effects: Guava Studios, NY
VFX EP: Steve Holiner
Music: Tonefarmer, NY
Music EP: Tiffany Senft

Production Company: Epoch Films, Bicoastal
Director: Matt Lenski
EP: Doug Halbert
Producer: Timory King
DP: Steve McGehee

Airdates: May 2008

Comcast: Meet the Team

Comcast: Meet the Team

Advertising Agency: Berlin Cameron United, NY, USA
Creative Director: Jason Peterson
ACD, Copywriter: Jason Kreher
Art Director: Matt Hock
Copywriter: Greg Rutter
Producer: Leigh Fuchs
Business Manager: Jennifer Pannent
Account Director: Adam Hunt
Account Manager: Christine Bouyea
Editorial: Cut & Run, NY
Editor: Adam Jenkins
Editorial EP: Susan Willis
Producer: Melissa Lubin
Visual Effects: Guava Studios, NY
VFX EP: Steve Holiner
Music: Tonefarmer, NY
Music EP: Tiffany Senft

Production Company: Epoch Films, Bicoastal
Director: Matt Lenski
EP: Doug Halbert
Producer: Timory King
DP: Steve McGehee

Airdates: May 2008