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super bowl ads 2009

superbowl-43-logo

Some folks actually watch the Super Bowl for the game (well, I did in the early nineties when a certain football team appeared in four straight Super Bowls and lost, sonova…BUT I’m not bitter).

The rest of us are into the ads and AdWeek was kind enough to provide previews of most of the ads (but not all of them, I don’t think.) Also, the video chain for their site on my computer seemed to progress from this year’s ads to a list of classic Super Bowl ads without warning. No biggie I guess.

Just FYI: From that greatest hits reel is the Anheuser-Busch ad in the airport that tugs on every emotional heart string known to man with nary a voice over in site. And I will go on record as saying a voice over would have ruined it. Sometimes silence does sell….but ONLY RARELY 😉

Anyway in this year’s batch of spots, the one’s that I think will be the funniest is the Pedigree adoption ad (which thinking about know I am STILL laughing out loud at…note the postman’s reaction to the ostrich) and the Pepsi Diet Max ad.

bryan cox visits corner gas

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My friend and fellow voice talent Bryan Cox also fancies himself an actor…which as long as you’re getting paid for it ain’t bragging ’cause it’s the truth!

He recently guested on the show “Corner Gas” as a customs officer – with a speaking part and everything! Check him out about four minutes into the show. Nice job Bryan!

the urgency of birthing an internet

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I guess when I think about it, when I came across Mitch Joel at Podcamp Toronto 2006 (I think) he was probably in the earlier stages of his Social Media career (cause Social Media itself wasn’t that much older). Maybe I will be able to say “I knew him when…”

Today in addition to running is marketing agency, Twist Image, he has become a prolific blogger and (in a slightly retro move, all things considered) newspaper columnist in addition to his weekly podcast.

Well Mitch continues to find and discuss cool things about Social Media but today he came across a very fun video about the history of the internet. The geopolitical reasons for its development and the international partnerships that built it were of news to me and gave me great perspective; to me, a perspective worth sharing.

You should take eight minutes to digest this very well produced (and obviously hugely abridged) story about the birth and growth of the internet. Thanks Mitch.

a quote for voice actors, all actors, to remember

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As we jockey for jobs and as we audition ad infinitum; as feel lowly when presenting in the presence of “great performers” or as a “great performer” empties a room to allow for his or her sizable ego to enter, let us always remember that a great performance lies within each of us. To wit:

“Can I just say there is no such thing as the best actress, you know? There is no such thing as the `greatest living actress.’ I am in a position where I have secret information, that I know this to be true. I am so in awe of the work of the women this year – nominated, not nominated -so proud of us girls. And everybody wins when we get parts like this.”

-Meryl Streep, Actress, Screen Actors Guild Awards January 25, 2009

Athletes compete. Actors prefer not to work that hard, I think.

the nominees for the unofficial late night with jimmy fallon announcer auditions

late_night_with_jimmy_fallon_logo_copyrightNBC

With my sincere thanks to the 80 participants in this faux-dition and the gracious judges (all of whom admitted to some tough decisions) there are now terrific 10 nominees for you to vote on.

First, a little housekeeping (PLEASE READ)

THE RULES FOR VOTING ON NOMINEES

1. The decision of audio’connell voice over talent is final

2. Nobody has a chance to get the real announcer job at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon because of this unofficial and very silly contest…plus the job has already been filled

3. Please choose your top three choices, numbering them 1, 2, 3 with your first choice (1) being your favorite (three different announcers, not three votes for one person, etc.)

4. Type your vote in the comment section of this blog post below

5. You may only vote once and you are on the honor system

6. Voting will end when I say it does, probably a couple of weeks I’m guessing

OK, the floor is yours. Have fun! Click HERE to listen to the nominees then please come back to vote below in the comment box.
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voice over workshop’s kick in the pants – january 2009

voice over workshop kick in the pants

Voice over talents who subscribe to voxmarketising or who train with the Voice Over Workshop occasionally receive a free e-mail from the Voice Over Workshop’s owner (who also happens to own audio’connell voice over talent and this blog/podcast) with his advice on how to earn billions of dollars in voice over (which none of them ever do). Nonetheless, subscribers saw this first…so if you’re seeing it for the first time now, you are at the end of the line. Subscribe now to fix that.

I came across a comment from a voice talent friend of mine who noted that they hadn’t heard from any past clients in a while. She surmised: “Hmmm, I better do some marketing.”

Had my Mother not taught me better, I would have said to her “That makes about as much sense as saying ‘Hmmm, I just finished taking the Bar exam, I think I’ll start studying for it now.'”

While I doubt I’m the first one you’ll hear make this point, the time for marketing is yesterday, today and tomorrow. In short, always.

We’re cursed and blessed as voice talents with a fair amount of time in our work day where we’re not voicing something. Oh some will tell you they’re always voicing throughout the day but by and large they’re full of crap.

Like me, your Mother probably raised you better than to point that out to them.

So you’ve got the time to do the marketing and you’ve got a budget in mind and ain’t it just handy that you’re pretty much at the start of the year.

Now what?

How about starting with a plan. A marketing plan. Think of it as a shopping list of sorts.

Sure, you can get pretty fancy with its design but a marketing plan is NOT about look and feel but rather it is about giving yourself a tool to decide WHO you want to get your message, WHEN you want them to get that message, HOW you’re going to get that message to them and WHAT that message is going to be.

It’s simple in its concept and can be as complex and involved as you’re willing to make it but you have to make a plan and then you have to live the plan. Otherwise you might as well sign up for the Bar exam.

That’s my Voice Over Workshop Kick In The Pants for this month.

If you’d like to visit with me one-on-one to discuss marketing or any other part of your voice over future, email me and we can set up a telephone session: 2 hours for $100 on any and all topics you’d like to cover in the world of voice over.

More info is available at the Voice Over Workshop.

Enjoy the ride!