7 Best Sitcoms Ever

Sitcoms are the favorite form of TV entertainment. No matter how many times re-runs are shown, people still watch their favorite comedies and laugh at their characters. Sitcoms have been present on TV for decades, and there are hundreds of them right now. However, not all TV shows become so popular that the audience still loves them even years after their last episode. The notion of a few people interacting and simply dealing with everyday problems is one of the best cinema creations.

Sitcoms can be very different and directed at various audiences, but there is always a set of versatile characters who possess a unique sense of humor and represent our friends, relatives, and even ourselves. At the same time, they fit together perfectly.

No matter how old you are and what you like, you probably have your favorite sitcom. But what are the most entertaining and popular TV comedies?

Here is the list of 7 best sitcoms ever.

Friends

Undoubtedly, Friends is a legendary sitcom that has made you laugh more times than any other TV show. It is one of the most watched sitcoms ever created. The final episode beat the record of the number of views in the history of TV series. Friends first aired in 1994 and was shown for a whole decade. A generation of people grew up watching this show and laughing together with its main characters.

Its main focus is the life of six best friends who live in New York and meet almost every day. The best feature of Friends is the variety of the characters’ personalities—everybody can find the one whom they like the most. There are the Geller siblings—clever paleontologist Ross, who happens to be an “expert” in divorces, and punctilious Monica, who has changed greatly since her childhood. There are also Monica’s neighbors and friends: a struggling actor and womanizer Joey and Ross‘ college friend Chandler, who provides the best comic relief throughout the whole series. Their another friend Phoebe is a little strange and ditsy but charming nevertheless. And one day they reunite with Rachel, a whimsical daughter of rich parents who grows to be an independent woman in the end.

This rich variety of protagonists is complemented by a hilarious script, funny supporting characters, and the ability to amuse you every time you re-watch an episode.

The Simpsons

Maybe, the best seasons of The Simpsons have already passed, but we still love those hilarious innuendos and the strange behavior of the main family of the show. The Simpsons is the only animated sitcom on our list, but it is one of the best sitcoms ever created. Do not think that if it is animated, then it is a cartoon for children. Actually, we would not advise small children to watch the show as its jokes can be rather crude.

Nonetheless, it is a great TV show that has lived through 24 seasons, 528 episodes, and 26 years of its existence. It is a pretty impressive result.

The Simpsons family consists of six members: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, and grandpa. Each of them has a unique personality and represents a satirical depiction of an average middle-class family. Through many years, the show has been both liked and disliked, but this fact only brought additional attention to it. It was named the best television series of the 20th century and awarded with a star on the Walk of Fame.

Seinfeld

Though Seinfeld is not a modern sitcom, it is still popular nowadays. Seinfeld aired for almost ten years—from 1989 to 1998—and had 180 episodes.

The main character of the show is a fictional representation of its creator Jerry Seinfeld—a stand-up comedian with the same name who lives in Manhattan. Most of the time he spends with his friends. The show mainly features Jerry’s three buddies. One of them is his best friend George, whose constant lies and complaints lead him into trouble. Also, there is his neighbor, Cosmo Kramer, whose hairstyle and clothing are always eccentric and funny. Unlike George, Kramer is successful both at work and with women. The last and the most appealing friend of Jerry is his ex-girlfriend, Elaine. Her personality suits the atmosphere of sitcoms the best—she is playful and overly honest sometimes; Elaine often makes poor choices in men.

Sometimes, this squeamish comedy seems to be unsympathetic, but it is what makes it so good. It shows the truth and all the problems of American life.

How I Met Your Mother

HIMYM is a TV comedy that does not reveal its main intrigue till the last episode. Initially, HIMYM shows us the main character, Ted Mosby, in the future, starting to tell his kids the story of how he had met their mother. And so, the adventures of five main characters are shown as his memories.

The versatility of the main characters is what the fans love about the show. Each one of them is funny, but their jokes and sense of humor differ, so every viewer can find his favorite person in the group and laugh together with them. During nine seasons of the show, the best years of their adult life are shown. Like in real life, it is impossible to stay the same through the decade. So, the heroes change too—they grow up, develop, and alter their perception of the world.

There are many encounters when people think that Ted will finally meet his future wife, but all of them just tease the audience.

The show is full of romance as all characters at some points have strong feelings for their friend. HIMYM is full of real life situations in which you can see yourself and laugh at how Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney deal with them.

The Office

The fact that The Office sitcom has both British and American variants shows how popular and good this sitcom is. The best part of the show is that you can watch the reruns in any order and at any time, and they will still be good. Each episode has the full set of tools (characters, jokes, awkwardness, and brilliant moments) that show the true nature of The Office.

Unlike many other sitcoms, the setting of this one is very uncommon and unique. This pseudo-documentary show features the everyday life at the office. In fact, it may be any office in the world—everybody can find parts of their work life in it. Maybe, it is a set of stereotypical office workers, but each of them has unique features, and the cast plays them wonderfully.

You may see some of your friends in the main characters of The Office—some are eccentric, some are lazy, and some are overly serious. In each episode, there are many funny pranks that will not bore you till the end.

That 70’s Show

Like most popular sitcoms, That 70’s Show is a series full of various characters with different, sometimes even opposite, personalities that fit together greatly. The special humorous and comfy atmosphere of the show is created by all those characters who co-exist in one communityand only compliment each other.

That 70’s Show was running from 1998 to 2006. Each episode of these eight seasons makes people laugh even today, ten years after its finale. The first few seasons are mostly focused on a group of teenagers who live in a suburban town in “that 70s” and their school life. The later seasons do not pay so much attention to school and prefer to show the life outside of it. Both settings provide great entertainment and have their advantages. The show stars many famous celebrities of the 70’s who fit perfectly in it. For many modern notable actors, this show was a starting point of their career.

Though there are many sitcoms that are simply hilarious, there is something special in this one, something light and wonderful that makes you strive for more and more episodes.

Two and a Half Men

This show quickly gained the love of the audience due to its great cast that made it look good. Besides, those unpredictable dialogs made you laugh countless times. The spirit of the show is kept withing its main characters. Two brothers live together and bring up a teenage boy. The very description of Two and a Half Men characters sounds like fun. Moreover, these two brothers cannot be more different—a drinker-songwriter Charlie, who changes his women so fast that even he cannot remember all of them, and his brother Alan, who is abandoned by his wife like a “wallflower” and left to raise his son.

The humor of the show is flexible. Charlie is the man who feels free enough for crude jokes even in front of his nephew, Jake. Caring and intelligent Alan is the source of soft jokes that are funny nevertheless. And, finally, there is teenage Jake, who grows up to be independent but stays a buffoon as well.

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Leaked Facebook Video Ad Pitch Deck Reveals Plans To Steal TV And YouTube Dollars

Avoid saying anything negative about YouTube – leave the impression of the user experience up to them” Facebook tells its adtech partners in a leaked, confidential deck that teaches them to sell Facebook’s video ads. The 32-page document details Facebook’s plan to beat television with reach and YouTube with targeting, and spills the beans about an overhaul to video insights slated for Q1 2014.
If Facebook’s plan works, it could lure in tons of ad revenue as marketers shift their focus from television to digital.
The full “Facebook For Business: Video On Facebook” presentation including slides and Facebook’s notes is splayed out below. It was sent to Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Developer partners in late November to teach them to sell video ads to their clients. [Correction: This was sent to marketers, not presented at a meeting.] Facebook used NDAs to try to keep the presentation away from the public, but I’ve attained a copy.
Facebook’s pitch for video ads breaks down to three things, as explained in this excerpt from the presentation:

1.You want to be where people are. Changing consumer behavior should shape where you spend your marketing dollars.

2.You want to reach all of the people who matter to you. Facebook has unparalleled targeted reach.

3.You want to be in the most engaging digital real estate, which, as you just saw, is Facebook’s News Feed.

Fighting TV With Reach

It doesn’t take long for Facebook to start bluntly insulting the stalwart advertising medium. “Gone are the days when a family gathered around their TV on Sunday night to connect with the outside world. Television is no longer a guaranteed way to reach and engage your target audience,” Facebook writes. It cites an eMarketer studying saying time spent on digital will surpass TV in 2013, and notes people open their phone 100 times a day and Facebook 10-15 times a day.

Facebook then hits hard with graphs and Nielsen stats, saying that each major TV network only reach 55% to 61% of 18-24 year olds during prime time, but Facebook reaches 70%. Facebook later hawks its “Blast” campaigns that let brands reach the majority of people on Facebook with a video ad within one to three days.

Other than Google, few digital companies have the ability to reach an entire populace, which classically could only be found on TV. Facebook slams other digital properties, stating  ”A lot of time is spent by people on mobile with Google properties, YouTube, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Twitter and Pinterest…And more total time is spent on mobile on Facebook and Instagram than all of those combined.” It’s that scale, the ability to reach hundreds of millions of people quickly, that Facebook hopes will attract the world’s biggest advertisers.

Fighting YouTube And TV With Targeting

“On TV, advertisers don’t always know who people are, and over deliver to certain people and can’t reach other people. So advertisers end up hitting the same people over and over again with a large portion of the audience being underexposed.” Again, Facebook isn’t pulling punches here.

One of the social network’s greatest assets is its trove of ad-fueling personal data. Users pour demographic and interest data into their profiles to share with friends and be found, but Facebook also leverages that data to be able to pinpoint them with relevant ads. Taking a dig at YouTube where a lot of demographic data is inferred indirectly and not always accurately, Facebook writes “In narrowly targeted campaigns, the average online reach is 38% accurate, but on Facebook, our average reach is 89% accurate.”
Facebook also touts that users volunteer to watch video ads on its platform instead of being required to watch on YouTube, so the impressions should be valued higher. “When you use video on Facebook, these are chosen views – the consumers clicks to play or scrolls through to watch the video as compared to an ad on YouTube interrupting the user experience and feeling forced.”
Still, Facebook doesn’t want its ad partners coming off as bullies so it explains “Avoid saying anything negative about YouTube.” Instead, partners are supposed to lay out the facts and just imply YouTube is inferior.
Except that it isn’t, at least not right now. And Facebook admits that.

“BACKGROUND FOR SALES RE: VIDEO INSIGHTS vs. YouTube
Currently, we only report on video plays, which is a weakness compared to YouTube, which reports on video views, completed views, and average duration of view. We are working on building out our video insights to give advertisers a better sense for how videos are performing. New video insights target launch: Q1 2014. [NOTE: Video insights improvements are highlight (sic) confidential]“

So by next year, Facebook’s video ad insights will be a better match for YouTube, but until then, partners are supposed to cite metrics about likes and comments, larger ad images, and a more “streamlined” post-click experience. The fact is that Television is the status quo for advertisers, and YouTube’s roadblock ads (even if you can skip them after five seconds) work similarly to traditional TV commercials. That means Facebook still has an uphill climb in selling its video ads.
While users might be scared that these video ads will stick out like sore thumbs on Facebook, the company is actually in the middle of a push to bring a lot more organic, user generated video to the site. It’s now rolling out its new auto-play video feature on the web and mobile. Facebook mentions videos ads you “scroll through”, which could be a subtle way of noting that auto-play video ads are coming.
But the big thing absent from this deck is measurement. TV and some other online ad platforms have a tough time proving that marketing spend on them generates a return on investment. Facebook may be discounting one of its most potent weapons in the ad war. Online, Facebook hooks into sales information through cookies, hashed CRM data, and Autofill With Facebook. Offline, brick and mortar data providers like Datalogix and Facebook’s Custom Audiences tool let advertisers see if showing someone an ad made them buy more.
It may not be the platform with the biggest reach, targeting, or engagement that captures the ad dollars fleeing television in print, but the one that can best prove its ads actually work.
–
More on Facebook’s big video push:
Facebook Puts The News Feed In Motion
Facebook Videos Now Auto-Play On Mobile, Expect Video Ads Soon
–
Full leaked video ads deck below with Facebook’s presenter notes as captions.

Before we dive in, I want to give you a peek at what we mean by ‘video on Facebook.’
We aren’t talking about video ads on the right column of desktop or even just in desktop News Feed – we are talking about video delivered in the palm of your hand wherever you go. Video that takes up almost the entire mobile screen and plays seamlessly in line. This is video on Facebook.

There couldn’t be a better time to invest in video on Facebook. Why? Three critical components of successful marketing are aligned to drive your business results:
1. You want to be where people are. Changing consumer behavior should shape where you spend your marketing dollars.
2. You want to reach all of the people who matter to you. Facebook has unparalleled targeted reach.
3. You want to be in the most engaging digital real estate, which, as you just saw, is Facebook’s News Feed.

If you want people to see your brand messages, you have to reach them where they are spending time.

Consumers are changing the way they spend their time – with more and more people spending time on digital.
Gone are the days when a family gathered around their TV on Sunday night to connect with the outside world.
Television is no longer a guaranteed way to reach and engage your target audience

To get the best perspective on the changes taking place now, it might help to go back to the 50’s
That was the last time a new medium came along to capture the most time per day of people: TV surpassed radio
It was such an important medium that people significantly expanded the amount of time they spent with media
Source: “Mobile helps propel digital time spent’, eMarketer, July 2013

Television quickly became the focus for people, and soon thereafter the advertising industry, and it ruled for over 50 years
Source: “Mobile helps propel digital time spent’, eMarketer, July 2013

In the 90’s, we saw a new shift: people began to spend time on Digital media as well
And, according to eMarketer, in 2013 the amount of time people spend per day on Digital media will surpass television
Source: “Mobile helps propel digital time spent’, eMarketer, July 2013

It’s important to point out that it was mobile (smartphones and tablets) that not only pushed Digital to this inflection point, but is also now the majority of time spent on Digital
And once again, people are adding to the total time they spend with media as they leverage the power of mobile to remain connected to the people and things they care about throughout the day
Source: “Mobile helps propel digital time spent’, eMarketer, July 2013

Looking forward, it’s not hard to imagine time spent with Digital continuing to increase, and Mobile taking an even more dominant share of that time as technology makes staying connected even easier
Even if you haven’t been investing in TV to date, this data should cause you to stop in your tracks because it speaks to the fact that we’re all now operating in a new paradigm and we have to take digital seriously
Source: “Mobile helps propel digital time spent’, eMarketer, August 2013

We can all relate to the shift of consumption to mobile because, for many of us, it’s now a device that is with us all day, every day.
In fact, people check their phone 100x/ day and they check Facebook 10-15x/day.

Facebook’s role in the shift to mobile comes to life in terms of time spent on mobile.
A lot of time is spent by people on mobile with Google properties, YouTube, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Twitter and Pinterest
And more total time is spent on mobile on Facebook and Instagram than all of those combined
In fact, Facebook and Instagram make up 21% of total time spent on mobile.
In the end, as marketers, this type of engagement gives you significant opportunities to connect with your core consumers.

But, it’s not just about the engagement we’re seeing on mobile. Facebook’s scale and targeting capabilities enable you to reach all of the people who matter to you.

In the US, you can reach 179M people every month. Many of these people are on Facebook every single day. In fact, you can reach 128M people every day in the US and 101M people every day on mobile.

[Customize this slide with your client’s demographics]
On this slide is an audience example for gamers, 18-34 in the US. It is based off of the FB BCT ‘Console Gaming,’ which includes ‘People that have liked pages related to console gaming or otherwise expressed interest in console gaming on Facebook.’

Facebook can help you access customer segments that have typically been hard or very expensive to reach. The size of our global audience coupled with our targeting capabilities enables advertisers to find audiences who they may not be able to find consistently or at scale on other media platforms.
For example, on TV, advertisers don’t always know who people are, and over deliver to certain people and can’t reach other people. So advertisers end up hitting the same people over and over again with a large portion of the audience being underexposed.
With Facebook, you can precisely reach the audience you want, and know that your impressions are being delivered to the right people.
*Data: Network 1: 56%, Network 2: 55%, Network 3: 61%, Network 4: 59%, FB: 70%
Uses Nielsen’s TV/Internet/ Mobile Data Fusion panel to measure differences in reach between Facebook (PC + Mobile) and TV networks looking at a full month of data.

But, you may be wondering how to consider Facebook in relation to your investment in TV advertising.
Facebook delivers incremental reach above TV, particularly for the highly coveted 25-34 demo
During daytime, Facebook can increase reach above each of the major broadcast networks by 125 to 160+% among 25 to 34 year olds.
During Primetime, Facebook can increase reach by 25% to 38% among 25 to 34 year olds.
Key Takeaway:  Content consumption has changed dramatically in the past few years — shifting meaningfully toward digital channels, particularly mobile.  As a result, online, and Facebook particularly, are able to deliver audiences at a scale that allows marketers to either efficiently drive incremental reach on top of TV or execute cross media campaigns with massive reach.
NOTE: Significant incremental reach among 18-24 year olds as well (see slides in appendix)
Daytime: 81-95%
Primetime: 56% – 78%

People are themselves Facebook, which means we can deliver more accurate targeting, based on real information about our users. This also means that advertisers can deliver the most relevant and resonant messages to their target audiences.
The same is true – and even more significant in narrowly targeted campaigns.
In narrowly targeted campaigns, the average online reach is 38% accurate, but on Facebook, our average reach is 89% accurate.
Because of this high accuracy on Facebook, businesses aren’t seeing wasted impressions like they do in other mediums.

So, how will your brand show up on Facebook? Facebook News Feed puts your brand in the center of the most engaging digital real estate.

The News Feed puts brands front and center for the consumer, offering rich ways to capture attention and engagement. The News Feed is a personalized newspaper – where people go to consume photos of their friends and family, news stories, and content from brands.
Similar to television, mobile naturally lends itself to a linear experience, where consumers focus on one piece of content at a time. Every piece of content, whether a photo or an article or an ad, now has the opportunity to capture attention and engagement. Ads consumed in a linear format are 9X more effective than those consumed on a traditional web page, which typically contain multiple ads. The linear format can take up the full screen on mobile and provides a captive moment for marketers to capture attention. [Datalogix]
When you use video on Facebook, these are chosen views – the consumers clicks to play or scrolls through to watch the video as compared to an ad on YouTube interrupting the user experience and feeling forced.
MORE DETAIL RE: CENTER OF EXPERIENCE
The News Feed is the main event on mobile. And, given businesses can appear in the News Feed, they can essentially takeover the entire homepage, resulting in the ultimate engagement with consumers. Our advertising units in News Feed are highly engaging given that they are equal in size and prominence as content from a user’s friends and family. They are not off to the side or secondary to the experience, but are central to the experience and delivered in a linear way.
SIZE
News Feed ads are 2x the the size of a 300×250 banner, and often can be full screen in mobile.
STATS
FB mobile Page post ads are 10-120% more likely to regularly draw attention than other ad types
Likelihood that FB ads and SS regularly draw attention on mobile as compared to other ad type
10% more than Pre-roll or Mid-roll Ads
22% more than Video Ads
38% more than Banner Ads
120% more than Pop-up Ads
Source: Prosper Mobile Insights, July 2012.

Video ads deploy sight, sound, and motion to grab your audience’s attention in News Feed
Page post video ads drive stronger performance than off-site video links given they are optimized for video views and provide a seamless experience to the viewer. Their images are also 11x larger than offsite video, ensuring your brand gets noticed.
FB vs YouTube stats
16.6% of YouTube visits came from Facebook in September 2013 (comScore MyMetrix Source/Loss report, worldwide, home and work – DESKTOP)
OBJECTION HANDLING RECO
Clients may bring up YouTube and argue that it’s better to be on YouTube given they have access to the aggregate counter and more video views. Potential response:
Yes, YouTube has the aggregate counter, but Facebook’s Ad Insights provides additional stats re: likes, comments, and shares
Facebook offers a larger image in the most engaging place on the web – thumbnail takes up a lot of space in News Feed
The post-click experience with native Facebook video is more streamlined than the experience when a user clicks on a link pointing to an offsite video player (see next slide)
BACKGROUND FOR SALES RE: VIDEO INSIGHTS vs. YouTube
Currently, we only report on video plays, which is a weakness compared to YouTube, which reports on video views, completed views, and average duration of view. We are working on building out our video insights to give advertisers a better sense for how videos are performing. New video insights target launch: Q1 2014. [NOTE: Video insights improvements are highlight confidential]

The experience with Facebook native video is much more seamless than when the user is taken offsite to view a video.
This experience becomes even more choppy offsite for age-gated content (e.g., from an alcohol brand) given the person must sign-in to the other app to view the video.
SPEAKING TIPS GIVEN SHOWING YOUTUBE COMPARISON
Emphasize the informational/ educational nature of the video
Avoid saying anything negative about YouTube – leave the impression of the user experience up to them

Video can be used across the brand objectives you consider for media planning.
Media planning – these three happen one after the other
1.”Seed”: $50-$100/$200K hyper-targeted teaser to start generating buzz about your new product or brand campaign with your core target audience (e.g., using Partner Categories, Custom Audiences, Interests, competitor’s Interests)
2.”Blast”: $500K-$1M campaign to drive mass awareness of your new product or brand campaign to your target audience (typically over a 1-3 day period)
3.”Sustained” media: reinforce your message after the initial blast. You should tailor creative to specific audiences to drive the best results. These campaigns can range anywhere from a week to a few months.

For your blast period, combine the value of video and guaranteed reach in News Feed
Reach the majority of people on Facebook in one or three days with your Page post video message through News Feed
Run campaigns on desktop and/or mobile
Own the segment: One marketer per audience per day
Guaranteed impressions to audience over 24 hours (Reach Block) or 72 hours (Target Block)
Best use cases for mass awareness campaigns:
Product or marketing campaign launch
Drive mass awareness of a time-sensitive message
Teasers to build excitement
Build creative that speaks to the entire audience

You can precede a blast campaign with a ‘seed campaign’ and then follow-up a blast campaign with a ‘sustain campaign.’
Achieve the lowest cost-per-view by combining our accurate, granular targeting capabilities with your compelling video messages
Reach a custom cluster of people who will react favorably to a specific video creative
Run these sustained, targeted campaigns in tandem with mass awareness campaigns to drive the best results
Recommendations
Select a thumbnail that draws people in
Capture their attention in the first 5 seconds
Keep creative short and sweet: no need for an entire story
You can also run sustained campaigns with a mix of photos and videos, depending on your objectives and creative available.

I’ve highlighted why there couldn’t be a better time to invest in video on Facebook.
Be where people are – on mobile.
Targeted reach – reach all of the people who matter to you
Put your brand in the most engaging digital real estate – Facebook’s News Feed.
Now, I want to tell you about a few brands that have had tremendous success using video on Facebook. These brands are driving business results.

comScore action lift study (March 2013) analyzed 10 gaming campaigns across multiple genres – campaigns included a variety of ad units, including video.
Results are compared to a holdout group.

Brands can use high-quality content to build awareness
To launch its new title, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Activision used Facebook ads primarily on mobile to drive video views of its game trailer at scale
Objective: Increase awareness of Activision’s new console game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, with males 18-44 in the U.S.
Delivered 50M impressions over a 3-day period, with majority of impressions delivered on mobile
Performance
55% of US males aged 18-24 were reached over 3-day period – Reached 20M US males 18-44 and 23M people in total
85% of impressions delivered on-target, compared to industry norm of 41% (Nielsen Cross-Publisher Online Campaign Ratings)
14% lift in brand awareness among the target audience (18-44)
24% lift in brand awareness among males 25-34
OMD, Activision’s media agency, leveraged Nielsen measurement solutions to validate and compare reach efficiency across its entire digital marketing plan, as well as determine the impact Facebook messaging had on shifting brand metrics such as awareness and message recall

Results
50% ahead of goal for pre-orders of the game (the company was looking to achieve 10% of its total pre-order goal by end of its fiscal year March 31, 2012 and it achieved 15%).
385% increase in people talking about this
8% increase in fans, or nearly 200,000 new fans. The Resident Evil Page now has more than 3 million fans, which means Capcom can reach 350 million friends of fans.
552% lift in viral reach for the Page
Goals
Working with its agency Tangible Media, Capcom wanted to engage with existing fans of the Resident Evil Page and acquire new ones:
To make the launch of the new title feel like an event in a way that would generate buzz in the media and on the Internet
To drive pre-orders of the game
Approach
[PAGES] Tangible and Capcom made Facebook the center of its campaign to create a massive event out of the announcement of the Resident Evil title on January 19, 2012, seven months ahead of the game’s actual release.
Capcom created a mysterious microsite, nohopeleft.com, and Facebook Page to promote viral teaser content leading up to the official game announcement on the Resident Evil Page.The No Hope Left Page contained cryptic videos and photos featuring panicked citizens and deserted cities, which were hints for existing Resident Evil fans and engaged new fans through all of the viral sharing.
[ADS] The media portion on Facebook had three main phases, all designed to create broad awareness in the gaming and entertainment community.:
The first phase included a flight of Premium Ads designed to build pre-awareness and anticipation around the March 19 reveal of Resident Evil 6..:
Ads included the scary videos and a poll asking people “What would you do when all is lost?”
Another ad invited people to RSVP for a secret event set for March 19, 2102
Ads were targeted at Resident Evil’s large base of then 2 million fans and the broader console gaming community
The second phase was designed to reveal the announcement trailer created for RE6:
A Target Block to U.S. males 18-34 featured Premium Page post Ads to promote the announcement trailer, encouraging people to watch and share the video with their friends
A portion of the video ads drove traffic to a custom tab on the Resident Evil Page with links to pre-order the game
In the third phase, Capcom sustained enthusiasm for the game using a variety of Premium, Marketplace Ads and sponsored stories:
Premium Ads featured the trailer and polls asking fans what characters in the game they were most excited for
Marketplace Ads were used to grow the Resident Evil fan base and were targeted at console gamers

Background
Wendy’s launched a product in 2013 – pretzel bacon cheeseburger
Typically run a product in a few select markets before launching across the US
In test markets, saw people were obsessed with it
Creative agency came up with program called Pretzel Love Songs, essentially making fun of boy bands and love song genre
As people submitted their love songs, Wendy’s asked them if they could use them for advertisements
The real hook was people got to be famous for a minute in a video that Wendy’s was pushing out to tens of thousands of people, primarily through Facebook – they shared these videos over time as different volumes.
This was very different for their brand – typically very traditional with their marketing
BUT, spoke directly to an insight – people want to be famous
Performance
Reach: 83M unique individuals
52.7% TV-only
23.2% Overlap
8.3% FB-only
(persons 18+, Nielsen XCR reach)
Typical media buy just talking about impressions and TRPs, but they were able to get MANY unique individuals
Over 8% reached only through digital marketing (incremental reach through FB)
62% of Facebook-only reach was with Millennials – a big deal for Wendy’s given they want to connect with that generation
Huge engagement: 5M+ video views and 1.7B total impressions
Media ROI: % reach from Facebook far exceeded % of investment on Facebook
What does this mean for the company?
Excellent sales results and ROI
They will emulate this strategy in the future b/c it worked so well
Background available in Ad Week video: http://adweek.mlbam.com/video/v30927297 (22:00 – 35:00)

OBJECTIVE:
Wanted to boost brand loyalty and drive viewership of its Ramadan Holiday video
STRATEGY:
Launched a combined TV and FB campaign
4 videos showcasing banks reverence of traditional Saudi values
Two Reach Blocks guaranteed that the ads reached the entire Saudi Facebook audience that logged in that day.
RESULTS:
Strong uplift in brand awareness generated by Facebook campaign as found through Bank Albilad’s own internal study.
“Facebook increased our brand loyalty given the valued interaction between our audience and us. This platform, Facebook, was one of the main channels for such a campaign and it will remain a crucial platform for future campaigns.”
Mohammed R. Abaalkheil, Head of Marcom Division, Bank Albilad
Images: https://na7.salesforce.com/069A0000000eaSp

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Endemol Bets On Gaming, Leads $14 Million Round In Social Casino Startup Plumbee

Endemol, the Netherlands-based TV production house known for game shows like Fear Factor and Deal Or No Deal, is now making a bet on online gambling. The company today announced that it has made a strategic investment of $13 million in social casino startup Plumbee, as it plans to raise its digital profile by investing in online gambling and going beyond the traditional video production business.
Founded by former Playfish executives, Raf Keustermans, Gerald Tan and Jodi Moran, Plumbee started in 2011, and has more than one million monthly active users. Prior to this, Plumbee had raised $2.8 million in funding.
As part of the strategic investment, Endemol will be working with Plumbee to build on its existing digital gaming projects, according to chairman Lucas Church.
“Social casino gaming is a fast emerging market and Plumbee is one of the most innovative and dynamic operators in this space. This new partnership will allow us to accelerate the growth of Endemol’s digital gaming business around the world, whilst capturing more of the value created by our entertainment brands,” Church said in a statement.
The investment comes at a time when we have seen mixed fortunes both for social gaming companies and real-money gaming ventures. Zynga had high hopes for it, but earlier this year, after much lobbying, decided to drop its pursuit for a real-money gaming license in the U.S.
Zynga, of course, hasn’t had the most stellar record of late in social gaming, either. But others like Supercell continue to bring in the punters in droves.
Plumbee, with its Playfish heritage and new focus on a mix of free-to-play and real-money games, wants to tap into both areas. And now Endemol is hoping to cash in on that, too.
Keustermans, the CEO of Plumbee adds: “Endemol will become a strategic shareholder and this will enable us to leverage the company’s international network and globally recognised brands. This will significantly boost the growth of our worldwide user base as we create gaming experiences that stand out from the competition.”
So far, Endemol has been building its digital gaming business internally, mostly by launching gaming apps based on popular shows, and it is making other inroads into pure-play online content. In November, it announced a $40 million investment in Endemol Beyond, a new online video network.
Endemol’s recent digital gaming projects include The Money Drop second screen game, which has so far had over 30 million games played worldwide and The Million Pound Drop app in the UK, which has had over 2.5 million downloads to date.
Idinvest Partners, the existing investors in Plumbee, also participated in this round of funding.

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Your TV May Soon Be Able to Mirror Your Android Screen

It's easy to mirror an iOS device to Apple TV in just a few taps, and it looks like Google has taken notice.
According to source code tucked away in its latest Android 4.4.1 update, first reported by ZDNet, Google may be looking to make your TV screen mirror your Android phone display. This would be an extension of its existing Chromecast device and ultimately make it easier for users to "streamcast" and control content on a larger screen.

10 Free Android Apps You'll Use Every Day

The Chromecast device plugs into any HDTV to stream online videos and music, controlled from apps on your tablet or smartphone. The $35 HDMI dongle, which debuted this summer, supports Vimeo, Redbox Instant, Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go, Pandora and Hulu Plus.
Android 4.4.1, the first update to KitKat, was mainly focused on updating the software to improve the experience of the camera on the Nexus 5 smartphone.
"It improves the camera with faster focusing, especially in low light, faster white balancing, for truer colors, the ability to pinch-zoom the viewfinder in HDR+ mode and less shutter lag," Google wrote on Nexus' Google+ page.

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Impress Your Muggle Friends With a Magic Wand TV Remote

Product Name: Magic Wand TV Remote
Price: $78.99
Who would like this?: Harry Potter enthusiasts, D&D superfans and other would-be wizards; television junkies; those afraid of buttons.
Remote controls are for Muggles. If you're still convinced that your Hogwarts acceptance letter got lost in the Owl Post, then you need this Magic Wand TV Remote from Kymera, as seen on ThinkGeek. Made of springy willow and containing the heartstring of one particularly saucy dragon, it's the perfect addition to any living room. Instead of having to push tiresome buttons, you can swish and flick your way through hours of your favorite entertainment (we're thinking Bewitched, Hocus Pocus, Lord of the Rings, and of course all eight Harry Potter Movies).

Image: KymeraIf you thought fights over who gets to hold the remote control were bad before, this wand remote will have family members dueling over more than just what program to watch.
Users can program the wand to recognize 13 different gestures. Change the channels by swishing side to side, or flick up to increase the volume. Since it's compatible with almost all TVs, DVRs and pretty much anything else controlled by a remote, you can become master of all the electronics of your house, even program from multiple controls. It's the true Elder wand, perfect for you or the Potterhead in your family.
So pull on your Harry Potter Snuggie, make up a pot of Butterbeer, and load up Sorcerer's Stone. It's gonna be a magical night.
And remember: It's Levi-OH-sa, not Levio-SA.
WARNING: Do not use in proximity to Whomping Willows, in front of Muggles, or before the age of 17. May not work properly against "brother" wands (those made with core ingredients from same magical creature.) For optimal conditions, use only with family member the wand "chooses."

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‘Bonnie & Clyde’ Review: New TV Miniseries Revives Iconic Outlaws

Get our take on the triple-network feature, then drop a comment with your own review.

Before diving into a review of Bonnie & Clyde – which began its two-night premiere Dec. 8 on Lifetime, A&E and the History channel — we think it’s important to get one thing straight: This TV event is, by no means, an attempt to outdo Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway‘s original 1967 film. It’s merely meant to introduce the infamous outlaws’ story to the next generation in a new, exciting way; and in that, HollywoodLife.com believes it succeeds with guns blazing.

‘Bonnie & Clyde’ Review: What We Loved

Our favorite casting choice, Emile Hirsch, is the perfect Clyde Barrow for a 2013 audience. The 28-year-old fuses his trademark boyish charm with the real-life criminal’s ruthlessness, resulting in a fully-realized character, whom new viewers can be more sympathetic to than they probably anticipated.

British actress Holliday Grainger, whom we still remember fondly as The Borgias‘ Lucrezia, was also an inspired casting choice. Her Bonnie Parker is fiery, fearless, and like Emile’s Clyde, strangely compelling.
In 2009, when a different Bonnie & Clyde movie was in pre-production, Faye famously slammed the decision to cast Hilary Duff in the titular female role — she asked, “Couldn’t they at least cast a real actress?” — but we think Miz Dunaway will be much more pleased with Holliday’s performance.
And with additional stand-out performances from stars like Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Twilight‘s Elizabeth Reaser and Modern Family‘s Sarah Hyland, there’s plenty to love about Bonnie & Clyde – even when the gun-toting duo isn’t raising hell.

‘Bonnie & Clyde’: Give Us Your Review

Is Bonnie & Clyde perfect? No. Does it leave plenty of room for improvement? Sure. But is it, at heart, a solid way to pass a few hours and lift us out of our wintery chill? Absolutely.
HollywoodLifers, give us your review of Bonnie & Clyde below, then tell us: Will you be tuning in Dec. 9 for the conclusion?

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Google's Nexus TV Could Launch in Early 2014, Report Says

Google is one step closer to unveiling its own Nexus-branded set-top box for streaming videos and playing games, according to a new report.
The set-top box, which streams video from services such as Hulu and Netflix will run on Android, and could be available as early as the first half of 2014, The Information reported Friday.

The tech publication is not the first to speculate on a set-top streaming device from Google. Months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google showed off a prototype device in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. The device reportedly had a motion sensor similar to Xbox's Kinect technology, and also supported Google Hangouts for video conferencing.
The idea that Google may soon join the battle for streaming set-top devices is not entirely surprising. The recent success of Netflix shows, including Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards, confirmed that viewers don't mind streaming their favorite shows. Traditional television is now just one of many ways people are consuming content.
A Nexus TV would face stiff competition from more established set-top devices such as Apple TV and Roku. Other tech companies like Intel and Amazon are reportedly building their own devices, as well.
This won't even be Google's first foray into television streaming. The company already has Chromecast, a small HDMI plug-in that looks like a memory stick for streaming content to the television. Chromecast requires users to have a mobile device or computer with a Chrome browser in order to operate.
A Nexus TV would likely be much more expansive than Chromecast, and would not require external devices to operate, although reports claim it could be operated using an Android mobile device.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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