This is the Summer of IFC

IFC Launches Breakthrough Marketing Effort to Support Summer - Long Original Programming Premieres

Campaign Showcases IFC as a Destination for Unique Original Series, Docs and Film Strands and Establishes a Constant Brand Presence Throughout the Summer

New York, NY, May 31, 2005 - IFC announced today that it will bow its largest-ever marketing campaign to support the network's season-long "Summer of IFC." The campaign supports IFC's monthly original programming premieres, and showcases IFC as a premiere cable destination for fresh and innovative original programming. The campaign launches in June to support "Pulp Indies Month" and each month throughout the summer refreshes to tout that month's premiere. The overall goal of the campaign is to retain IFC's core audience of young, male early-adapters, and attract new viewers, ultimately leading them to the August premiere of IFC's first-ever scripted series. The campaign includes heavy on-air and online presence, print, radio, and outdoor ads, and a word-of-mouth marketing tactic.

"The mission of the 'Summer of IFC' campaign is to provide viewers with a festival-like experience on-air with a consistent flow of original series, specials and film strands, in an environment that represents IFC's very distinctive point of view," said Jennifer Caserta, IFC's Senior Vice President of Marketing. "The marketing campaign to support it, is a mixture of traditional and non-traditional methods targeting viewers across a variety of platforms."

This campaign is strategically designed to create an experience for viewers across multiple platforms. On-air, online and in-market events all work together to support the "Summer of IFC". From the creative designs to the film titles to the chosen media outlets, the campaign truly reflects IFC's look and feel as an uncut, uncensored network. The "Summer of IFC" was created with the help of viewer feedback, including research and IFCTV.com blogs.

By enlisting the help of 'brand advocates' IFC will employ its first-ever word-of-mouth marketing campaign this summer. The advocates are fans of the network who will hit the streets in 15 markets, including NY, LA, Miami and Seattle, to intertwine IFC's summer-long programming, and specifically the August scripted series, into their everyday conversations with family, friends and co-workers, in a natural, relaxed setting. This tactic provides a layer of non-traditional advertising to the campaign, and reaches viewers in a unique way.

The "Summer of IFC" features an original programming premiere each month, June-August, and a supporting consumer marketing campaign.

June - Pulp Indies Month

Programming

June is Pulp Month - a kick-ass indie film classic every damn night in June - uncut and uncensored. Pulp Month includes the network premieres of Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Blade Runner, and also includes: Body Parts Maniac, Albino Alligator, At Close Range, Auto Focus, Birthday Girl, Blood Guts Bullets and Octane, Blood Simple, Dancing at the Blue Iguana, Jack's Back, King of New York, Night at the Golden Eagle, Sexy Beast, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, and The Usual Suspects.

To kick off Pulp Indies Month, IFC will premiere the short-form documentary, Reservoir Dogs Revisited, on June 3. Quentin Tarantino - a video store clerk whose passion and determination led him to beat the odds and create an instant cult favorite- forever changed the face of independent film. Reservoir Dogs Revisited features clips from the movie and interviews with celebrity commentators.

On June 10, IFC will premiere a Greg the Bunny pulp-homage, "Fur on the Asphalt: The Greg the Bunny Reunion Special," the first new work from the Greg the Bunny team since their cancellation on FOX. The special provides a 'sneak peek' at what's to come when Greg the Bunny returns to IFC in August.

Marketing campaign

The creative for IFC's Pulp Indies Month features print ads with popular scenes and sayings from Pulp movies, including Reservoir Dogs, Blade Runner and Jackie Brown. The ads feature the tune-in tagline: "IFC Pulp Indies. Every DAMN Night in June." Other ad executions include: outdoor billboards, online, online radio, email blasts, presence on IFCTV.com, a national in-theater promotion, and a watch n' win sweepstakes. IFC will also promote Pulp month via local in-market events and stunts, including its third installment of the popular movie-trivia tour, "Film Fanatic Challenge Tour," which will feature Pulp film trivia, and visit: Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, San Diego and Tampa. IFC will also hit the streets of New York City on June 1 with its "Paint It Pulp" stunt, where the network will airbrush 12 female models representing the characters of the ultimate Pulp movie, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. The models will tour the city in a customized mobile billboard van and a 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible, both featuring the Pulp month creative, and hand out specially designed Pulp guides to educate viewers about Pulp Indies movies, and the strand on IFC.

July - Punk: attitude

Programming Punk: attitude (July 9), IFC's newest feature-length original documentary, is a look at the music, the performers, the attitude, and the distinctive look that was coined "punk rock." The film is directed by Don Letts, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker best known for directing The Clash's music videos in the 1970's and 80's.

Punk: attitude examines how subculture and an anti-establishment aesthetic spread throughout the U.K. and U.S. in the mid 1970's, and the ways in which the movement influences today's mainstream artists and modern zeitgeist. Featuring interviews with Henry Rollins, Tommy Ramone, Jim Jarmusch, Legs McNeil, Chrissie Hynde, Thurston Moore, David Johansen, Jello Biafra, Mary Harron, and many others, Punk: Attitude also looks at how the punk movement incited young people to push the boundaries of fashion, graphics and design, and empowered them to express their individuality in an entirely new and energetic way.

The documentary will premiere as part of God Save IFC weekend, along with the world premiere of IFC's new short feature Jesus of Suburbia, based on the Green Day song, which is the network's official anthem.

Marketing campaign

July's marketing campaign will provide a platform for the world premiere of IFC's short film "Jesus of Suburbia" set to the Green Day song of the same name, which has become IFC's official anthem. IFC will also employ a postcard/button handout promotion in NY and LA; an IFC-branded Gibson Guitar giveaway; on-air and IFCTV.com presence; print, radio and online radio ads; outdoor billboards; and poster snipes at clubs in 12 markets across the U.S., including NY and LA.

Punk: attitude made its world premiere at the Tribeca film festival in April, and has also screened at AFI (May 4) and the Seattle International film festival (May 26).

August - HOPELESs PICTURES, The Festival, Greg the Bunny

Programming

On August 19, IFC premieres its new slate of original scripted series, HOPELESs PICTURES, The Festival and Greg the Bunny, as part of the network's "Film Fanatic Friday's" destination.

HOPELESs PICTURES is an animated half-hour series about a failing Hollywood indie studio. Studio head Mel Wax (Michael McKean) struggles to reign in out-of-control pill-popping Swedish directors and assorted egomaniacal stars and starlets, while coping with a vengeful soon-to-be ex-wife, his idiot nephew/head of production, and a hostile takeover, with the help of his inept psychiatrist (Jonathan Katz).

A verit�-satire, The Festival is an ensemble comedy, told from the perspective of fictional IFC documentarian, Cookie. Cookie's subject is Rufus Marquez, a quixotic young director embarking on his virgin voyage to the prestigious Mountain United Film Festival (MUFF) with the goal of landing a distribution deal for his film, The Unreasonable Truth of Butterflies. The problem is, no one has seen his film - and the more no one sees it, the hotter the buzz becomes. As her bosses close in, Cookie loses her objectivity and Rufus loses his film - literally - as his masterpiece goes missing.

For Greg the Bunny and Warren the Ape, the cancellation of their Fox sitcom is now just a painful memory. More current concerns are overdue rent and funding Warren's drinking habit. So they've returned to where it all began: making film parodies for IFC.

Marketing campaign IFC's "Summer of IFC" marketing campaign leads viewers to the August premiere of the network's new scripted series'. IFC will utilize on-air trailers and IFCTV.com to promote the series to its fans, and will lure in new viewers through a national in-theater promotion; direct mail pieces; outdoor billboards; online sites and viral pass-along; and the fourth launch of IFC's movie-trivia tour, "Film Fanatic Challenge Tour" in select markets. Fans will also have the opportunity to experience the new scripted series via online sneak peeks.

About IFC Television

The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is the first and most widely distributed network dedicated to independent film 24 hours a day, uncut and commercial free.

The Independent Film Channel is a part of IFC Companies, which has established itself as the future of independent film. With the television network, as well as a film distribution and production unit and a VOD service, IFC Companies has created over the course of the past decade a revolutionary end-to-end business model and brand that focuses on developing and nurturing talent and maximizing the value of independent film. IFC Companies uses its unique cross-platform position to broaden the audience of independent film and to provide independent filmmakers with a strong voice. IFC Companies is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC.