NBC AND 20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION LAUNCH LARGE-SCALE MYSPACE.COM PROFILE FOR 'MY NAME IS EARL' WITH UNIQUE SOCIAL MARKETING CO-PROMOTION 'FRIENDS OF EARL'
NBC AND 20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION LAUNCH LARGE-SCALE MYSPACE.COM PROFILE FOR 'MY NAME IS EARL' WITH UNIQUE SOCIAL MARKETING CO-PROMOTION 'FRIENDS OF EARL'
NBC AND 20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION LAUNCH LARGE-SCALE MYSPACE.COM PROFILE FOR 'MY NAME IS EARL' WITH UNIQUE SOCIAL MARKETING CO-PROMOTION 'FRIENDS OF EARL'
Post Your Photo on MySpace.com/MyNameIsEarl and Win a Chance to Have It Appear During Broadcast of the Hit NBC/20th Comedy Series "My Name Is Earl"
MySpace Community Also Offers User-Generated Content, Sneak Previews of
'Earl' Season One DVD and Soundtrack, 'Earl' Content for Cell Phones and
'Earl'-Licensed Merchandise
BURBANK - August 10, 2006 -- In a first-of-its-kind promotion, NBC and 20th Century Fox Television will partner with MySpace.com -- the leading online social community --to offer users an opportunity to submit a photo and have a chance to see their mug featured as a "Friend of Earl" in one of the first three episodes of "My Name Is Earl" (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET). The announcement was made by John Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Universal Television Group, Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Presidents, 20th Century Fox Television, and Shawn Gold, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Content, MySpace.com.
At the end of each episode, the series' production credits normally conclude with the "Amigos de Garcia" ("Friends of Garcia") logo � the executive producer Greg Garcia's production company slate that normally features friends of the show's creator. Winners will now have a chance to be featured as one of the "Amigos." The first "Friend of Earl" winner will appear in the season premiere of "My Name Is Earl" on Thursday, September 21 (8-8:30 p.m. ET) and two other winners in two subsequent episodes.
In addition, the MySpace community will offer user-generated content, sneak previews of "Earl's" first season DVD and soundtrack, "Earl" content for cell phones and other 'Earl'-Licensed merchandise.
"This partnership offers 'Earl' fans in the MySpace community a chance to interact with the show. This promotion will generate excitement and discussion online and of course, for fans of 'My Name Is Earl,' it's a chance to actually be a part of the show and its unique 'Amigos de Garcia' trademark," said Miller.
"'My Name is Earl' is one of the most distinctive comedies on television and its fans are incredibly passionate," remarked 20th Century Fox Television Presidents Gary Newman and Dana Walden. "Creating this destination online for our audience allows them to share their enthusiasm for the show with millions of others, and really build a community of viewers. We think this is a fantastic idea, and NBC and MySpace have been terrific partners in making this a reality."
"I named my production company, Amigos de Garcia (Friends of Garcia), because no one can succeed alone. Every friend's picture I put at the end of the show has, in one way or another, helped me get to where I am today," said Garcia. "That's why I was excited about the idea of putting three 'My Name Is Earl' fans in my logo because without the fans, we're nothing. They're the reason we're here."
"The My Name is Earl/ MySpace campaign serves as the perfect platform for the show to drive tune-in while celebrating its fan base. Our members have a unique opportunity to become an active participant by adding Earl as a friend and becoming part of the show's culture," said MySpace's Shawn Gold.
Beginning August 10 through September 5, 2006, users can log onto MySpace.com and submit their photo on a special "My Name Is Earl" profile page. Each week, five "amigo" photos, selected at random, will be featured on the "Earl" MySpace profile page.
Show creators will choose three sweepstakes "amigo" winners from MySpace "Friends of Earl" entrants based on a random data pull from MySpace. The first of three lucky winners' photos will be featured at the end of the season premiere on Thursday, September 21 (8-8:30 p.m. ET), while the second winner will be seen the next week on Thursday, September 28 (8-8:30 p.m. ET), and the third on Thursday, October 5 (8-8:30 p.m. ET).
To drive awareness for the promotion, NBC will air a 20-second sweepstakes spot each week in an "Earl" episode starting on August 10, and will continue on August 17, 24 and 31. The promo will run after and adjacent to the "Amigos de Garcia" end card and will describe the promotion, plus drive traffic to the myspace.com/mynameisearl profile and sweepstakes. Myspace will promote this on their homepage as well as through newsletters, Myspace homepage "specials" and on a MySpace Comedy homepage.
MySpace and Fox created the on-line components, special Earl profile pages, plus management and fulfillment of the sweepstakes. In addition to showing his buddies, the "Friends of Earl" profile will have a 1:33 "Earl" music video featuring music from the CD, the 20-second sweepstakes promo, and "My Name Is Earl" merchandise.
DVD sales for the first season of "My Name Is Earl" begin on September 19.
About "My Name Is Earl"
Earl (Jason Lee) remains focused on his list in addition to dealing with some big changes in the lives of the people around him. Randy (Ethan Suplee) enters the world of dating. Joy's (Emmy Nominee, Jaime Pressly) life gets a whole lot more complicated. Catalina (Nadine Velazquez) considers a career change. Crab Man (Eddie Steeples) has to deal with his past when the fact that he is in the witness protection program is revealed.
"My Name Is Earl" delivered the #1 adult 18-49 average rating for any first-year scripted series during the 2005-06 television season. After shifting to Thursday nights in January, "Earl" teamed with NBC's "The Office" to rank as television's #1 regularly scheduled comedy hour in originals in adults 18-49 for the balance of the season. "Earl" averaged a 4.9 rating, 12 share and 10.9 million viewers overall for the full 2005-06 season.
Created and written by Greg Garcia ("Yes, Dear), "My Name Is Earl" is executive-produced by Garcia and Marc Buckland ("Medical Investigation," "Ed") and Bobby Bowman ("Yes, Dear"). The series is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television and Amigos de Garcia.
About MySpace.com
MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends and discovering popular culture. By integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities and member forums, MySpace has created a connected community. As the second ranked web domain in terms of page views*, MySpace.com is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind. With more than 100 million member profiles, MySpace is committed to providing the highest quality member experience and will continue to innovate with new features that allow its members to express their creativity and share their lives, both online and off.
*Among the top 2000 domains comScore Media Metrix, July 2006. For more information on comScore Networks, please go to http://www.comscore.com.
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