| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | Burger King Resurrects 'Subservient Chicken' Campaign
| | | The fast food giant is bringing back one of its most popular campaigns, featuring an actor in a chicken outfit, for the promotion of BK's new Chicken Big King sandwich. This time the chicken character is missing, and BK initially ran newspaper ads in major cities on Sunday asking consumers to help find him. A 10-minute digital video and social media elements are coming. Agencies Code & Theory, David and Horizon Media worked on the campaign.
Why This Matters: The original campaign in 2004, created by CP&B to promote the TenderCrisp sandwich, drew over 1 billion online views. The campaign now, like then, is aimed at drawing millennial consumers to buy the new sandwich. "The chicken will help us launch the Big King in a big way," says CMO Eric Hirschhorn.
3 Takes: USA Today | Ad Age | MediaPost
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| | #2 | Mondelez Tests Multi-Agency Global Marketing Strategy 'Project Sprout'
| | | The candy and snack maker is working with multiple agencies and accelerated timelines, trying to accomplish short-term success with campaigns in test markets such as Nashville and Austin and cities in countries such as Canada, Brazil and Turkey, Ad Age reports. Its gum brands are the focus of these new campaigns, targeting consumers 18-30. Four creative agencies were selected without a review; MediaVest is handling the media.
Why This Matters: The video campaigns are edgier than traditional gum campaigns and are going live without copy testing. "We are kind of doing real-world research," says Leo Premutico, cofounder and chief creative officer of one of the agencies, Johannes Leonardo. If the small market experiments are successful, says Eliza Esquivel of Mondelez, they can be applied on a broad basis globally.
A Take: Ad Age
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| | #3 | Autism Speaks Partners With Three Major Brands in New TV Campaign
| | | The commercials tell the story of a family with a child who was diagnosed with autism at an early age. Three of the four spots feature different advertisers—Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aid, Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, and AT&T—whose messages tie into the public service nature of the overall commercial, The Wall Street Journal reports. The campaign was created by BBDO New York. The spots will run both on TV and via social media.
Why This Matters: Cause-related marketing is increasingly on the radar of marketers, and Liz Feld, president of Autism Speaks, says working with well-known brands will allow the organization to "reach people in a more significant way."
A Take: WSJ
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#4 CW Will Tie Its Ad Sales More Closely to CBS (B&C)
#5 Ad Agencies on Pace for Another Year of Moderate Revenue Growth (Ad Age)
#6 360i Offers Clients Tool for Better Performance From Search-Driven Marketing (MediaPost)
#7 Canoe Does VOD Dynamic Ad Insertion Deals With Viacom, Angry Birds Toons (MCN)
#8 Crate & Barrel Promotion Gets Pinterest Users Involved (NYT)
#9 OpenSlate Report Offers Data on Brands' YouTube Video Content (Digiday)
#10 Potential Conflicts Remain Unresolved in Proposed Publicis-Omnicom Merger (Ad Age)
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|  | • 131
Number of channels the tech industry has among the top 500 non-entertainment-related brands on YouTube, according to an analysis by OpenSlate. Next is the retail industry with 111 and auto with 60.
– Reported by Digiday
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| | MBPT Spotlight | How Cyma Zarghami Pulled Nickelodeon Out of the Slime—Two-year plan called for learning about a new generation of kids and developing shows faster
By Jon Lafayette
Cyma Zarghami, president of kids' behemoth Nickelodeon, had a problem even Will Smith couldn't solve. On Sept. 12, 2011, Nick's ratings dropped by 20%, literally overnight. "Even in the worst-case scenario, ratings don't drop that fast,'' Zarghami recalled in an interview with B&C. In the previous quarter, ratings had scored an all-time high. "We saw no signs of it coming," Zarghami added. "So our first reaction was, it will pass."
It didn't. Ratings stayed down the entire fourth quarter of '11, a crucial time for clients looking to reach kids before the holidays. That meant that millions of dollars' worth of ad inventory went toward make-goods for those advertisers.
"It was a huge mystery for a while and then yes, it was scary," Zarghami said. "But it was also sort of a huge challenge, and I'm always up for a challenge."
Nick had its high-rated Kids' Choice Awards, hosted in March 2012 by Will Smith, and a bushel of new episodes of programming ready to roll.
"It really wasn't making that much of a difference. We sort of stabilized for a minute and then we said 'OK, let's really figure out what this is,'" she said.
Nickelodeon first looked into changes in the Nielsen sample. But in hindsight, Zarghami said it turns out that several other factors also led to the stunning decline. There was some content fatigue, and while Nickelodeon had some hits, led by the irrepressible SpongeBob SquarePants, it might not have had enough.
What was the plan that led Nick to five straight quarters of ratings growth in kids 2-11? And what gave Zarghami confidence that it would work?
For more, click HERE (sub required)
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| | Fates & Fortunes | • MARK BRACCO was named to the newly created position of executive VP of programming and development for dick clark productions. He will oversee such shows as American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, among others. He will be based in Santa Monica and report to Mike Mahan, president of dick clark productions. Bracco was most recently VP, alternative series and specials at ABC Entertainment.
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| | What They're Watching | BROADCAST RATINGS
'Once Upon a Time,' 'Bob's Burgers' Up
ABC's Once Upon a Time grew 24% from last week and tied Fox's Family Guy as Sunday night's top-rated broadcast show. America's Funniest Home Videos grew 23% from its last original April 13. Resurrection was down 10% and Revenge shed one tenth, both from their last new episodes on April 13. ABC was the night's top network. Fox tied CBS for second place. Bob's Burgers was up 83% from last week, while American Dad gained one tenth from its last original April 13. The Simpsons declined 12% and Family Guy was even, both compared to April 13. Cosmos was even with last week. CBS' 60 Minutes was up 27% from last week. The Amazing Race grew 12% and The Good Wife stayed flat with last week. The Mentalist declined 14% from the prior week. NBC finished fourth. American Dream Builders grew 40% from last week, while Dateline was up 38%. Believe and Crisis each improved a tenth.
For more, click HERE
CABLE RATINGS
NBA Again Leads Thursday Cable
NBA playoffs again led cable on Thursday, with the two top games each earning a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating. Vikings, in third place overall, was the top non-NBA original with a 1.2 rating. That was up 33% from last week.
For more, click HERE
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| Overnight Ratings: Sunday, April 27
| | 7 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | ABC
| AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS
| 1.6
| 6.5
| CBS
| 60 MINUTES
| 1.4
| 10.3
| FOX
| BOB'S BURGERS (7)
AMERICAN DAD (7:30)
| 1.1
1.2
| 2.4
2.5
| NBC
| AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS
| 0.7
| 3.1
| UNIVISION
| NOCHE DE ESTRELLAS: PREMIOS TV Y NOVELAS
| 0.6
| 1.7
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| | 8 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | ABC
| ONCE UPON A TIME
| 2.1
| 6.9
| CBS
| THE AMAZING RACE
| 1.9
| 8.6
| FOX
| THE SIMPSONS (8)
FAMILY GUY (8:30)
| 1.5
2.1
| 3.4
4.0
| NBC
| DATELINE
| 1.1
| 6.1
| UNIVISION
| PREMIOS TV Y NOVELAS
| 0.8
| 2.2
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| | 9 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | ABC
| RESURRECTION
| 1.9
| 7.5
| FOX
| COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY
| 1.4
| 3.6
| CBS
| THE GOOD WIFE
| 1.3
| 9.3
| NBC
| BELIEVE
| 1.2
| 4.9
| UNIVISION
| PREMIOS TV Y NOVELAS
| 0.9
| 2.6
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| | 10 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | CBS
| THE MENTALIST
| 1.2
| 8.7
| ABC
| REVENGE
| 1.2
| 4.9
| NBC
| CRISIS
| 1.0
| 4.0
| UNIVISION
| PREMIOS TV Y NOVELAS
| 0.8
| 2.2
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| | TOMORROW'S BIG RATINGS STORIES TODAY | • 'The Following' Limps to the Finish Line With Less of a Following
The serialized police series starring Kevin Bacon, which was Fox's most-watched drama last season, airs its season two finale on Monday at 9 p.m. with its viewership down 34% and its 18-49 demo rating down 30%. Last season, The Following averaged 8 million viewers and a 2.6 18-49 demo rating, while this year, heading into its finale, its viewer average is about 5.3 million per episode with an 18-49 demo rating of 1.8. Even airing this season's premiere leading out of the Super Bowl didn't spark season-long interest in the series. Fox is describing the season finale as "shocking" as Bacon's character and his sworn enemy must come together to save the woman they love. The upshot: The series premiered in midseason during its first year, and Fox, hoping lightning would strike again, did so again for the second season, though it may have had better luck premiering it in the fall this time around. There is so much competition on broadcast and cable TV right now, and so much audience fragmentation, that keeping a series off the air for almost a full year runs the risk of permanent audience defection.
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| • 'Swamp People' Still Captures a Crowd
History Channel's popular reality series Swamp People is continuing to pull in large viewership during its fifth season on its new night and time period on Mondays at 9 p.m. Since premiering in early February, the series, which follows the "Swampers" as they face off against other hunters and interloper poachers looking to hone in on their alligator hunting business, has averaged 3.5 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 demo rating per episode. That's after premiering to 4 million viewers and a 1.3 demo rating. The upshot: Swamp People did take a viewership hit moving from its Thursday night time period last season, where it averaged 4.5 million viewers. However, its 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo has remained consistent. And even with the viewer defections, Swamp People is one of the most-watched cable series on Monday nights in both viewers and the demo. On cable, 3.5 million viewers per episode is large.
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| • If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother: 'Bates Motel' Winds Down Season Two
The A&E drama series will air its penultimate episode of the season on Monday at 10 p.m. The series, which depicts the life of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho character Norman Bates in a prequel to the movie, has averaged about 2.3 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 demo rating this season, down just a bit from the 2.6 million viewers and 1.2 demo rating it averaged in its first season. Bates Motel, which stars Freddie Highmore as Norman and Vera Farmiga as his mother Norma, premiered this season with 3.1 million viewers and a 1.3 demo rating, but since then has drawn almost the same number of viewers every week. The upshot: Most series based on movies are not so successful on TV, but this series through its first two seasons has gotten solid reviews and drawn lots of buzz. It has also made A&E, known more for its reality series, another place for scripted drama developers to consider when pitching their series.
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