Pants On The Ground, Genius and Stupidity
January 15th, 2010 | 
Author: I want an internet discussion here. One, I admit I am a fan of American Idol.
The whole brand and what they created in the music business was marketing genius.
But when it comes to the internet, they are just sometimes plain stupid. Drop the ball, just like the rest of the entertainment industry, just don’t get it. Read music lessons by Seth Godin sometimes as well.
This past Wednesday night was the Atlanta auditions, so I was there as noble fan more than ever, I am from Atlanta, and I saw a fellow Atlantan, General Larry Platt who since the auditions was totally obscure become one of the top buzzes on the internet overnight. Wow the power of a hit TV show, you can create a buzz with the right content overnight.
Here’s the stupidity with this buzz that they missed out on.
Stupid #1 – Domain name, no website
1. The geniuses bought the domain name in Nov. ( They knew it would be a buzz, they own a hit TV show)
http://www.PantsOnTheGround.com is just a Go Daddy temp page, Go Daddy enjoy your Adsense money unless a Fox rep sees this post.
I would have had a squeeze page, the video pre-posted, ads for show, something!
2. Stupid #2 – Buy the downloads at Itunes.
Gee how hard is it to sell the downloads yourself and keep the customers, name, address, credit card info, upsell them other stuff. They had this knowledge since Nov. to make stuff.
I guess if network TV executives were geniuses, they would have kept Jay at 11:30 put a show at 10Pm with the ratings of American Idol. But as John Belushi used to say, But noooooooooo!
Pants on the ground is funny if haven’t seen it! Almost a million views in 1 day. The power of TV
and if they don’t start getting the internet, which I have been saying is just TV all along, they won’t be around, but the internet will!
Your thoughts, love a discussion here.
Mike
For free help Fox – The Jim and Mike Show
For paid help, http://www.MikeStewartCoaching.com
Posted in Audio Product Creation
Mike,
I agree that there was a major opportunity lost here. Naturally we see this incident and laugh but never think about the opportunity it offers.
Sure, this will be a short lived memory but when the iron is HOT you have got to strike!
I am learning to watch the news and television shows with my marketer’s cap on. This isn’t the first and it won’t be the last opportunity that presents itself like “Pants on the Ground”.
Now that was good! Great viral material for sure.
Domain but no website – unbelievable. Almost 800,000 hits on the video at the time I post this. Lost opportunity – the kind of opportunity we all search to create.
Dang it all, man, create a full MP3 and sell it on that domain. Single page will do!
Thanks, Mike, missed that show.
Jim
I totally enjoyed this guy’s rendition of Pants On The Ground, his rapping and ability to do splits. What blew me away was Simon’s comment about the age limit for AI being 28. Talent has no age limit. It also was said I think by Simon that he was “afraid this song was going to be a great hit.” Simon knows talent when he sees it, even though the guy was turned down. I would think anyone who wants free advertising and public exposure would at least have a web site if not a blog to assist with their image and identity.
After all, we love to know the inside scoop on other people’s lives.
Mike – Super insightful post here. This is the same mechanism that I (try to) use as much as possible. And I certainly teach it to my customers and clients who are mostly authors, future authors and speakers.
Thing is you lay it out in such a brilliant case study here. Thanks much.
Your fan and friend,
Daniel Hall
http://www.realfastbook.com/
http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/
I simply see it as 15 seconds of fame again. As was a couple of year ago with the guy from.. hmmm the Phillipines, who had the pimp-like outfit. Had a great catchy tune, better than pants on the ground, but I’ve since forgotten it.
Comparatively, as with Avatar, where it’s made beaucoups of money that it really doesn’t need the actors pitching it, AI wouldn’t accomplish much by trying to get much off Platt’s quick fame. Now, goes without saying, Platt is riding high and good for him! Here’s hoping HE milks it for all it’s worth.
It’s amazing to me with all the people you see Tweeting, Blogging, Facebooking, and so much of it on their phones – that companies, broadcasters, radio stations, etc. just don’t seem to “GET IT” yet. The sad thing is that I’m afraid that many will never get it. I’ve been reading “Socialnomics” by Erik Qualman and I see many of the “missed opportunities” that businesses are letting just slip through their hands everyday. I feel like a lone EMT on a battlefield just trying to run around and help businesses survive and thrive in this changing market. WAKE UP businesses – the entire business climate is changing and business owners have got to change with it. Those that embrace the change will survive. Those that do not will probably be left wondering “What happened to my business?” Change is inevitable and must be embraced or it will run over you. As progressive as we’d like to believe that Fox is, they have definitely missed a wonderful opportunity to capitalize on something that has been all the buzz on radio, TV, and internet since Wednesday evening.
Mike,
You hit this right on the head.
To contrast your post, I’m not a fan of American Idol. I’ll seldom watch it (especially when they get to the Hollywood shows and start doing the serious talent portions). However, I’ve watch some of these early shows of the season since they are more entertaining from the raw passion of trying to reach your dreams and some of the odd antics. I happened to be flipping by and noticed it was the Atlanta auditions (I’m also from Atlanta) so I watched.
Well, Pants On The Ground sure falls into the “odd antics” category. General Larry Platt would have not even been allowed to audition since he’s well beyond the age limit. Obviously the producers new it was going to generate buzz. What a brilliant move. So point #1 – They’re good buzz and excitement generators.
Point #2 – Generating excitement and then leveraging that excitement as a marketer are two different things. They failed to grab the buzz when it happened.
Lesson Learned: Just as you have taught us, it is easy to make videos and audios, but we need the complete package of posting to the web, a website to collect names, etc. This has been a perfect example that your training is right on target.
Now as for the comments about TV in general blowing it without embracing the internet:
The internet allows much more customized content and entertainment that can be adjusted and selected by the viewer. All good things.
However, I think there will always be a group of people that want to sit in front of a TV and only have to think about the channel button and the volume button. As a marketer, if I have a product targeted on that type of audience, then TV still makes sense.
Otherwise, internet is the best way to reach the right people, with the right message, “right when they want it”.
Thanks for all you do!
Gary
We are AI fans once more, after about three seasons of being burned out on the show, we came back this year, and LOVED the General. Agree with your comments, but TV executives are no different than any other brand of suit, empty, avoid change, like the record labels, fight back with more of the same (just switch the lineup around.)
Same with not getting it re the web sales.
I also suggest YOU get more active on Facebook, Internet Guy, 550 mil members as of yesterday. Talk about a networking tool!
Best to you, old pal!
Oh my gosh, I am laughing at the enormous stupidity of it all…laughing sadly, but still laughing.
I wonder if they will EVER get it…?
I read an article the other day about the stupidity of NBC with the late night schedule. The most interesting point made in the article is that it all did not matter that much because most people are not watching…they are on the net!
Thanks for including the video, that was funny, gutsy, and on target!
Thanks buddy
Jeff
Mike,
I thought that was hilarious… and you’re right!
Even if Fox wouldn’t let him share a domain (they might, it’s part of a mindset we all need to adopt!
Jim
YOU ARE RIGHT, Mike! Don’t you just love those words. lol
How many times have I had that little voice tell me what to do, and I ignored it? Oh too many.
But, the big guys!! You’d think they would listen… but then, maybe, they think they are bullet proof!
Hi Mike
You’ve convinced us that TV execs have their pants on the ground.
I suggest you do a teleseminar to show this rapper how to take control of his own pants and monetize his song on the internet. I’ll tune in!
Hadley Finch
http://tribeofblondes.com
https://tribeofsingles.com
Hi mike,
I saw your How to make an audio CD webinar. Great! I got your bronze package ages ago. Wonderful! And I recently upgraded the sony sound forge to 9.0. Amazing! I have my script. Excellent! But I still can not get started. Really?! So now what can I do? I need a boot camp. I need a good ole boot in the good ole camp to get me moving. Do you have something that over comes gravity or inertia?
David
Dear mike,
Pants on the ground …. will wonders never cease? That is why man keeps me so interested in life… we are so innovative and yet so very much clueless… This just proves that the internet is really in its infancy from all aspects yet mature in its ability to influence governments: ie. Look at what Google is doing to the government of China!!!
Sunita
I’m honored to be the first to comment. That’s what I love about the internet. It is the great equalizer and traditional media still doesn’t understand the power available at their fingertips. You are absolutely right. Keep the tips coming Mike. You are the best.
Mike,
You may be giving the Idol folks too much credit, period. Seems to me all they did was update an old standard, the “amateur hour” type of show. That’s pure show biz – hoopla and promotion and publicity. All push. And all middle-man – with the same mindset as the music industry.
It’s hardly surprising such folks have difficulty taking advantage of internet marketing. It’s like they’re being asked to drive in high-speed, two-way traffic when all they’ve ever done is creep along behind others on one-way streets.
Mike – great post. I can only guess that Idol generates such huge revenues that they regard the Pants on the Ground phenomenon as small beer, but they bought the domain name to make sure no one else could cash in. Or maybe it was just stupidity. Whatever the reason, it provides us with a great lesson – always follow through when you have a great idea!
Mike…I too was amazed that the powers that be behind American Idol dropped the ball on this Pants On the Ground deal. They obviously knew they had a HOT property or they would never have shot the extra video clips of other contestants singing the song…or allowed a man who was obviously way over the maximum age limit for AI to audition before the cameras. I fully expected to find it for sale on itunes, but no…it was a freebie on youtube instead. You are right…the powers that be at American Idol just don’t get it when it comes to the internet. But, hey, if they did they would start accepting internet voting wouldn’t they?
You are absolutely right about the stupidity part. But TV people only know TV.
Look at Anthony Robbins. He didn’t know the internet either. He knew TV, probably knew mail order marketing, but not Internet Marketing.
Apparently he wasn’t familiar with what a squeeze page was, nor all that familiar with back end upsells (at least not using it to its full advantage).
One of my friends has a young daughter trying to break into the music business. They have some popular musician backers. Happened to check out who owns the domain name. Guess who? Me, now.
Offer your services to American Idol. They could use someone like you.
Debbie
Thanks so much Debbie, contact and use me. hehehe. Who knows.. Mike
I watched that too here in Atlanta Wednesday night. Our whole family was rolling on the floor.
As marketers we immediately see the money in this type of event but sadly, corporate America is still clueless to the potential.
I am sure the execs are sitting in meetings on a regular basis wondering how and why the ratings aren’t what they used to be. Geez, wonder why! The internet rocks…
Mike I did a Who Is search on the domain it IS owned by one of the senior producers. So they new in advance that it was worthy of buying the domain I often wonder if things like that on AI are produced skits to create buzz.
And someone in their marketing department left their pants on the ground in doing their job LOL. Good message and good post Thanks Mike!
Real time,Pants on the ground would be my domain.Real time, live feed
without tragedy.would be the apprentice domain.I would just bet the network guys as busy as they are did not buy this but someone on the floor did.Does this suggest that someone on the floor will be smart enough to capitalize on the next thing,without being indicted.Maybe, One thing is certain:real time will bring real rebuilding in Haiti.Text me,no…email me at saniglowcfm@gmail.com if you also have thoughts on Timing.
By the way… did you catch the parody by Jimmy Fallon posing as Neil Young singing “Pants on the Ground’. It was perfect. Check nbc.com for that one.
Not everyone has an abundance mentality… and definitely not everyone has the marketing smarts to take advantage of the 5-minutes fame they got…
You know E.G., Larry Platt is just sweet old guy who was happy to get on TV and loves the attention. My point of this blog post is I have been struggling to wake an industry I came from and still love. The creative people in music, tv and film. Not the corporate weenies who what they can’t control they ignore. CD sales are gone, TV ad revenues and ratings are the worst in history, and instead of embracing what is new, they try to kill or igrnore.
So I am having fun trying to make change in an industry I love and in trouble.
I am making head way with a few who listen and you will see more at my blog this year.
Just a few links to show you:
http://www.RayStevens.com
http://www.OneillsHuntingandFishingTips.com are 2 celebs in 2 niches listening to me today. We will see how it goes.
As for the “Pants”. he was a pawn in Fox’s reality show, they are the idiots. If they don’t start asking questions from those
who know, they could end up with NBC’s problems.
Mike,
Being new to the whole internet marketing concept … found this post very, very insightful … really made a lot of sense thinking about the opportunity it was. Thanks for the insight!
Joe
I’m going to disagree with everybody. You can’t commercialize everything that pops into pop culture. “Where’s the beef!” did not sell any burgers. The Taco bell dog sold dogs. No increase in taco’s sold. I am not even sure that Ronald McDonald increases sales.
Looking like a fool? Are we going to drop our pants or will we call people fools who dress ghetto? I’m not in the mood for either. I prefer to ignore fools. There’s no money in it. Clever marketing people also came up with nothing. I agree with them. There was no opportunity there.
Chas,
I posted your opinion, cause you bring up a point, but you missed my point. You don’t waste buzz or traffic.
This is not about Larry Platt. This is about when there is buzz, traffic, you build lists, relationships and then you make money.
There was a huge missed opportunity and I can prove it, cause we are doing it with http://www.raystevens.com
6 minutes on Fox News friday night turned into 5000 new email subscribers, and made money from the things for sale.
around the optin box. The follow up will make money later. “Where’s the beef?” was before the internet. If the network execs were so internet savy, why do they for the last nine years of American Idol send the customer, the credit card info, the email address to Steve Jobs and Itunes. I get Steve’s email marketing, not AI. I love the discussion.
Mike
It’s pretty funny that they didn’t take advantage of the exposure, especially since they registered the domain name.
I also see some weird things that small businesses are doing on the web. I’m not even going to get into the build a mailing list stuff, but very simple stuff.
For instance, I can’t count how many times I’ve ended up on a companies website and although they have their own domain name, the email address they have listed for contacting them is a bellsouth.net or earthlink.net or some other ISP email address instead of using their domain name. What’s the logic in this?
I see it quite often on business cards too where the email address for some company is an ISP or free email address. That just screams amateur to me and I’m much less likely to do business with them.
Thank you for this valuable post. It changed my approach
Mike, you have cut right to the heart of what’s wrong with network TV today in general.
The execs just don’t “get it”, period!
It’s my opinion that by the time one gets to the level of executive, there’s more politics than common sense involved in the decision making.
It appears to me that TV execs are like politicians in the sense that what the people actually want has little to do with how things are done.
And I agree – the missed opportunity to cash in on the buzz was nothing short of utter stupidity!
Any newbie marketer coming on the scene today is taught that you capture the name and email address above all things, so why can’t college educated folks who are supposed to be real hot shots get a clue?
Awesome insight! Thanks Michael