September
18
Fox Walden Stars YouTube's Fred in City of Ember Promo
Fox Walden's marketing department was impressed by the numbers racked up by high-pitched YouTube phenomenon Fred (created by 14-year-old Nebraskan Lucas Cruikshank), whose 18 webisodes have received more than 50 million hits --more than Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers, according to CNN. "Fred's current season has over 1.8 million views already and has been the #1 and #2 Most Viewed, Most Discussed, and Top Favorite videos on YouTube last week," gushed a Fox Walden publicist.
Here's the CNN Fred story:
So Fox Walden's marketers, seeking to hijack Fred's audience of kids under 18, contacted Cruikshank about doing some promotion for Gil Kenan's upcoming family film City of Ember. (Nickelodeon also hired the teen, for a text messaging commercial.) They flew Cruikshank out to LA from his Nebraska hometown--his first flight to the coast, to act in a dream sequence in which he becomes the star of The City of Ember. He shot the episode with Ember's Saoirse Ronan. The promo posted on YouTube September 18:
I can't imagine that this irritating YouTube will help sell the movie, if that was the intention.
Related Fred links on the jump:
CNN – Frenetic Fred (7/11/08) (video).
The Independent (UK) – Kids with Cameras Lead the Way in Giving Web Users Their Daily Fred (7/28/08) .
Times (UK) Online – Microtrends: The Fred Phenomenon (7/25/08)
Sydney Morning Herald – Fast-Talking Fred is the Toast of YouTube (6/30/08).
NewTeeVee.com – Fred speaks to NTV (6/25/08).
Los Angeles Times – Fred’s YouTube Channel is Programming For Kids By Kids (6/24/08).



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