A year ago, a Quinnipiac University survey found that half of New Jersey residents find MTV's series Jersey Shore "revolting." A "Jersey Doesn't Stink" campaign duly launched in an attempt to clean up the state's image. Ah, New Jersey.

Now, the state's Governor Chris Christie has embarked on a campaign to reclaim the Jersey Shore from the seedy image fostered by Jersey Shore ... which was just named the "cable phenom" of the year by Bloomberg Businessweek, by the way.

Christie's campaign to reclaim and restore the image of New Jersey's shore towns includes a visit today to Atlantic City — battling its own image downgrade at the hands of another cable network (HBO) and TV series (Empire Boardwalk) peopled by less than upright citizens. 

Blame/credit an earlier HBO series, The Sopranos, for ... ah, fuhgeddaboudit!

Mad Men fans let out a collective groan last week when news hit that an extension of the show was at risk because AMC, its cable network home, was fighting with the show's creator, Matthew Weiner, over terms.

One of those terms, interestingly, was that AMC wanted Weiner and Lionsgate (the production company) to allow more commercial time and more product placement in order to accommodate salary demands — and, naturally, make more money from the franchise.Continue reading...

We recently looked at how New Jersey might try to rebrand Atlantic City as a world-class gambling destination rivaling Vegas. Turns out, New Jersey might have a bigger rebranding challenge — New Jersey.

A new Quinnipiac University survey found that half of New Jersey residents find MTV's show Jersey Shore "revolting." Those polled believe the show is damaging to the state's image. Also, they blame New York. Yet as every branding professional knows, define yourself or somebody else will define you.Continue reading...

HBO is willing to go pretty much anywhere, including to the recent Comic-Con in San Diego, but there's one place you won't find its edgy programming or characters: Netflix.

The Time Warner-owned premium programmer is roadblocking Netflix’s lust for making movies available online ahead of traditional pay TV windows. Last week's mega-deal between Netflix and the EPIX network deal gives Netflix streaming rights to MGM, Lionsgate and Paramount films 90 days after initial DVD release. But Time Warner’s pay channel won’t play.

In addition to HBO's programming, Time Warner is also holding back Internet rights to titles from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures.Continue reading...

Summer is a time for ice cream, and Baskin-Robbins is wasting no time scooping the market.

The world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops is launching a multi-million dollar ad campaign in the U.S. featuring animated characters. The first ad, above, promotes its June flavor of the month, Baseball Nut, and introduces the character Humphrey Hound. Four additional animated commercials will run through the end of the year.

Baskin-Robbins keeps a high profile. It has managed to score product placements in movies including Sex and the City and Shrek 2, as well as television shows like The Sopranos and The O.C.

Across the pond, the ice cream maker is going head-to-head in the U.K. with such premium ice creams as Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs by bringing four premium ice cream flavors to Morrisons, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains.Continue reading...

Liberty Media Corporation, owner of Starz, is determined to move the dial up on the No. 3 pay cable network, and transform its image from a recycler of Hollywood movies to a viable category competitor.

Starz has always played third fiddle to HBO and Showtime, and has a comparatively modest subscription audience of 17 million homes. That said, the recently premiered original melodrama Spartacus, is their first big hit – 1.1 million viewers tuned in to see violence and sex that might make Tarantino flinch.

Centered on the life of a heroic gladiator, originally portrayed by Kirk Douglas in the 1960’s, this Spartacus combines soft-core porn with modern speak: "My boot will meet your ass in the afterlife!"

The show's gladiator wannabees are made to drop their loincloths for a prospective socialite buyer to check the goods. The series is also laden with profanity that producers say is authentic to the 1st century BC.Continue reading...

In a “more is more” strategy designed to keep customers from cutting their cable service, Comcast Corp. announced this week that subscribers can now watch several cable TV shows and movies over the Internet – a defensive move into the online video industry.

As the first cable TV operator to offer cable content online at no additional charge, Comcast’s new service, Fancast Xfinity TV, is initially offered only to those who subscribe to both of the company’s TV and Internet services. Customers must also download a viewing program, available through Fancast.com, before watching any shows.

“It’s our goal to allow a customer who buys a package of content from Comcast to access that content on any screen at any time,” said Amy Banse, president of Comcast’s interactive-media unit, during a demonstration of the service to reporters. “We think this is yet another step in that direction."Continue reading...