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[04/22/04 - 12:00 AM]
TBS' New Tagline: 'Very Funny'
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- TBS thinks it's funny, "very funny" in fact.

The network is set to unveil a new tagline on June 4 billing the network as just that: "very funny." The news is just one of several programming announcements the Turner-owned cable channel will make today at its upfront presentation to the advertising community.

Here's a breakdown of all the network's plans, taken from various press releases:

TBS to have New Look, New Logo and New Tag Line starting Friday, June 4

Network Brand Image Campaign to be Supported by Sex and the City Series Launch and Original Reality Fare from Top Producers such as Mike Fleiss, Bruce Nash and Evolution Film & Tape, Inc.

Publicis New York Helms Creative for Network�s Brand Image Advertising Campaign; Cliff Freeman & Partners Oversee Creative for TBS Programming Initiatives in Support of Brand Launch

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc�s, ground-breaking entertainment network, TBS, will have a new look, a new logo and new tag line � �tbs very funny� � starting Friday, June 4. The network�s new branding initiative will be driven by heavy on-air and cross-channel with brand image creative executions developed by Publicis New York. The network brand will be highlighted by programming such as the exclusive June launch of Sex and the City and original reality fare from top producers such as Mike Fleiss, Bruce Nash and Evolution Film & Tape, Inc., augmenting TBS's already strong line-up of top sitcoms, including Seinfeld and Friends, in addition to top theatrical titles.

�The TBS brand will further differentiate the network while targeting desired young adult demographics coveted by advertisers, where the network is already among the most successful in the industry,� said Steve Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer for TBS and Turner Network Television (TNT).

�In a single television universe, focused entertainment brands are best able to deliver core targets and create an increased value for advertisers and operators as a result,� said Mark Lazarus, president of Turner Entertainment Group.

The TBS target and positioning were developed through extensive demographic, psychographic and sales research. The network's core target, the comedy lovers, are young adults, who are well-educated, affluent for their age, dual-gender and love comedic programming of all types. TBS will be the home for comedy lovers and will make viewers laugh out loud and feel good by connecting them to comedy with the stories and characters that they love.

The wide-ranging marketing and programming efforts in support of the TBS branding initiative include:

New Logo, New On-Air Look and Packaging

The branding initiative kicks off June 4 when the network unveils its new on-air look. The TBS On-Air group is developing new packaging, network ID�s and other elements to highlight the many facets of comedy found on the network. The new logo embodies the TBS brand positioning -- fun, relatable, youthful and comedy-based -- helping to further differentiate TBS in the marketplace.

New Brand Image Advertising Debuts New Tagline

As part of the brand initiative for TBS, the network will introduce a new tag line and advertising campaign starting Friday, June 4th. For this, Publicis New York is working with TBS to develop and produce an image campaign for the network that will appear on-air and on cross on the Turner family of networks. Using the new tagline -- �tbs very funny� -- the campaign is designed to establish TBS as a destination for comedy lovers.

According to David Droga, Publicis Worldwide chief creative officer, �We were really handed a wonderful opportunity by TBS. Comedy is such a subjective thing, yet TBS always seems to get it right. So why not take the high ground and position TBS as the definitive authority on humor. I think the Publicis team has done a fantastic job by creating a campaign that has strong immediate appeal and significant staying power.�

The �tbs very funny� campaign leverages the fact that TBS is an authority on comedy and is the network to watch for some of best comedic programming in the world. Each commercial centers on a TBS telephone operator who is answering a kind of comedy �help line.� A wide range of callers, who are unsure if something is funny or not, call in, get their situation evaluated and receive the official decision on funny.

In one of the spots entitled �Buttons�, a factory worker calls a TBS operator to see if what she has just witnessed is funny. It is revealed that the woman�s foreman has mis-buttoned his coveralls, putting the number two button in the number four hole. For a proper ruling, however, the operator asks her a series of in-depth questions. Facts such as the woman�s disdain for the foreman, his rooster-like posture and his exposed belly hair, lead to a TBS rating of �quite funny� and permission to laugh.

In addition to the brand image creative from Publicis New York, Cliff Freeman & Partners is overseeing creative for TBS programming initiatives that link the brand positioning to TBS�s portfolio of top sitcoms in its line-up to support the brand message.

On-Line Support

TBS will also relaunch its network website (www.tbs.tv) with a new look, improved navigation and new content for viewers.

Programming

Sex and the City joins the TBS prime schedule in June, with Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear coming later in the summer. These programs will augment TBS's already powerful slate of contemporary sitcoms including Seinfeld, Friends and Home Improvement. The network welcomes King of Queens to the line-up in 2006.

In addition to the previously announced slate of reality series, TBS is announcing that Mike Fleiss will now executive produce Gilligan�s Island and a new series project from Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. that tests the limits of gender-bending. The TBS slate of reality series are:

GILLIGAN�S ISLAND: Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, High School Reunion) is set to executive-produce the new reality series based on the popular sitcom to shift the concept to the reality genre. It will feature a real-life skipper, first mate, millionaire couple, movie star, Kansas farm girl and professor. And, like the original show, they�ll work together to try to get off the island. Episodes will be modeled after some of the situations that occurred on the original sitcom. The creator of the original Gilligan�s Island sitcom, Sherwood Schwartz, and his son, Lloyd Schwartz, will also serve as executive producers. Currently in pre-production, the series is set to premiere in Fourth Quarter 2004.

OUTBACK JACK: Bruce Nash�s Nash Entertainment (Meet My Folks, For Love or Money, Who Wants to Marry My Dad?) puts 12 pampered, city women to the test as they vie for the affections of a rugged Australian adventurer. They are shocked to discover the potential man of their dreams is not living a life of luxury, but roughing it in one of the world�s most unforgiving terrains. Over the course of eight episodes, the women will have to decide if they can make it in the Outback without their make-up and designer shoes to win the affection of their handsome hero. Currently in production, the series will air this summer.

Untitled Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. Project: In development for TBS from Evolution Film & Tape, Inc., a reality series that pits macho men against each other in a competition to see who can be the best woman. Former truck drivers, football players and construction workers will realize life isn�t so easy in four-inch heels, a wig and lipstick. They�ll learn that lesson during three weeks in a pink-on-pink penthouse as they attempt to convince viewers and a panel of judges that they can live, work and play �like a lady.�

OUT-FOXXED: This hidden-camera show, hosted by Kel Mitchell (Kenan and Kel, All That) and executive-produced by Jamie Foxx, Marcus King (The Jamie Foxx Show) and Stu Schreiberg of Triage Entertainment, gives family members an opportunity to �out-foxx� each other with hidden-camera pranks.

Untitled Candace Bushnell Project: Hosted by Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City) and produced by September Films (Bridezillas, Single in the City), this show takes four single girls on a hunt for love in New York City. The show will follow the girls at work and at play, watching them date and convene regularly to swap dating notes and maybe even dates.

In addition, TBS will remain a destination for movies with upcoming broadcast premieres such as Zoolander, Rat Race, Legally Blonde, Austin Powers in Goldmember and I Spy, in addition to TBS premieres including A Knight�s Tale, What Women Want, Bridget Jones' Diary, The Birdcage, Men in Black, Kate and Leopold, Ace Ventura: When Nature Call and The Truman Show, among dozens of others.

TBS is television�s �very funny� network, serving as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Seinfeld and Friends, with Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear joining the line-up this summer; high-profile original reality series; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases; and action-packed sports from the worlds of Major League Baseball and Pac 10 and Big 12 college football.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.

Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor) Sets Sail as Executive Producer of TBS�s New Reality Series GILLIGAN�S ISLAND

Top reality producer Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, High School Reunion) has signed on to executive produce GILLIGAN�S ISLAND, a new reality series based on the popular sitcom, announced Steve Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of TBS and TNT. GILLIGAN�S ISLAND, produced by Next Entertainment, in association with Telepictures Productions, is set to premiere in fourth quarter 2004.

�Bringing Mike Fleiss in to executive produce GILLIGAN�S ISLAND fits perfectly into our strategy of working with the top talent in television to produce first-rate reality series that resonate with the young, comedy-loving audience we�re targeting,� said Koonin. �We are thrilled to have Mike on board and are eager to see the incredible ideas he brings to the series.�

�I grew up watching the original GILLIGAN�S ISLAND on TBS, so being asked to executive produce this new reality series version is like a dream come true,� said Fleiss. �I look forward to working closely with TBS to bring this unique reality concept to life.�

GILLIGAN�S ISLAND, the reality series, will feature a group of people who embody the essence of the characters they represent. The series will star a real-life skipper, first mate, millionaire couple, movie star, Kansas farm girl and professor, who, as on the original show, will work together to try to get off the island. Episodes will be modeled after some of the situations that occurred in the original series. The creator of the original Gilligan�s Island sitcom, Sherwood Schwartz, and his son, Lloyd Schwartz, will also serve as executive producers.

Warner Bros. International Television Distribution will be selling the international format rights to the series, as they have for Next Entertainment/Telepictures Production�s �The Bachelor.�

Fleiss is a leading producer of reality programming and has made significant impact on the genre. He is the mastermind behind the ultra-popular reality dating series The Bachelor, in which a group of eligible women compete for the affections of one hunky suitor. After that show�s successful first season, Fleiss created The Bachelorette, casting The Bachelor�s first runner-up, Trista Rehn, in the title role. Both shows have gone on to successful runs in subsequent seasons, with The Bachelorette spawning Trista & Ryan�s Wedding, a reality mini-series.

Fleiss� reality success also includes High School Reunion, which follows former high school classmates as they reconvene 10 years later at the ultimate high school reunion. In total, Fleiss has produced more than 100 hours of television, including, Who Wants to Marry A Multi-Millionaire?, Million Dollar Mysteries and Are You Hot?

In 1999, Fleiss formed Next Entertainment, which produces not only reality series for television, but also big-screen entertainment. Last year, Fleiss topped the box office charts by producing a remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He is currently in production producing and directing The Quest.

GILLIGAN�S ISLAND began life as a Saturday-night sitcom in 1964 and immediately became a breakout hit. When the series went into syndication, it continued its success, spawning an animated series and several TV movies.

TBS is television�s �very funny� network, serving as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Seinfeld and Friends, with Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear joining the line-up this summer; high-profile original reality series; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases; and action-packed sports from the worlds of Major League Baseball and Pac 10 and Big 12 college football.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.

SEX AND THE CITY Finds Home on TBS

Ultra-Popular, Award-Winning Relationship Comedy To Air Special Week Featuring 10 Memorable Episodes Beginning June 15

Two Back-To-Back Episodes Air Tuesdays Starting June 22

Summer is going to be funnier than ever on TBS, as the network becomes the home for HBO�s acclaimed series SEX AND THE CITY. TBS is airing 10 memorable episodes over five nights from the series, which will air during prime time Tuesday, June 15-Saturday, June 19. The entire series will air in order beginning June 22, with two back-to-back episodes airing each Tuesday in prime time, then encoring each Wednesday in prime time. TBS is home for SEX AND THE CITY for 15 months before the series begins its syndication run.

With SEX AND THE CITY joining Seinfeld and Friends, as well as Everybody Loves Raymond (also coming to the network this year), TBS offers viewers the best collection of contemporary comedies available on television.

SEX AND THE CITY is a candid, comic view of the enduring friendship among four New York women as they struggle to find love in the unique world of Manhattan�s dating scene. The series stars Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, a New York-based columnist who chronicles the mating habits of single New Yorkers. The series also stars cast regulars Kim Cattrall as PR executive Samantha Jones, who�s seen and done it all; Kristin Davis as Charlotte York, still trying to hold on to the idea of happily ever after; and Cynthia Nixon as corporate lawyer Miranda Hobbes, a pragmatist trying to balance the idea of love with the realities of life.

SEX AND THE CITY is the first cable program ever to take top honors in the comedy category at the Emmys. Among the show�s many other awards are a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the ensemble cast. In addition, Parker has won three Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance as Carrie, while Cattrall earned a Golden Globe for her performance as Samantha.

Home Box Office, Inc., is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., providing two 24-hour premium television services, HBO and Cinemax. Together, both networks reach approximately 39 million subscribers in the United States via cable and satellite delivery. Home Box Office's international joint ventures bring HBO branded services to more than 50 countries around the globe.

TBS is television�s �very funny� network, serving as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Seinfeld and Friends, with Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear joining the line-up this summer; high-profile original reality series; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases; and action-packed sports from the worlds of Major League Baseball and Pac 10 and Big 12 college football.

TBS Heads Down Under for Wild New Reality Comedy Series OUTBACK JACK, Premiering in June

Pampered City Women Give Up Heels and Handbags To Compete for Rugged Hero in Series from Nash Entertainment (Meet My Folks)

Twelve beautiful, high maintenance women are in for the shock of their lives when they find out they must brave the brutally rugged Australian wilderness in order to win the man of their dreams in TBS�s wild new reality comedy series OUTBACK JACK, from Bruce Nash�s Nash Entertainment (Meet My Folks, For Love or Money, Who Wants To Marry My Dad?). The series, hosted by JD Roberto (Shop Til You Drop, Shark Chasers), is set to premiere Tuesdays in primetime, starting June 22.

As OUTBACK JACK opens, 12 beautiful, sophisticated and pampered city women board a plane that will take them to meet the man of their dreams. Little do they realize, however, that the only way to reach him is by taking a leap of faith, parachuting into the middle of Australia�s expansive Outback wilderness. Their hopes are dashed further when they land and see he�s not living a life of luxury, but roughing it in one of the world�s most unforgiving terrains. Over the course of eight episodes, the women will have to decide if they can give up their make-up, designer shoes and all the comforts of home in order to win the affection of their handsome hero.

�OUTBACK JACK is a hilarious and engaging reality series that will really appeal to our targeted young-adult audience and complement our other high-profile programming, including the recently acquired blockbuster comedy Sex and the City,� said Steve Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of TBS and TNT. �And we�re thrilled to have Bruce Nash on board for this project, lending his incredible talent at taking popular reality formulas to exciting new levels.�

�We are thrilled to be working with TBS as we explore new directions to take reality programming,� said Nash. �We have been casting for this series since early this year to find the perfect hero of the Outback, as well as 12 very pampered women to vie for his affections. The fish-out-of-water comedy elements combined with romance and adventure are going to make for plenty of unexpected twists and turns. It is going to be quite a ride for both the women competing and the viewers watching.�

At only 28 years of age, OUTBACK JACK leading man Vadim Dale has already accomplished an amazing collection of feats. The East Melbourne native has earned numerous titles and medals in swimming, judo, karate, grappling, football and horseback riding. An accomplished mountain climber, he climbed 7,000 meters to the Mount Thurong peak. In addition, he is a tri-athlete, an avid trail bike racer, white water rafter and skydiver.

Nash is one of the most creative and prolific producers in television. His company, Nash Entertainment, is responsible for some of the top-rated reality programs on television and is expanding into scripted series, with such recently announced projects as If the South Won the Civil War and The Real Thing, as well as several feature film projects in development.

TBS is television�s �very funny� network, serving as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Seinfeld and Friends, with Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear joining the line-up this summer; high-profile original reality series; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases; and action-packed sports from the worlds of Major League Baseball and Pac 10 and Big 12 college football.





  [april 2004]  
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· ARE YOU HOT: THE SEARCH FOR AMERICA'S SEXIEST PEOPLE (ABC)
· BACHELOR, THE (ABC)
· BACHELORETTE, THE (ABC)
· EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (CBS)
· FOR LOVE OR MONEY (NBC)
· FRIENDS (NBC)
· HE'S A LADY (TBS)
· HIGH SCHOOL REUNION (TV LAND)
· IF THE SOUTH WON THE CIVIL WAR (USA)
· JAMIE FOXX SHOW, THE (WB)
· KING OF QUEENS, THE (CBS)
· MEET MY FOLKS (NBC)
· MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERIES (FOX)
· OUTBACK JACK (TBS)
· OUT-FOXXED (TBS)
· REAL GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, THE (TBS)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· UNTITLED CANDACE BUSHNELL PROJECT (TBS)
· WHO WANTS TO MARRY MY DAD? (NBC)
· YES, DEAR (CBS)





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