Octagon First Call

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About First Call

Our team helps brands, their agencies and nonprofit organizations by assessing the business value of celebrities, negotiating smart partnerships and activating each program. We provide fast and accurate information and recommend talent based on many factors including their relevance, points of differentiation and cost. The results of our work are seen as television commercials, webisodes, publicity programs, YouTube posts, celebrity seeding, social media » Read More

The Blog

My 20 “morning after” thoughts of the Grammys; celebrity-business style.

  1. Adele – Wins in the music world last night, wins in marketing world today.
  2. The Voice judges continue to capitalize on the TV show’s success. Adam Levine sang with Maroon 5 in the Beach Boys tribute and Blake Shelton sang for Glenn Cambell.
  3. Chris Brown – He may be a great dancer but I still won’t be buying him as a brand ambassador.
  4. Pepsi was an official Grammys sponsor which reminded me of soft drink and singers deals; including 1986 Whitney Houston & Diet Coke. See the spot here.
  5. While fans may not love the Pepsi Elton John commercial, it is great publicity for X Factor season one winner, Melanie Amaro (Super Bowl & Grammys ad).
  6. Jennifer Lopez and Sofía Vergara with two commercials each. #DietPepsi #COVERGIRL #HarmanKardon #Gillette
  7. Tweet from @jwcannon and I agree: I'm not quite sure what I just witnessed, but I'm pretty sure it was a train wreck. #grammys #nickyminaj.
  8. Ellen DeGeneres and Sofia Vergara are a great match in the new COVERGIRL commercial – would love to see what else COVERGIRL can do with these two.
  9. Jennifer Hudson – what a five years. American Idol. Dreamgirls. Grammy win. Personal Family Tragedy. Weight Watchers. Memoir. Whitney Houston tribute.
  10. Chipotle launched “Back to the Start” online in August 2011. They went big last night using it as their first-ever national TV commercial. It features Willie Nelson covering Coldplay’s “The Scientist.”

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February 13, 2012 | Comments: 0

This Week on Talk Shows: February 13-17

Valentines week is upon us and the Talk Shows are in full swing to bring us interviews with the celebrities we love. Check out Ricky Gervais this week out to promote"Life's Too Short" (premiering this Sunday on HBO) and  the third season of "The Ricky Gervais Show" (starting April 20th on HBO). Ricky was recently featured in a Super Bowl ad for Time Warner Cable and won the ratings for the Golden Globes last January. He's sure to be entertaining on The Daily Show (2/14), The View (2/15), and Jimmy Fallon (2/17).
 
Check out the full Talk Show listings after the jump:
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February 12, 2012 | Comments: 0

Celebrities and Corporations: Super Bowl Special February 2012

SUPER MUSIC
There were a slew of familiar songs featured in ad spots during the Super Bowl. Anheuser-Busch tapped Kanye West’s “Runaway” and Avicii’s “Levels” for their first Bud Light Platinum commercials. Avicii was featured in the second spot, seen DJ-ing a party at a fancy loft. Chevy used the hit song “We are Young” by Fun featuring Janelle Monae as a soundtrack to their ad for the Chevy Sonic. The spot also included action sports and reality star Rob Dyrdek and pop-rock band OK GOBudweiser used a mash-up of “She Sells Sancutary” by The Cult and “Good Feeling” by Flo Rida. Samsung channeled a karaoke bar by tapping the 2003 hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness for its celebrity filled spot with action sports star Paul Rodriguez, Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr, NFL all-pro linebacker Brian Urlacher. Not only did LMFAO make an appearance during Madonna’s halftime performance, but their hit single “Sexy and I Know It” was featured in a new M&Ms spot debuting the new “Ms.BrownM&Ms character.

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February 6, 2012 | Comments: 0

This Week on Talk Shows: Feb. 6- Feb. 10

Coming off of a sports-packed weekend, expect to see a great mix of mid-season premier actors (see Debra Messing for NBC's Smash on Today 2/6, and Live with Kelly 2/6) and highly buzzed stars (check out Kristen Bell's sloth obsession on Ellen last week and on Conan 2/6 and Chelsea Lately 2/10) this week on talk shows. In the music world, Dierks Bentley is making the rounds to promote his new album "Home" (catch him on Today 2/7 and David Letterman 2/8).

The full talk show listing is after the jump---

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February 5, 2012 | Comments: 0
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