NBC’s ‘Earl’ gets hip with MySpace

Cory Bergman August 10th, 2006

Just about everyone and everything has a profile on MySpace these days (ho hum), but the NBC show My Name is Earl is taking it a step further. People who visit the Earl MySpace page can add Earl to their friends list, and then three of Earl’s friends will be highlighted with a picture in the “Amigos de Garcia” tag at the end of the show’s credits. So far, Earl has 81 friends and counting (and that guy named “Cory” is not me.) Plus, users can submit video of “something you’ve done wrong you’d like to right” for prizes, and there’s lots of expanded content on the site, too. Cool idea. Press release with more details…

PRESS RELEASE — In a first-of-its-kind promotion, NBC and 20th Century Fox Television will partner with MySpace.com — the leading online social community –to offer users an opportunity to submit a photo and have a chance to see their mug featured as a “Friend of Earl” in one of the first three episodes of “My Name Is Earl” (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET). The announcement was made by John Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Universal Television Group, Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Presidents, 20th Century Fox Television, and Shawn Gold, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Content, MySpace.com.

At the end of each episode, the series’ production credits normally conclude with the
“Amigos de Garcia” (”Friends of Garcia”) logo - the executive producer Greg Garcia’s production company slate that normally features friends of the show’s creator. Winners will now have a chance to be featured as one of the “Amigos.” The first “Friend of Earl” winner will appear in the season premiere of “My Name Is Earl” on Thursday, September 21 (8-8:30 p.m. ET) and two other winners in two subsequent episodes.

In addition, the MySpace community will offer user-generated content, sneak previews of “Earl’s” first season DVD and soundtrack, “Earl” content for cell phones and other ‘Earl’-Licensed merchandise.

“This partnership offers ‘Earl’ fans in the MySpace community a chance to interact with the show. This promotion will generate excitement and discussion online and of course, for fans of ‘My Name Is Earl,’ it’s a chance to actually be a part of the show and its unique ‘Amigos de Garcia’ trademark,” said Miller.

“‘My Name is Earl’ is one of the most distinctive comedies on television and its fans are incredibly passionate,” remarked 20th Century Fox Television Presidents Gary Newman and Dana Walden. “Creating this destination online for our audience allows them to share their enthusiasm for the show with millions of others, and really build a community of viewers. We think this is a fantastic idea, and NBC and MySpace have been terrific partners in making this a reality.”

“I named my production company, Amigos de Garcia (Friends of Garcia), because no one can succeed alone. Every friend’s picture I put at the end of the show has, in one way or another, helped me get to where I am today,” said Garcia. “That’s why I was excited about the idea of putting three ‘My Name Is Earl’ fans in my logo because without the fans, we’re nothing. They’re the reason we’re here.”

“The My Name is Earl/ MySpace campaign serves as the perfect platform for the show to drive tune-in while celebrating its fan base. Our members have a unique opportunity to become an active participant by adding Earl as a friend and becoming part of the show’s culture,” said MySpace’s Shawn Gold.

Beginning August 10 through September 5, 2006, users can log onto MySpace.com and submit their photo on a special “My Name Is Earl” profile page. Each week, five “amigo” photos, selected at random, will be featured on the “Earl” MySpace profile page.

Show creators will choose three sweepstakes “amigo” winners from MySpace “Friends of Earl” entrants based on a random data pull from MySpace. The first of three lucky winners’ photos will be featured at the end of the season premiere on Thursday, September 21 (8-8:30 p.m. ET), while the second winner will be seen the next week on Thursday, September 28 (8-8:30 p.m. ET), and the third on Thursday, October 5 (8-8:30 p.m. ET).

To drive awareness for the promotion, NBC will air a 20-second sweepstakes spot each week in an “Earl” episode starting on August 10, and will continue on August 17, 24 and 31. The promo will run after and adjacent to the “Amigos de Garcia” end card and will describe the promotion, plus drive traffic to the myspace.com/mynameisearl profile and sweepstakes. Myspace will promote this on their homepage as well as through newsletters, Myspace homepage “specials” and on a MySpace Comedy homepage.

MySpace and Fox created the on-line components, special Earl profile pages, plus management and fulfillment of the sweepstakes. In addition to showing his buddies, the “Friends of Earl” profile will have a 1:33 “Earl” music video featuring music from the CD, the 20-second sweepstakes promo, and “My Name Is Earl” merchandise.

DVD sales for the first season of “My Name Is Earl” begin on September 19.