So, in circumstances I'd rather not go into, I recently found myself reading the Daily Retard. Having long given up any thoughts on finding actual news, I was most perplexed to discover yet another jibe by Labour at Homecoming 2009.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/04/15/sean-connery-homecoming-advert-cost-more-than-slumdog-millionaire-claim-86908-21279498/
This time Labour tourism spokesman Lewis Macdonald, (you'll recognise him below, he's the one that permanently looks as if he's curling off a skittery three pounder) declared that the Homecoming advert cost more per minute than Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Speaking like a man with shares in Imodium, Mr McDonald claimed the advert cost £233,450 for its 59 seconds, versus Slumdog which cost £28,000 per minute. So far so curious. Thankfully an anonymous Telly insider was able to provide Magnus Gardham, the Retard's political editor, with some shocking FACTS!
He/she said: "The ad could have been made for £2000."
"It would have looked big budget if they'd spent £20,000."
Jings, I thought, 'a sixty second advert of wondrous quality, with an excellent song, jam packed with Scoddish slebs for £2,000, what colour is the sky in this "insiders" world?
Now having been involved in the 'glamorous' world of telly production for a wheen of years, I pondered, at the costs, thankfully the article explained that the rights to the song cost £15,000. For a whole year, pretty darn good. I once enquired about using a 30 second burst of Charles Trenet's 'La Mer' a TV project and was quoted a price of £7,000 for 10 seconds...and that was nearly 20 years ago...However, I digress...I then happened upon BBC Scotland, lapping up this mince like a cake hungry chum slut. Using the rather ambiguous headline,
SNP ad 'cost more than Slumdog'
'Mmm', thought I, an 'SNP ad'. What like a Party Political broadcast? Then like Douglas Fraser's last expenses claim to The Herald, the actual cost rose to a ginormous £559,287
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7999044.stm
Ah but that includes the marketing, promotion and rather importantly the transmission costs in various foreign markets. They then inform us that Mr McDonald was actually wrong that Slumdog in reality cost £10 million pounds rather than the £3million he bandied about like free toilet paper.
This is where my previous experience in production costs come in handy. Low budget films that you have seen in the cinema did not cost the pennies the producers tell you they did, that is part of the marketing mince they want you to buy into.
Reservoir Dogs, Desperado, Do the Right Thing, all done on deferred payments and credit cards. B-O-L-L-O-C-K-S. Each one of these films and Slumdog were party to massive investments in marketing. Slumdog Millionaire was distributed in the US by Fox Searchlight, when they put out a film on US general release in 1000's of screens they spend an average of $30 million dollars on promotion and marketingper fillum...and then when it got the Oscar nod, well double that figure. Every dollar spent getting the Oscar, accrues another 10 dollars on DVD sales and merchandising...
Grrr so for Labour to compare the costs for an advert that is designed to encourage tourists to visit and spend money in Scotland (that includes the parts that are still Labour afflicted) you can surmise that my blood is fairly well close to boiling.
Labour you expect this mince from, but for BBC Scotland to claim Homecoming is an 'SNP ad' and then double the price is just downright insidious. Whichever Labour lackey decided this is the path to impartial reporting needs taken out and given a right good shoeing.
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6 comments:
Well, I hope you enjoyed your chips...
Some I know in the music world get paid more in royalties than the cost of the Homecoming ad when any of their music is used in commercials. Lewis Macdonald is talking mince.
Quite scary stuff and a sure pointer to the kinda shite we'll have to overcome when we get the chance to vote for independence. Twill be the peeps v the 4th estate.
Moan the peeps!
You're eating far too many chips Monty...
There is an issue with the homecomg ad - but i dont think labour can credibly make the point
my view of the ad - crap. but that is an opinion. I think it cheezy and naff, frankly made by visitscotlan and co to keep alex happy - they know it's his fav song. But will that get folks to scotland? And my humble view - rabbie burns would have laughed at this cheese
my opinion. But here is a fact. There is n way on earth that video "cost" £250k. Genuienly - given that all the artists work for zithch and all were shot behing CG Image backgrounds, there is no way it should concievably have cost more that £20k to make. But we the taxpayers were billed £250k, Who apporved this who made the money, got the £200k plus markup? - who got a cut? The SNP should ask becuase I fear if you look closely it will be some nulab sypathising production house lovies, who in turn will soemwhwre down the line make nulab some nice glosier PPBs etc for a fraction of their real cost. Been happening for years - semi common knowledge in the trade
I make this not as an anti SNP point but as advice. And ive seen worse "Scottish Exec " ads made for £250k plus, again worth in cost terms little more than £10-£20, and thats being generous. Monty - do some digging
And the real cost of ths profigacy? - aside for nulab in opposition being able to make the slumdog jibe etc - it means less money to play the add, fewer places its seen, less exposure for "the homecoming" and less money for things like the Invine festval. Indeed look - even Burns n That in Ayr is getting zilch, Wheres our dosh going - London based production houses and visitscotald jollies, a few effite establishment events, politically safe as house etc etc. If I was a Unionist trying to sabotage the year, keep a lid on it, I doubt id have done a better job, The vid - waste half a milllion on that, give all the dosh to your palls, let nu lab blame the nats, and then let the newlab luvies behinbd it all cross subsidise the 2011 campaign to get these nats out,
Take a look monty, Get Mike Russell to take a look, a real close look. Because our cultural policy in general, our great homecoming year? - exact same as nulab would have done , indeed planned in 2007. Except with the "Caledonia" theme tune to fool Eck and his merry band. And it seems to have worked. So far.
I know, well hope, sorting all this out is why mike has been brought in, But Minsiters aside, look at the cast that control scottish cultural agencies - Unionists to a man and women and going nowhere fast, Waiting for the counter revolution. Indeed planning it , state funded by an SNP government.
The Unionists know exactly what thay are doing - we need to too.
Lewis,
How can you take this man seriously? With all his expenses you'd have thought he'd dress the part, but a grey tired weak collared shirt just does not cut it in the public eye.
Instead of stirring up shit he should take a good look at himself and then take some advice and get a decent shirt and tie and refrain from buying cheap shirt and tie packs from BHS.
See my post is as irrelevant as his! Perhaps not.......Labour have siphoned off enough public funds to keep them in adverts for the rest of their time in Government, which hopefully won't be much longer - enshallah!
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