MA in the movies?
 

I just saw "Bridget Jones 2" ( it wasn't my idea) For a second
I saw a screensaver come on in the movie. I could swear
it was MA. It was so fast and unexpected that I can't be 100% sure.
How did Jim muscle his way into the movies?

SUB
:TU:

If by "muscle my way in", you mean having Hollywood walk all over me and use it without my permission, then yes, that's exactly what happened. Just another instance where they just went ahead and used it without asking. Just like "Smallville", "Law and Order", and several other productions. I would have said OK, but it's nice if they would at least ask.

("Extreme Home Makeover" and "Big Brother" were two shows that did ask. )

By muscle I meant it as a joke. You should
be pleased that it was in the movie. The people
who used it were obviously impressed by it. You don't sound pleased.

SUB

It doesn't hurt to have the Aquarium show up in movies and TV shows, but it doesn't help, either. Sales have never been impacted by these things unless there's a clear message regarding what you are looking at and where to get it. The "TechTV" spot a couple of years ago had our web address on the screen and sales quadrupled for a couple of days.

I mean really, what does it cost them to say "Aquarium courtesy of SereneScreen.com" ?

They seem to have space to thank their dog's personal therapists in the end credits of these movies, why not the Aquarium?

You're right. Maybe if they got a call from your lawyer they just might start to ask and give credit where credit is due.

Unfortunately Jim doesn't know that the Aquarium has been included in something until it has already aired.

Perhaps you can claim anyway.

The problem with lawsuits is that you have to prove damages. The Aquarium sales or reputation are not actually damaged by these infringements, so going to court is a waste of time and money.

IANAL, but I don't think Coke or Nike would be quite so friendly about it... Why is showing shoes in a closet or a pop can sitting on a counter different? Why do those items have to be blurred out?

IANAL either, but from my understanding of photography right, etc, things would be blurred out for a couple of reasons.

The first situation is where you don't want to give free advertising away. Why show Nike shoes or someone sipping a Coke if they didn't pay you? I've seen that sort of thing in music videos.

The second possibility is that it shows the product in unflattering ways. It's difficult to provide examples given the G rating of this forum.

Glenn

The reason for which MA is shown everywhere is because it is damn GOOD!. :) :)
If it's not really usefull going to court, at least a phone-call saying "hey guys, my product is being shown on your TV show/film, and i'm the creator". :)

By the way - anyone who has seen the Aquarium in something which hasn't been mentioned here before, now is the time to speak up! Prolific is composing an "...as seen on..." page for SereneScreen.com which lists all the shows which have featured MA.

What are they listing so far Jim?

That is an excellent idea. I just saw, in a Mac magazine, a short blurb about the goldfish aquarium. Right next to it, on the same page was an ad for some computer gadget or something (I'd have to call mom to find out what) but there was an image from SSA in the ad. It was doctored to look like a different screensaver, but it was still very obviously stolen. I thought it ironic that the ad was on the same page as the GA article.

Thanks, Liath - we'll look that one up.

Jav - I believe that so far they have Smallville, Law and Order, Extreme Home Makeover, Big Brother, TechTV, Bridgette Jones 2, and some German CIA movie.

The latest issue of the Swedish edition of Mac World had a note and a link (along with a pic of Monstro) on GA. Perhaps I should scan it (along with a translating caption)?

/Tiny Switcher

Prolific might do the same thing on the GA site, but right now we're just looking for instances where MA has been seen in the media.

Ok. How abou DL's screenshot from the Far Cry game? That one has to count as media, right?

Well...that's borderline. Movies, TV, magazines, newspapers.