On August 20th, Martini Media is having a pre-screening party for Tommy Wiseau's cult-classic "The Room" at the Hunter Gatherer Lodge on Capitol Hill. Afterwards, the movie will have a midnight screening at the Egyptian theatre with the legendary Tommy Wiseau himself in attendance.

What is "The Room" you ask? And why should you care? "The Room" is the modern day equivalent to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Anyone with a finger anywhere near the pulse of pop culture understands this. This is an honor the Gods of Film bestow once a generation. There can be only one. And the Room is the chosen one indeed.

A simple blog post cannot do justice to the film's epic craptasticness. And when we say craptasticness we mean solid gold 24 karat craptastic. And it must be experienced in a communal setting in order to be fully appreciated on all levels of being. But if you want a sample of what's to come, a simple "The Room" search on YouTube will help aquatint you with the film's cinematic brilliance.

Just like the ancients gather together in ritual fashion before the hunt, fans too will gather at the Martini Media "Oh Hai" party as part of a communal ritual to prepare our minds and bodies for the experience to come. Woe to those who are unprepared for a close up of the Wiseau in the flesh without some kind of preparation. Therefore, one can join us on Facebook and Twitter and answer trivia questions for plenty of free drink tickets that will certainly most help, especially if you're cute and Tommy asks you back to his hotel for a private "audition" for a role in one of his next cult-classics.

Don't be a motherfuckare. See you at the Party!

For years people have been clamoring for YouTube to increase their 10 minute video length maximum. Apparently only YouTube "partners" (usually major media corporations) had been allowed to upload much longer length content. Some would say that's unfair. Of course others would argue most YouTube videos are about 10 minutes too long. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

As of Thursday, July 29th, YouTube has announced its increased its video content duration limit to 15 minutes. There's even a "15 Minutes of Fame" contest where if you tag your new 15 minute video, you may get your video featured on YouTube in a future spotlight.

The great thing about this is a lot of short films made by a lot of indie filmmakers could find there way on YouTube without having to edit them down. 10-15 minutes are the usual short film average running times but with the old 10 minute mark it was always cutting it close. Of course, this also means that awful YouTube films just got more awful, now taking even longer to end. All in all, it's a feature update most YouTube users and their audiences will appreciate.

Maybe the time has finally arrived after all, Mr. Warhol.

This time of year seems to bring out the sporty in everyone. Maybe that's why this month's most infectious viral videos so far seem to be sports themed, minus the jerseys. That's right: a little sun break from winter and all the sudden nakedness is in full bloom. You can thank your lucky sneakers for it, provided they're Reeboks.

First up is the infamous Chuck Lidell naked workout video: Chuck Liddell Naked Workout I doubt anyone was ever really fooled, but does it matter? It's the best of the best, all the infamy of a leaked sex video without the shame and bad night vision shots. Actually there may be some shame involved, but nothing that fat endorsement check from Reebok can't wash away faster than any cold shower ever could. Speaking of a cold shower, if Chuck's girlfriend ran any longer on that treadmill most viewers would be forced to take one themselves.

But if she wasn't enough to sell shoes, Reebok closes the deal with this next ad, featuring talking female body parts: Reebok Easy Tone Shoes Obviously targeted to both sexes, the ad messages well. If you buy a new pair of shoes, your body improves. In fact, parts of your body may even begin talking. Maybe that's not such a good thing, especially considering how caddy a pair of scorned breasts could be. But nonetheless, who doesn't like self-improvement? The only silent body part seemed to be the butt. Maybe THAT is a good thing.

What the ads also say is that Reebok is going all in. They don't seem to mind offending someone/anyone. Sooner or later nudity is bound to make someone uncomfortable, and I don't just mean guys worrying about Chuck's junk getting smashed on squat rack during a awkward forced rep. No, we mean there are bound to be women's groups in an uproar over both ads, angry at the objectification of women. Point taken. Of course, life on the internet is full of opportunities for offending, which is precisely why Reebok chose the internet for these ads. People who get offended tend to voice their opinions in the comments field. Which of course lead to...you guessed it; more hits.

The internet offers a lot of leeway broadcast media doesn't, in terms of production values, product messaging, etc. Unfortunately nothing is sacred, any YouTube comment will tell you that. If the goal is to get attention, Reebok certainly scored. As far as brand presence and image goes, well...Reebok is taking a chance, flying by the seat of their pants. That is...if they're wearing any pants. Only time and the almighty hit counter will tell if it was indeed worth the risks taken.

Well, the big game is always the stage for the advertising industry's blockbuster ads, their Spielbergian moment to capture the collective imagination of the largest viewing audience possible, as well as its disposable income. From a viral and internet marketing perspective, what stands out is broadcast media borrowing heavily from hits on the web. There seemed to be a high preponderance of cute, feral creatures playing violin or watching car ads, something that is always sure on the internet to increase your YouTube hits. And the vizio ad featured a greatest hits collection of the last few year's most popular viral sensations.

What it all adds up to is this; viral marketing doesn't stop where the internet ends. It can find itself at a front row seat on the greatest show on earth, without the sting of the 1 million dollar minimum media buys. Overall, there were a couple of real standouts. The Volkswagen ad with Stevie Wonder was simply brilliant. By referencing the "slugbug" phenomena everyone has participated in at one point in their lives, it formed a very simple, easygoing connection with their audience. Following that up with a great Stevie Wonder scene at the end...well...was a home run (or shall we say...touchdown)?

On the down side, there was a lot of weirdness. And a lot of men in their underwear. Maybe this is the dark side of viral marketing rearing its ugly head. Viral and internet marketing have raised the bar in terms of what really entertains people. Ads can no longer afford not to be entertaining to some degree. Taking risks is essential, and not every risk panned out. The Taco Bell ad with Charles Barkley was chaos. The GoDaddy ads were, well...just cheesy.

All in all, risks do have to be taken, but execution is everything. From a marketing point of view, it all ads up to the fact that viral internet marketing has never been more influential. Usually Superbowl Sunday sets the tone for a company's ad campaign for the year to come. Now, the Big Game finds itself playing no-huddle hurry up offense, trying to beat its young internet brother to the punchline.

Producing video used to be a very labor-intensive technical process, involving both high costs in equipment and personnel. A typical video shoot 10 years ago for a 30 second cable TV commercial would run anywhere from 50-100k, if not more! Equipment rentals, post-production costs, media buys, and actor and writing fees all added up to a costly budget for your video.

Now, with both the costs associated with hardware and equipment coming down and easier access to an audience via the web, video production is much more cost-effective and affordable. HD cameras are cheaper than ever, and video post-production is no longer a budget-eating endeavor with the proliferation of home computer editing software. You can shoot and edit video on a much more reasonable budget, without sacrificing the quality.

Expertise is still needed however, in managing the scripting and shooting process itself. The camera does need to be in focus, and bad writing can't be edited out once your video has been shot. It pays to find the right creative professionals to help you develop your video's vision. But gone are the days when exuberant production costs meant video production was an impossible dream for many. With an online audience of billions waiting to see your video, the only thing separating you from this audience is a creative, cost-effective video broadcasting your business to the world!

They say presentation is everything, and with the attention span most people have these days, you've only got a few moments to hook your audience before they meander off into internet oblivion. And let's face it, who wants to watch a Power Point on the web or, God forbid, actually read something?

What makes video so engaging with your audience is that it is a passive user-experience. It doesn't take much mental effort to click play. And with motion picture being around for close to over a 100 years now, audiences are conditioned to the expectation of video as a form of entertainment.. That's right, entertainment. Who doesn't want to be entertained?

They also say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, imagine how many more thousands of words a moving picture is worth? Imagine your business being able to communicate its mission statement, product, and competitive advantage in one concise and entertaining package? This is the power of video. The power to keep your customer's trigger finger off the mouse and on your website. And that...is good business indeed.