If it’s good to be Nucky Thompson in HBO’s
prohibition-era series Boardwalk Empire, then it’s nice to
be paid a compliment by the political and criminal mastermind
of Atlantic City, N.J., as portrayed by Steve Buscemi.
To tout the second season of the Emmy-nominated drama
series on Sept. 25, HBO has rolled out a multifaceted promotional
campaign, all “compliments of Nucky.”
Components include an HBO-sponsored beautification
project at the entrance to Atlantic City. Th e Atlantic City Expressway’s
operator, the South Jersey Transportation Authority,
and the premium network are welcoming visitors
at three rejuvenated areas, showcasing a plush landscape
featuring native Garden State plants and trees.
From midnight on Friday, Sept. 23, until 11:59 p.m. Sunday,
HBO will sponsor all Eastbound/
Pleasantville tolls into Atlantic City from
the Expressway.
Weekends in September will also see
HBO drive a vintage subway car in New
York at a trio of stops on the express 2/3
track. Riders will be transported back in
time, sitting on rattan seats, cooled by
ceiling fans and drop sash windows, enjoying
Empire-inspired period artwork.
Nucky loyalists also will find perks on
HBO’s Boardwalk Empire Facebook page,
where “likes” can be exchanged for special
offers like discounts to the HBO Shop
and Boardwalk Empire T-shirts, posters,
key chains and mugs.
In “Nucky’s Suite,” the most dedicated fans, who must
share the Facebook app with three friends, can check out
exclusive content and win prizes, including weekend VIP
getaway trips to Caesars Las Vegas or Caesars Atlantic City.
Website Living Social, in its first integration with a TV
show, has set up luxury yacht cruises in Los Angeles, New
York and Chicago, offering prohibition-themed, Boardwalk
Empire-branded adventure packages. For $19.21, the social
sharing site’s event group is offering packages with blackjack
lessons, an open bar, a 1920’s inspired jazz band, whisky
tasting and a sneak peek at the series’s second season.
One hundred L.A. slots sold out quickly, Living Social
said, with the Chicago and New York packages to be off ered
soon.
TIME WARNER EXEC
DRESSES IN STYLE
WASHINGTON — Time Warner Cable EVP and chief
government relations officer Gail MacKinnon was
revealed by Washingtonian magazine to be a stylesetter.
She appears in the annual list of best-dressed
D.C. residents (September issue). The former NCTA,
Viacom and CBS exec is wearing a gold chiffon dress
by Elle Tahari ($648); gray pony-hair pumps by Donna
Karan; and her own watch by Chanel and jewelry by
Dominique Cohen and Dyanne Belle, according to the
magazine. Others on the list include The Washington
Post, (and Morning Joe)’s Jonathan Capeheart and celebrity
sommelier (KOMI restaurant) Kat Bangs.
Network Word Play:
CBS’s ‘Exclusive’
Is Really a 3-Way
CBS hasn’t been sharing the love with the cable channels
sharing coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis “Championships.”
The Tiffany Network repeatedly identified itself as the
exclusive home of the men’s and ladies U.S. Open Tennis
Championships when it signed off from its coverage
last week. On the first occasion, CBS announcers gave
no indication that the coverage was continuing on Tennis
Channel in primetime, which it was.
The second time — a different night — as the match
was going over its allotted 7 p.m. end time, CBS advised
viewers to watch the rest of the match on ESPN2,
followed by the announcement that CBS was the exclusive
home of the championships.
If matches also air on ESPN2 and Tennis Channel,
The Wire says it’s something more than a stretch
for CBS to identify itself as the exclusive home
of the championships, at least without using the
“broadcasting” qualifier, since it was all over cable in
primetime and daytime. At least when it was not
pouring rain.
A CBS Sports spokesperson said the net has been
identifying itself as the exclusive home of the championships
for a couple of years now, by which it means
the championship finals for both men and women. The
spokesperson confirmed that CBS has not been crosspromoting
coverage on either cable outlet, save for the
mid-match handoff, which came of necessity.
For the record, a Google search of “U.S Open Tennis
Championships” led to www.usopen.org, which was
providing live scores and draws as the “Official Site of
the 2011 U.S. Open Tennis Championships,” which it
seemed to think referred to the entire tournament, as
does Wikipedia. Just saying.
Vampires or Zombies?
‘Deadliest Warrior’ App
Lets Viewers Choose
The undead are going totally high-tech.
Fans of Spike TV’sDeadliest Warrior will be able to
sink their claws into this week’s live season finale —
featuring a computer-simulated battle royale between
vampires and zombies (natch!) — through a real-time
voting app.
The network is using the audience-participation system
from startup Loyalize to let viewers vote in real-time
polls via PCs, iPhone and Android smartphones, and
tablets.
The voting features will debut during Spike TV’s live
telecast of Deadliest Warrior on Wednesday, Sept. 14,
from 9 to 11:30 p.m. ET.
Network execuitives promised that this is not your
father’s voting gimmick: A Spike TV host will control the
Loyalize Director’s Console
as part of the live
broadcast to create and
push real-time polls to
audience members. In
addition, viewers will
be able to see the poll
results updated in real
time.
“It’s a living, breathing
tool to gauge the
audience sentiment
about what they are
seeing throughout the
show,” Spike Digital Entertainment
senior vice
president Jon Slusser
said.
All The Wire has to
add to that is: Go vampires
