"i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th

[Billfred]

Potentially relevant: Will.i.am will be on G4's Attack of the Show! tomorrow night at 7:00 to promote the show. A couple of short Championship snippets were shown during the teaser--the only team I could pick out was 1114.

(Fair warning: AOTS is rated TV-14 and occasionally gets a little less-than-family-friendly for the early hour.)

[Peter Matteson]

Here is a link to an interview with will.i.am discussing i.am.first.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_1...-10391715.html

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

Here is a link to an interview with will.i.am discussing i.am.first.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_1...-10391715.html

One thing that's mentioned in this article is that will.i.am paid for the airtime with his own money. I didn't actually realize that until today, when I saw him talking about it on Twitter. I had never really given thought about how we got the airtime, who paid for it, etc. And now that I actually have thought about it...the cost for such a good time on a major channel has to be outrageous, even when scheduled so far in advance. Between the appearance at kickoff, the small shoutout to science and technology at the Super Bowl, the concert at the Championship, and the TV special, t's really freaking awesome that will.i.am has done all of this for FIRST (and the more broad focus of celebrating STEM and making science cool again), and it just blows my mind.

[smistthegreat]

A commercial for i.am.FIRST just aired on Comedy Central. I can't remember all of it but there was Black Eyed Peas music playing in the background of a montage of robot clips with narration. The only robots I remember seeing distinctly were 254 and 1503 but there were more.

[Katie_UPS]

I like this guy a lot more now... I mean, hearing someone other than ourselves say "not everyone is going to be Kobe" is so refreshing. I mean, like Libby says. He really does get it.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by Karibou

One thing that's mentioned in this article is that will.i.am paid for the airtime with his own money. I didn't actually realize that until today, when I saw him talking about it on Twitter. I had never really given thought about how we got the airtime, who paid for it, etc. And now that I actually have thought about it...the cost for such a good time on a major channel has to be outrageous, even when scheduled so far in advance. Between the appearance at kickoff, the small shoutout to science and technology at the Super Bowl, the concert at the Championship, and the TV special, t's really freaking awesome that will.i.am has done all of this for FIRST (and the more broad focus of celebrating STEM and making science cool again), and it just blows my mind.

I'll admit that I was suspicious of the guy at first. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time a celebrety helped a charity for publicity. After thinking it through, I've changed my mind. I'm a big fan of the cause, but even I have my limits. I can't say I'd have gone to near the lengths he has if I were in his shoes. I might be the only one here willing to admit it though. I may not be a fan of his music, but he's alright by me. If there's a chance that he reads any of this...I hope he knows that his actions are greatly appreciated by many. His impact on history might be bigger than any other singer yet. There really is no telling the extent his generosity will change the world. And yet, I can't help but wonder what his next move is. He doesn't seem like he's going to stop soon. What will he do next? I can't wait to see.

Jason

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Libby K

I've been lucky enough to see some of the material from the show (I'm interning at FIRST Marketing, so promoting this is obviously a big part of my job) , and I was fortunate enough to get some time to talk to will.i.am and his mom (who presented Dean's List with my grandmother) at the Championship. HE GETS IT, guys. He really gets it.

August 14th, 7pm on ABC. One more step toward a culture change for us all.

So, does some of this promotion include the - My Robot Is Better Than Your Robot - taunting theme that I'm seeing pop up in Facebook newsfeeds? If so, I'm getting more confused about the message of FIRST and what is being conveyed through promotion and advertising.

Jane

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

So, does some of this promotion include the - My Robot Is Better Than Your Robot - taunting theme that I'm seeing pop up in Facebook newsfeeds? If so, I'm getting more confused about the message of FIRST and what is being conveyed through promotion and advertising.

Jane

Jane,
its just for humor. Loosen up a little.
This TV special is indeed a great first step towards really showcasing FIRST.

Glenn

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by waialua359

its just for humor. Loosen up a little.

Sorry to disappoint, Glenn.

To the people that don't know FIRST, they'll see that as the same old message they've grown up with. No culture change there...

I'd rather go for inspiration. Something like, "We're all in this together." Or - "Competing like crazy - we're all in this together." Or, the real message: "Making the grade, we're all in this together."

But that's just me.

Jane

[Ankit S.]

I've been watching all the interview/video things and I noticed two things:

1. All the "Who are the..." teams are Californian and went to SVR,

2. Justin Bieber says "US FIRST" rather than just "FIRST". The irony.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Well, hopefully I'll be able to have someone record this since I don't own a TV.

[RoboMom]

Just heard a promo for this: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/d...nce-education/

On our local npr station at 6:30 tonight.

[NickE]

This is really fantastic publicity. I'm extremely impressed by the great lengths Will.i.am and his crew went through to produce and publicize this special.

Originally Posted by BeltSanderRocks

All the "Who are the..." teams are Californian and went to SVR

Several members of the film crew were at SVR filming and interviewing teams. I know 254 and 1868 were interviewed and I suspect 1538 was as well.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by waialua359

its just for humor. Loosen up a little.

I'm not a facebook person, so I've not seen any "My Robot Is Better Than Your Robot". I'll admit I've said almost the same thing to Jane in the past when it comes to rumors. (If you've been here for long, you know her opinion of the rumor mill.) In this case though, I have to agree with Jane 100%. Even if its intended to be in a joking manner, it will be really hard to convey this to someone outside of FIRST. If I recall, we've always said work together off the field...compete like crazy on the field. That is one of our biggest selling points that I hope influences the culture today. Let's try to be aware of how an unknowing bystander will see it whenever we put something in the public eye. Facebook is a perfect example. If we continue things like this, it doesn't look good for FIRST. I'm not trying to ruin people's fun, just saying lets keep this sort of thing out of the public eye. At the very least, if you want to brag about your robot do it on CD and not on Facebook. You'll be doing the cause a favor. Just remember, not all publicity is good publicity.

Jason

[JaneYoung]

Jason, it's an actual ad/trailer. The celebrities take turns saying it. It's a part of the current promotion campaign for the Special.

I'm not so sure folks are worried about good publicity or bad publicity at this point. They like -> publicity.

Jane