ANA Marketing Maestros

Don't Forget to Tune In...

By: Irina Skaya

Holidays are all about spending time with loved ones. It's about dysfunction, over-sharing, raised voices, embarrassing photo albums, awkward conversations, and zinger comments. Ah yes, it is also the perfect time to enjoy some friendly programming with family. Tomorrow night, December 12th, the ANA Alliance for Family Entertainment will honor the actors, actresses, producers, programming and digital media behind today’s best family content at the 10th Annual Family Entertainment Awards.

Tyler James Williams, star of Everybody Hates Chris will host the festivities. The show will also feature a stellar line-up of celebrities from the worlds of film, television and music, such as: Miley Cyrus, Blake Lively, Mario Lopez, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennie Garth, Derek and Julianne Hough, Cody Linley, Leona Lewis, Mary Hart, among others.

The awards show is just one of many accomplishments of the Alliance. With your help, our members are working together to improve the media landscape and ensure that age appropriate content is available to multi-generational audiences. With our new name and logo, we are aggressively forming the relationships necessary to carry out our expanded mission.

Again, please help us celebrate the Alliance's accomplishments and recognize the best in family friendly entertainment by tuning in and encouraging your colleagues to watch the 10th Annual Family Entertainment Awards on the CW Network at 9 pm EST on Friday, December 12, 2008. Please forward the following "tune in" Web link to your colleagues - http://www.ana.net/ffpf/content/ftva2008.

Watch the show’s preview below:

Check out last year’s Annual Family Entertainment Awards photos at www.facebook.com/ana.

Also, YouTube has many videos of the Family Entertainment Awards from past years. Just search, "Family Awards." Here is my favorite red carpet video of Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez from the NBC Show, "Chuck."

The Socially Responsible Advertiser

Last week the ANA’s Family Friendly Programming Forum hosted its 4th annual symposium and its 8th annual Family Television Awards. The former is a program attended by the Hollywood television writing community in which the Forum fosters a dialogue with the broadcast network heads, writers and producers about the importance of family television and the need for even more family friendly choices. The 8th Annual Family Television Awards, which will be broadcast December 12 at 9:00 PM on The CW, is the only awards show in which these advertisers – all members of the Family Friendly Programming Forum - pick the best in family television and honor the actors, writers, networks and producers who contribute to family friendly fare.

This is not just altruism – it is good business and not only is it good business but prime time family television reflects the wishes of the consumers who purchase the goods and services of this group of advertisers and the viewers who tune into the broadcast networks. I have had the privilege to work with the Forum for six years. I am struck by the dedication the members demonstrate as they drive for more family friendly prime time television choices, and, despite their demanding day jobs, the amount of time they spend on this important issue. I have seen polls in which advertising is placed low on the totem poll of admirable professions – below even attorneys! Spend some time with this remarkable group of advertisers and the next time you respond to one of those polls, I know you will place advertising high on the list of socially responsible professions.

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