Dancers in the Crowd Bring Back ‘Thriller’

MkGenie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqJBWY2WI9U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6EDAZ3crdY Getting a thrill out of "Thriller," 25 years later By Doreen Carvajal Published: March 9, 2008 PARIS: From their seats on the rumbling London tube, a group of stony-faced passengers rose at random, bursting suddenly into the jerky slide kick of a zombie dance before melting away without a word. The response of flustered British passengers - stiff gazes, nervous silence, and tepid applause - was, naturally, videotaped, posted online and then quickly spun off into zombie dance sequels at the central Copenhagen train station, in London's Chinatown and on the street outside the Sydney Opera House. By this week, the videos together had been viewed more than a million times, a comforting result for the music company Sony BMG, which is using the campaign to promote the 25th anniversary of "Thriller," the Michael Jackson album that immortalized zombie grace in the pop star's famous graveyard video. The album, which contains original music and remixes with Kanye West and Fergie, is faring better in Europe and Asia than in the United States. In France, it has been the top-selling album for the past three weeks. Sony BMG resorted to the campaign in part because it faced some major hurdles to a traditional approach, beginning with the reclusive and tarnished pop star himself and his distaste for publicity and public performances. The solution was an unconventional strategy that has attracted news coverage - and also drawn controversy over when a soft corporate sell should be disclosed. In Britain, Sony BMG executives videotaped professional dancers in every-day settings - like the Tube and a Tesco supermarket - as baffled spectators watched. The results had a gritty street reality that mirrored amateur tributes like the video made in a Filipino prison, where more than a 1,000 orange-suited inmates performed "Thriller" as their daily exercise. That prison classic has been viewed more 11 million times on YouTube, compared with about half that number for Jackson's original version on that site. "It's really guerrilla marketing," said Roger Menz, vice president of international strategic marketing for Sony BMG. "You go in, do your thing and leave as fast as you can. There was never any intention to hand out leaflets and say 'Thriller' is coming out again. It's just bringing 'Thriller' back in the minds of people, but without the hard sell. That wouldn't be cool." Critics remain wary of the hazy line between guerrilla and "schill" marketing, an industry term for when the company behind an event is not disclosed. A number of British news organizations described dancers hijacking the London Tube without mentioning they were professionals who toured with a company called "Thriller Live." Some bloggers, though, quickly published postings noting how the Tube dance video was gaining attention at the same time as the debut of the "Thriller" anniversary edition in February. Emmanuel Vivier, the managing director of Buzz and Communication, a communications agency Luxembourg that specializes in viral marketing, said a new European trade association, VBMA Network has formed with a mission to develop clear ethical standards for full disclosure involving unconventional marketing. In the case of the London tube video, he noted that Sony BMG had made it apparent with its YouTube posts that the video was part of a contest in connection with the release of "Thriller." "The local impact in the street is pretty low because you reach 200 a day and what's important is how they made it viral," he said. Professional dancers were also recruited in Copenhagen to make a surprise appearance in the middle of a busy train terminal, milling among other passengers in bulky, winter coats and knit hats. When the first notes of "Thriller" echoed through the station, the dancers merged toward each other, jerking into zombie mode, right down to Jackson's signature hip grinding moves. When the dance finished, they sauntered away wordlessly, leaving behind a vast tiled floor and flustered passengers who seemed frozen in place. Their dance was featured on national Danish television, and their "impromptu" performance was posted on YouTube. Fritz Wehner, a dance teacher who organized the group of about a dozen dancers, said they wanted to do it as a tribute and contacted Sony BMG, which then supported them. Wehner compared this approach to "public freezes" that have taken place in Trafalgar Square in London and in New York's Grand Central Terminal. "And people are surprised of course and you get a crowd pretty fast." The effort is part of the ongoing quest to reach consumers without a hard sell that might turn them off. Sony BMG executives said their more unconventional strategy had figured in the successful international sales of "Thriller" by engaging younger fans. On Friday, the company introduced a new feature allowing fans to upload pictures of themselves and turn themselves into a 3-D avatar that could replace Michael Jackson in the original Thriller dance video. "It's all about engaging the consumers," said John Ingrassia, the Sony BMG commercial music group president.

ljswg522552

I'm looking forward to his new album. Triller is great,but I myself take BAD better,Dangeroud better more,HIDtory better again...in one word,I'm waiting for his new album,expeting it come no longer.:sbf