Your dream 2011 Muppet Promotions

[beakerboy12]

For me, my 2011 wishes would be Muppet Show Season 4 (obviously, now that's 12 people), uncut Muppet Family Christmas, the fast food promotions (seriously, McDonalds does a good job at advertising movies and if the Muppets are in that we'd be in for some good publicity (plus I like the Happy Meal toys that come with)), a video game would be awesome especially if it included most of the Muppets (maybe some obscures, just in the background).

I'm basically just agreeing to everyones' ideas another good one I've heard is the guest appearances one. Like maybe if most of the Muppets came on the Tonight show, they could do some classic bits or they could sing a song from the movie but also give some good humor in the interview session. Maybe one of the human stars could come with them but the Muppets by themselves are fantastic and funny. Watching Pepe's interview on YouTube makes me think of what we might see. But above all, Statler and Waldorf heckling the Muppets (+ Leno)!

Other good ideas might be, like everyone says, a new virmup would be awesome and might just be some of the best promotion! Also Muppets.com is there best ally! They've got funny stuff down there and it would be a shame not to have that be included in promotion. I know I'm just repeating everyone. But these stuff, to me, I think are great ideas!

 

[Drtooth]

My new Dream promotion? NOT using the new logo.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

WHOA! I just saw the signature in minor muppetz' post! YES! That's sort of an answer right there to one of my requests (though I'd still love to see Kermit show up again on Sesame Street with The Muppet Show gang making a special appearance. I mean, the Sesame Street gang has been on The Muppet Show and some have shown up in the movies - [Big Bird in The Muppet Movie and Oscar the Grouch in The Great Muppet Caper and of course, a number of the gang at the end of The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan]. Why not have The Muppet Show gang take a trip to Sesame Street to visit Kermit's old friends? They did meet some of them in "A Muppet Family Christmas" and they were together in "The Muppets Celebrate 30 Years" and "The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson"- but seriously- if Disney wants to market this new Muppets movie to today's kids- why not do it through a Muppets-populated show that today's kids are already watching? A Sesame Street appearance just seems to be a natural to me- and plus, you would definitely get the hardcore Muppets fans stoked for such a happening!
But yeah- anyway, I just saw that "Silly Storytime" is getting released to DVD! Apparently, in order to release the "Rapunzel" Newsflash sketches and capitalize on the release of "Tangled". But it is SO COOL to see Kermit the Frog on there in his Sesame Street News reporter garb on the cover! With the stalk from Jack and the Beanstalk! That's awesome! And it even says on the cover that 4 classic Newsflash sketches are included! WOW- I'll definitely be picking this one up.

 

[minor muppetz]

But yeah- anyway, I just saw that "Silly Storytime" is getting released to DVD! Apparently, in order to release the "Rapunzel" Newsflash sketches and capitalize on the release of "Tangled". But it is SO COOL to see Kermit the Frog on there in his Sesame Street News reporter garb on the cover! With the stalk from Jack and the Beanstalk! That's awesome! And it even says on the cover that 4 classic Newsflash sketches are included! WOW- I'll definitely be picking this one up.

We don't know which Newsflash segments will be included. It's known what street stories will be included (one of which involves Zoe as Rupunzel), and the "Musical Fairy Tales" segment with Little Red Riding Hood. I guess the four Newsflash segments COULD be segments based around the fairy tales represented in the main program (and I guess I could live with 1 or 2 out of 4 previously-released-on-DVD Newsflash segments). But I feel it'd be better if it had Newsflash segments on other stories (though considering the cover has reporter Kermit climbing a beanstalk, I will be surprised if it doesn't have the "Jack and the Beanstalk" segmnet).

I've been desiring a collection of Kermit SST inserts on DVD for a long time (The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street is good but I'd like a bigger collection... and besides that's only on VHS). I think I mentioned this in the "Warner Home Video gets SST lisence" thread but after seeing the cover I got the idea that it would be ideal to release such a set when the new movie comes out, sort of Sesame Workshop's way of promoting The Muppets new movie.


Then again, with the exception of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Sing-and-Play Sesame Workshop doesn't seem to release DVDs that tie in with big movie releases. Otherwise I think we'd have gotten a Count spotlight DVD to tie in with one of the Twilight movies, or DVD releases of the Miami Mice segments to tie in with the release of the Miami Vice movie a few years back. But I wonder if I should be surprised if all the newsflash segments will invovle fairy tales that recently got big movie adaptations released (Rupunzel, Alice in Wonderland, segments with "The Frog Prince"-style twist endings).

Back to our regularly scheduled topic...

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

Kohls does this thing where they sell books and related stuffed animals for five dollars and then give the profits to charity. It'd be cool if maybe they partnered up with the muppets and sold like a Kermit, Piggy and Fozzie plush and pulled together a few picture books to go with them.

 

[beaker]

Kohls does this thing where they sell books and related stuffed animals for five dollars and then give the profits to charity. It'd be cool if maybe they partnered up with the muppets and sold like a Kermit, Piggy and Fozzie plush and pulled together a few picture books to go with them.

Oh totally. I actually even mentioned this a few pages back. I believe they even had Toy Story 3 this year. It's sad, but there is not one single plush in stores, and virtually no Muppet merchandise period at stores(other than an Animal or Kermit hat or shirt at Spencers or Walmart)

Just means we'll be all the more happily surprised next year when the floodgates of Muppet stuff opens up

 

[Drtooth]

Oh totally. I actually even mentioned this a few pages back. I believe they even had Toy Story 3 this year. It's sad, but there is not one single plush in stores, and virtually no Muppet merchandise period at stores(other than an Animal or Kermit hat or shirt at Spencers or Walmart)

Just means we'll be all the more happily surprised next year when the floodgates of Muppet stuff opens up

Those Toy Story ones virtually flew off the shelves within a week... yet, I always see acres of obscure Dr. Seuss characters and generic looking animal plush sit on shelves. It would be great to see something like that.

They have been VERY strategic about merchandise... almost too careful for my taste. Again, I wish the Disney Store gave the Pookalooz line until after Christmas (something tells me they'd have done better during that shopping period than in the middle of Summer when no one's buying anything but school supplies), other than that, they're obviously waiting until next year, just before the movie for giving us the good stuff.

 

[minor muppetz]

I just realized... A few of us have desired for Kermit to make a new Sesame Street appearance as part of the movie's promotion... But aside from the thrill of seeing Kermit return to Sesame Street in time for the movie, allowing Kermit to be on SST because of the movie might not be clear as promotion. If Kermit or other Muppets were to be on Sesame Street or any ficticious series I doubt they'd actually mention the movie. And I wouldn't expect a promo for The Muppets before and after airings of Sesame Street.

The other things mentioned would be easier to release and promote the movie, even if it's not directly related to the movie. A sticker that says "Go see The Muppets in theaters Thanksgiving 2011" could be put on the packaging of any product. A trailer for the movie will probably be included in any Muppet DVD release that comes out next year. If The Muppet Show: Season Four (or any Muppet DVD) actually comes out months earlier than the movie I wouldn't be surprised if a "sneak peek at The Muppets" feature.

Obviously the movie will be mentioned in any Muppet talk show appearance next year, and I'm sure clips will be shown in talk show appearances. If the Muppets appear at the Macy's parade they'll most likely mention it (and even if they don't appear I'm sure the Kermit float will still be present, and if that float is there they'll have to mention the movie). If there's a Muppet movie marathon on TV they'll probably show commercials for the movie (and if a marathon is hosted by Muppets they'll probably mention it).

But if any Muppets were to appear on any fictional shows, it might be hard to be a clear promotion. Especially if it's Kermit appearing on Sesame Street.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't think an appearance of Kermit on SS is possible. The general consent is that Disney wants to distance their Muppet ownership as far as they can from the ones under SS's ownership... unless it comes to archival footage. They did get their arms twisted to add the poser on one DVD... but that was after an intense negotiation and probably a good dozens of "NO"-s. I'm sure that Kermit's Elmo's World appearance was also intensely negotiated, and only conceded upon due to it being the show's 40th anniversary.

It's not that I'm saying it's impossible. It could very well happen, after all... but they'd possibly need to have their arms twisted and relentlessly pursued about it and even then, have to pay guest licensing money.

And unfortunately due to the climate of the show and their inability to use older footage, a series of older Kermit skits isn't really a major possibility either.

 

[minor muppetz]

Muppet Babies is an improbability since, well, someone said it... reintroducing that brand is confusing since they're trying to get the REAL Muppets out there to get this movie out of the way. If it's a hit, I'm sure in time we'll see something. Secondly, unless rights hurdles are cleared (MB was made during a semi-partnership between Columbia and Henson... keep that in mind), it's not an impossibility... but we wouldn't see the episodes we WANT to see. We'd see the last season episodes that didn't use any footage that wasn't public domain, and most of those episodes aren't that much fun to watch.

Really? All the last seaosn episodes didn't have any non-Henson/non-public domain footage? I thought Muppet Babies: The Next Generation (which had footage from the STar Wars movies) was from the last season.

Exactly. It's very difficult in this climate to make hundreds of little Muppet projects here and there. A TV show is an impossibility, given the climate of television. A New Muppet Show, even if one did manage to pop up would last a few episodes if any, and most of them will be broadcast together on the same night to get rid of them, while they make a cheap exploitative reality game show or Japanese game show knockoff. Disney and ABC family COULD have been ideal places for such a project, but Disney is too steeped in their tween demographic, ABCFamily is too busy with their older teens. They made a TV show about a 10+ year old movie that wasn't even popular.

I wonder if the Muppets could hold an audience for a weekly half-hour sitcom. One where they don't put on a show, or maybe one where they work at the Muppet Theater but it usually takes place during the weeks between shows.