Word: spiking
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...Spike sings a duet with Chrissie Hynde on the sound track. What was that like...
...June 16, TNN proposes to solve both problems at once as it rebirths itself as Spike TV, "the first network for men." TNN, which already drew a two-thirds-male audience with pro wrestling and sci-fi reruns, saw a chance to claim a new niche in cable. And it doesn't hurt that men, especially those under 35, are an attractive audience for advertisers, always on the lookout for another venue for Dumb and Dumberer ads. TNN picked Spike, says the network's president, Albie Hecht, because the name is "active," "smart and contemporary" and "unapologetically male...
...Spike's idea of what men want has a lot in common with Maxim's. For starters, it appears that Pamela Anderson would be perfect if only she had bigger breasts and was a cartoon. She provides the voice for Stripperella, an animated action show premiering June 26 about an exotic dancer who fights crime. Debuting the same night are Gary the Rat, with Kelsey Grammer as the voice of a lawyer who turns into a rodent, and a revival of the scatological toon Ren & Stimpy. Later Spike will roll out the celebrity-car show Ride with Funkmaster Flex, reality...
...while young men are not exactly underserved by TV (Comedy Central? Two ESPNs?), Spike may let them believe they are. "If we all worried about who was really underserved, we'd still have only ABC, CBS and NBC," says Charlie Rutman, president of the ad-buying firm Carat USA. Like any well-targeted niche channel, Spike TV needs men to say, "I wonder what's on Spike?" the way they say, "I wonder what's on ESPN?" In Hecht's marketing lingo, the idea is to build "an emotional connection to the brand...
...targeting young guys, do you really want to throw around the phrase "emotional connection" like that? Hecht backpedals. "That's not an on-air term," he says. "Spike's a great name for a dog. Spike will be man's new best friend." Catchy slogan, but Spike will also need strong marquee programs--more like South Park than Gary the Rat--if this dog is going to hunt...