The Conan blimp was an orange dirigible owned by Turner Broadcasting System for the purpose of promoting the premiere of Conan O'Brien on his late-night talk show, Conan , on TBS.
The Conan blimp was an orange dirigible owned by Turner Broadcasting System for the purpose of promoting the premiere of Conan O'Brien on his late-night talk show, Conan , on TBS.
O'Brien's shift from NBC to TBS stemmed from the 2010 Tonight Show conflict between O'Brien and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno. The controversy occurred when, due to the low ratings of The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien , NBC announced that Leno would be moved from 10:00 p.m. to 11:35 p.m. and O'Brien would be moved from 11:30 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. The announcement occurred seven months after The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien's premiere, and over four years after it was made known that O'Brien would replace Leno as the Tonight Show host. Ultimately, NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker's decision to reschedule O'Brien and Leno's time slots led to O'Brien's departure from the network and a public outcry from O'Brien's fans on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. [1]
During the controversy, O'Brien's online supporters started the "Team Conan" or "Team Coco" movement, employing phrases such as "I'm With Coco" to show their support for the late-night talk show host. [1] In February 2010, one month after his departure from NBC, O'Brien joined Twitter and acquired 300,000 followers in 24 hours. [2]
Many of O'Brien's followers, both fans and celebrities, remained faithful to the "Team Conan" movement throughout his short, contractually-obligated absence from television. As he embarked on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour and prepared to host Conan on TBS, O'Brien's social media presence became a powerful marketing tool. Prior to announcing the start of Conan, he used Twitter to promote and sell "The Prohibited Tour." The tour's success even led to Conan O'Brien Can't Stop , O'Brien's self-marketed documentary. [3]
O'Brien used "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" and his social media presence to announce the start of Conan. Being a smaller network than NBC, TBS' goal was to bring as much of O'Brien's united fan base over to their late-night programs as possible. Thus, to promote the never-before-seen late-night talk show as effectively as he did his tour and documentary, O'Brien and TBS developed the Conan blimp. The orange airship, bearing "CONAN" across its side, was designed to engage fans with its social media functions and allow them to get a better feel for the new TBS program's vibe. This included an interactive blimp website [4] with a live map and a livecam to track the blimp, promotional television and YouTube commercials, a Flickr image collection and the #TheConanBlimp hashtag on Twitter. O'Brien also developed his own mobile app to share pictures and videos of the Conan cast, crew and blimp. [5]
Arguably the most effective social media trend that O'Brien's team took advantage of at that time was Foursquare. In 2010, mobile advertising was quickly becoming the most prominent form of marketing, with Foursquare's social, interactive function at the forefront. [6] O'Brien connected with Foursquare users by allowing them to check into the blimp. Afterwards, users would receive a "Conan Blimpspotter" badge and a message saying, "You've spotted the Conan Blimp! A big orange bag of slow moving gas has never looked so pretty. [5]
The blimp's Foursquare application earned 21,000 check-ins and over a hundred comments. During that time, "Team Coco" was also followed by more than 51,000 Foursquare users. The blimp was subsequently nominated for the Location of the Year Shorty Award. [5]
The blimp was an American Blimp Corporation type A60+, originally built in 2002 to promote the Rolling Stones' 2002 World Tour. Today, the blimp is owned by Van Wagner Airship Group, a branch of Van Wagner Communications LLC. Van Wagner purchased the American Blimp Corporation in September 2012. The blimp is registered as N620LG cn 020. [7] The Conan blimp itself was designed by the Atlanta firm Blue Sky. [8]
Prior to Blue Sky handling, the physical production of the dirigible, Breakfast, a digital-interactive agency based in New York, developed a small model blimp with video capabilities and an iPad control system. Created for MunNY Exhibit's 2010 Design Week, this design served as the first prototype of the Conan blimp. Breakfast used their model to contribute web design and social media functions to Blue Sky's creation. [8]
At the time of the blimp's creation, the promotion of Conan relied heavily on sponsors like AT&T, who funded its advertisements despite the fact that TBS had not yet aired a single episode. AT&T served as Conan's biggest sponsor, funding the blimp's interactive website, promotional commercials and appearances at the MLB postseason games. [9]
The blimp debuted several weeks before the premiere of Conan to provide aerial footage for 2010 Major League Baseball postseason games airing on TBS.
Over time, however, the blimp transformed into an iconic comedic symbol of Conan. As opposed to being simply used for promotional purposes, the blimp was incorporated into several of the late-night show's comedic sketches. Typically, the expensive blimp was used for ironically trivial purposes, such as providing aerial coverage of a bike race among Conan's crew. It usually appears along with dramatic music after O'Brien says, "As you know, I am the only television personality...who has...his own blimp."
One of the more popular recurring Conan gags involves the blimp following actor Gary Busey around Los Angeles, much to Busey's annoyance. [10] [11]
Team Coco announced the blimp was being retired on December 1, 2010. [12] At the time, O'Brien planned to have the blimp donated to the Smithsonian Institution. [12]
The blimp then returned to the skies for the 2011 MLB playoffs.[ citation needed ] It also returned for the Conan shows recorded from New York, NY from October 31 to November 3, 2011. The blimp arrived early to advertise the show and flew over New York City during the week of shows. Users of the application Foursquare were again invited check-in to the blimp to receive a special real cloth badge commemorating the week of shows and the blimp.[ citation needed ]
James Douglas Muir Leno is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and automotive historian. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over as host. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET, also on NBC. When O'Brien turned down NBC's offer to have Leno host a half hour monologue show before The Tonight Show to boost ratings amid reported viewership diminishing, Leno returned to hosting the show on March 1, 2010. He hosted his last episode of his second tenure on February 6, 2014. That year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. From 2014 to 2022, he has hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and since 2021, has hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien (2009–2010), and Jimmy Fallon (2014–present). Besides the main hosts, a number of regular "guest hosts" have been used, notably Ernie Kovacs, who hosted two nights per week during 1956–1957, and a number of guests used by Carson, who curtailed his own hosting duties back to three nights per week by the 1980s. Among Carson's regular guest hosts were Joey Bishop, David Letterman, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, and Jay Leno, although the practice has been mostly abandoned since hosts currently prefer reruns to showcasing potential rivals. Fallon has used guest hosts rarely, co-hosting the May 24, 2021 broadcast with Dave Grohl, Jimmy Kimmel hosting the April 1, 2022 broadcast, Shawn Mendes co-hosting the April 29, 2022 broadcast, Megan Thee Stallion co-hosting the August 11, 2022 broadcast, Demi Lovato co-hosting the August 17, 2022 broadcast and Jack Harlow co-hosting the October 6, 2022 broadcast.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central and 12:37 am Mountain in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter served as O'Brien's sidekick; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7 and led by E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
Paul Andrew Richter is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC and Conan on TBS. He was also star of the TV series Andy Richter Controls the Universe. He voiced Mort in the Madagascar film franchise and Ben Higgenbottom in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Mighty B!.
Conan is a discontinued American variety and late-night talk show that aired each Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time on TBS in the United States. The show premiered on November 8, 2010, and was hosted by writer, comedian, and performer Conan O'Brien, accompanied by his long-time sidekick Andy Richter. Running for eight years and identifying as a traditional late-night talk show, Conan drew its comedy from recent news stories, political figures, and prominent celebrities, as well as aspects of the show itself. The hour-long show was akin to O'Brien's previous NBC late-night shows and was directed by Billy Bollotion.
Conaco, LLC is the television production firm owned by entertainer Conan O'Brien. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Conan" and "Co", an abbreviation of company. It has produced programs primarily for NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery, including O'Brien's Late Night,Tonight Show, and Conan. David Kissinger, former NBCU executive and the son of Henry Kissinger, has been president since 2005.
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. O'Brien is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, he was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has also been host of the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018 and is expected to launch a new show on HBO Max.
The Jay Leno Show is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late night talk show—specifically, Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by interviews with celebrity guests and other comedy segments. Sketches from The Tonight Show were carried over to The Jay Leno Show, along with new sketches.
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's Tonight Show franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which followed The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 16 years, until his brief succession after Leno.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon. The hour-long show aired from March 2, 2009 to February 7, 2014 on weeknights at 12:35 AM Eastern/11:35 pm Central, on NBC.
Lopez Tonight is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The show featured audience interaction using a high-energy format. The program aired Monday through Thursday at midnight Eastern and Pacific, immediately following Conan. On August 10, 2011, TBS announced that Lopez Tonight would be canceled. The final episode aired the following night.
Late Night is an American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC since 1982. Four men have hosted Late Night: David Letterman (1982–1993), Conan O'Brien (1993–2009), Jimmy Fallon (2009–2014), and Seth Meyers (2014–present). Each iteration of the show was built around its host, and maintained distinct identities aside from the title, timeslot, and network. The longest-serving host to date was O'Brien, who hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien for almost 16 years, from September 1993 to February 2009.
The 2010 Tonight Show conflict was a media and public relations conflict involving the American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, over the timeslot and hosting duties of long-running franchise The Tonight Show.
The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour was a comedy tour by American comedian and talk show host Conan O'Brien. Its title is a reference to the 2010 Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict, which resulted in O'Brien resigning from his position as host of The Tonight Show in January 2010. O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC that barred him from appearing on television until September 2010, but it did not bar him from performing before a live audience in a concert setting. From April through June 2010, O'Brien performed 43 shows in the United States and Canada.
"Khonani" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 76th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Vali Chandrasekaran and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 22, 2010, following shortly after the episode "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" on the same night. Guest stars in this episode include Kapil Bawa and Subhas Ramsaywack.
The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy is a 2010 non-fiction book written by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter. It chronicles the 2010 conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show involving Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. It is a sequel to Carter's 1994 book The Late Shift, which detailed the struggle for the hosting spot on The Tonight Show between David Letterman and Jay Leno in the early 1990s following the retirement of Johnny Carson. It was first published on November 4, 2010, by Viking Press.
Dwayne Perkins is an American stand-up comedian from Brooklyn, New York, currently residing in Los Angeles. He has made appearances on Conan, Comedy Central, and as a regular correspondent on The Jay Leno Show. In August 2012, he was selected by Rolling Stone magazine as one of their "Five Comics to Watch". In October 2015, he was the artist-in-residence at the Rotterdam International Comedy Festival.
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