VH1 Anti-Bullying PSA Raises Eyebrows

AdWeek discusses an anti-bullying PSA produced for VH1.

On one level, the video is a marvel of wish-fulfillment that anyone who's ever been picked on or put down during lunch period or study hall can instantly relate to. Believing you can turn the tables feels great, and the spot hits all the right notes in that regard. Still, the tone and message ultimately fall flat. The revenge motif, though lighthearted, seems to perpetuate the cycle of bullying, with today's victims becoming tomorrow's oppressors. Yes, it's handled with a deft touch and good humor—and the jerks in the boy's bathroom using that kid's head as a toilet scrubber certainly have it coming. Even so, breaking the cycle and discouraging the behavior should be the goal, shouldn't it? There's really none of that here.

(Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)

The Return Of Pop Up Video

VH1 Revives Pop Up Video

I'm unreasonably pleased by this.

After a 10-year hiatus, VH1 is resurrecting Pop Up Video with co-creator Woody Thompson on board as executive producer. The network has ordered 60 half-hour episodes set to bow as a strip in the fall. The reboot will remain faithful to the original concept of bubbles of true “info nuggets” strategically deployed over music videos for maximum irony. But this time Thompson and his team will also pop-up rap and hip-hop, a genre that was off limits for the original because it was the domain of sister network MTV.

VH1 Announces Trans Makeover Show

Riding on the success of RuPaul's Drag Race, in two weeks VH1 will launch Transform Me, a show in which women are madeover by the show's transgender stars.

VH1 and Left/Right Inc. have teamed up to create a new breed of fashion makeover show, Transform Me. Each half-hour episode follows the makeover of one woman badly in need of a transformation–on the outside and inside. The subjects quickly find out this won’t be your typical makeover. They’ll be transformed by three transgender women. The ultra-glamorous makeover team, led by Laverne Cox (VH1’s I Want to Work for Diddy) with Jamie Clayton and Nina Poon, travel across the country answering “style 911 calls” in their deluxe fashion ambulance, helping subjects find the right style–and the confidence that comes with it. The new eight-episode, 30-minute series is set to premiere March 15, 2010.

I guess this a trans version of Queer Eye?