Premieres Friday, May 3 at 10 pm ET/PT on IFC
Pre-Premiere Available on IFC.com and Additional Platforms
NEW YORK, NY — April 29, 2013 — If you’ve ever listened to Marc Maron’s popular podcast, “WTF with Marc Maron,” or are one of the 200,000+ people following him on Twitter (@MarcMaron), you know that he tends to “over share” his thoughts and feelings with others. This raw, authentic style and use of social media platforms have come together in a new promotional campaign to tout his first-ever comedic TV series, Maron. The campaign is designed to rally Marc’s online fan base and drive them to the IFC show, premiering Friday, May 3 at 10 pm ET/PT. And, for viewers who just can’t wait until then, IFC is currently offering a pre-premiere episode of the series on IFC.com, TV Everywhere, iTunes Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, Facebook and VOD. Check out the full episode here: https://www.ifc.com/the-stream-room?bclid=88218671001&bctid=2270039764001
“We are excited to have Marc Maron’s unfiltered and unique sensibility on IFC,” said Blake Callaway, IFC’s senior vice president of marketing. “The best way to market the show was to let Marc be Marc. We even feature his live Twitter feed in some of the marketing; you can’t get more authentic than that. Existing fans of the podcast will love it, and people who don’t know him yet will get a chance to experience the real Marc Maron, which is exactly what the show is about.”
The campaign’s tag line sums up Marc’s persona: He’s Got Issues. Sharing Isn’t One of Them.
Maron can’t help but talk (and talk and talk). The campaign lets Marc be Marc no matter the medium. Print ads are inspired by his near constant Tweets (22,670 at last count); radio and TV spots will include long form units (:60) to let viewers/listeners get a sense of how Marc talks about his life (and cats) on his podcast. A custom ad unit on Huffington Post will feature Marc’s barrage of tweets in real time on premiere day. Posted under the banner “Off the Marc,” exclusive content was created for VOD where viewers can get the inside scoop on that week’s episode directly from Marc. Because Marc always gets the last word.
A social media contest plays off his popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. “WTF Would Maron Say” (www.facebook.com/IFCMaron) lets fans caption a photo of the week by tweeting their comments to #WTFWMS; they are then automatically entered to win a chance to meet Marc at one of his upcoming stand-up shows.
IFC is also creating a brand new medium for this campaign, “Podcats.” Marc’s Twitter profile touts his ability to wrangle feral cats who become frequent topics on his podcast, and even make guest appearances on the show. Marc’s cats make their mark on the promotional campaign as well by showing up in promos and in key art. ?IFC is paying tribute to Monkey, Boomer, and LaFonda by giving them their own podcast on IFC.com and Earwolf, where comedians Eddie Pepitone (Monkey), Sean Conroy (Boomer) and Amber Kenney (LaFonda) take on their personalities. “Podcats” is produced for IFC by Earwolf studios.
Users can also listen to a curated sampling of Marc’s live podcast WTF with Marc Maron on IFC.com, https://www.ifc.com/shows/maron/wtf
Maron (10×30) is based on comedian/podcaster Marc Maron’s life and successful WTF podcast (www.wtfpod.com). Each episode chronicles Marc’s day-to-day struggle to maintain relationships other than the ones with his podcast audience and his beloved trio of cats. Marc stars as himself, and joining him is Judd Hirsch (Ordinary People, Damages, This Must Be the Place) as his father, Nora Zehetner (Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy) as his girlfriend, Andy Kindler (Bob’s Burgers, Everybody Loves Raymond) as his loyal friend and Josh Brener (The Internship, Silicon Valley) as Marc’s assistant.
In this debut season, Marc upsets any balance in his life with everything from a visit from his dysfunctional father living in an RV to complicated feelings about his ex-wife and various attempts at dating that continue to challenge his ability to commit. Yet his compulsive need for human connection is only matched with his uncanny ability to make disastrous choices. Consequences of which always end up as fodder for his popular WTF podcast. Whether dating a dominatrix, sponsoring a recently sober ex-con or tracking down an internet troll who blasts him on Twitter, all of Marc’s life experiences are met with his unique brand of cynicism, self-obsession and heart.
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About IFC
IFC creates and champions authentic, original comedies that are “Always On. Slightly Off,” which air alongside an extraordinary collection of films and comedic cult TV shows. IFC.com features exclusive video, web series, podcasts, blogs and additional content that engages fans with IFC originals. The network’s On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives viewers the opportunity to watch select content from IFC whenever they want. Established in 1994, IFC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and is available in over 70 million homes on every major cable, satellite and telco provider.
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