HBO has launched two new Twitter accounts that fans may follow for the latest news and gossip:


TrueBloodHBO will broadcast relevant news and information
http://twitter.com/TrueBloodHBO

BonTemps Gossip will take you deep into the town from the perspective of one of its most gossip-happy residents
http://twitter.com/BonTempsGossip

Tags: HBO, Marketing, True Blood

True Blood and Nelsan Ellis were featured winners at the New Now next 2009 Awards.

Brink of Fame: Actor -Nelsan Ellis, True Blood

Best Show You're Not Watching - True Blood, HBO

Tags: Awards, Nelsan Ellis, True Blood

The Paramount Theater in Los Angeles hosted the second season premiere party for "True Blood" on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009. Members of the cast and crew were in attendence, including Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alan Ball, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Carrie Preston, Alexander Skarsgard, Nelsan Ellis, Todd Lowe and several others.

You can view video from the event at:
http://extratv.warnerbros.com/videos/channels/?channel=channels/79356

Forum member Beerwolf is posting numerous photos from the event in our forum:
http://thebluewhalepub.com/viewtopic.php?p=132501#p132501

Tags: Appearances, Cast, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alan Ball, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Carrie Preston, Alexander Skarsgard, Nelsan Ellis, Todd Lowe, True Blood

BloodCopy - One of the original Tru(e) Blood viral marketing sites, that wound down last fall, recently came back to un-life with new content in promotion of season 2. Among the promotional efforts was a cross-site promotion where posts from BloodCopy would appear on blog site “Gawker”:

/ They’ll be set off by a border and labeled as BloodCopy posts but otherwise indistinguishable from editorial content — except that the blog is written by an undead, bloodsucking ghoul.

“With vampires, we thought we could be a little looser with the disclosure and create some disbelief,” Chris Batty, Gawker’s vice president of sales and marketing, told me yesterday, dismissing critics of the advertorial as “humorless.” He also made a bold prediction that surprised me so much I made sure to confirm I’d heard correctly: “If we’re around in three or four years,” Batty said, “the majority of our advertising revenue will be in sponsored posts like this.” /
http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/05/gawker-vp-says-sponsored-posts-will-bring-in-majority-of-revenue-one-day/

It seems that some individuals complained of the blurring between blogging and advertisements but, more curiously, some outlets actually took the BloodCopy posts as real news!

/ "Gawker the editorial staff and Gawker the advertising staff don't tell each other much about what they're doing," Snyder explained. "The way the media economic engine works is that the eyeballs attracted by editorial can be sold by advertising in order to pay for the editorial. It's a nice little symbiotic circle, but the key ingredient for keeping it running is to keep a bright line between the ads and edit. And clearly that wasn't the case here."

"[We have] been taken to the media criticism woodshed over this one," he continued. "What's advertising should be called advertising and what's edit should be called edit. It hurts both to blur the distinction." The "announcement" was since taken down, although some websites have kept archive copies.

Gawker's vice president for sales and marketing, Chris Batty, respected the opinions regarding the tie-up, but reiterated that they have done this before--in their early years, he mentioned, they had tie-ups with Nike and New Line to promote their products through clearly-marked blog entries, which he believes would have a bigger impact than traditional ads. "A lot of time has passed and a lot of people who write for us don't remember how we used to pay the bills here," he said. He's surprised, however, that more people "took this at face value." /
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/true-blood/true-blood-its-backfire-at-the-29046.aspx

Tags: Viral Marketing, True Blood

Watch for the exclusive premiere of the Season Two TRUE BLOOD promo spot on Entertainment Tonight this evening. The promo features Bob Dylan’s new single “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’.” This spot will then have its debut on HBO Saturday night leading into the film, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (approximately 7:59 p.m.).

Check your local listing for the broadcast time in your area.

Update, here's the trailer:


The song used in the trailer is Bob Dylan's Beyond Here Lies Nothin' and it is availble from iTunes :

Tags: Marketing, Season 2, True Blood

(source: Dauphinmm/YouTube)

Tags: Video, S01E10, Tru Blood

“Jenny Hendrix and Graham Sheil from the hit HBO Series ‘True Blood‘ will be hosting an exclusive Gold Carpet Event November 1, 2008 at 24K Lounge located at 7929 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA. (half a block west of Fairfax). Arrive early and dress sexy! Doors open at 10pm. Also appearing MC Chad Carr along with DJ Serafin will rock the house. For VIP bottel info: email TheSaturdayKnight@yahoo.com”

More Info:
http://alisttalent.com/news/?p=18

Tags: Appearances, Graham Shiels, True Blood

True Blood Actors Ryan Kwanten and Sam Trammell recently appeared on TV Guide’s Hollywood 411:

Ryan Kwanten:


Sam Trammell:

Tags: Video, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, True Blood

More than one episode non-specific trailer has, also, been running:

Tags: Video, S01E07, True Blood

True Blood Episode 4 "Escape From Dragon House" Airing September 28th, 2008:


New Season 1 Preview Trailer:

Tags: Video, S01E04, True Blood

True Blood Star" Graham Shiels appeared on Stardish Radio, to talk about his role on the show as Liam, and his other projects. You can listen to a recording of this at the site below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stardish

(Source: Forum member RubyRed)

Tags: Graham Shiels, Radio, True Blood

As previously reported, Alan Ball and other members of the True Blood cast and creative team will take part in a panel at The Paley Center For Media in Los Angeles, CA on Thursday December 4th, 2008 at 7:00PM PT.

Tickets to this event went on sale to the general public today. These will probably sell out quickly so if you wish to attend, buy the tickets ASAP!

For more information, see:
http://www.paleycenter.org/la-fall-series-2008-true-blood

(Thanks to forum member Sif)

Note: this event was canceled...

Tags: Appearances, Convention, True Blood

Nick Vitale, of PopTub, interviews creator Alan Ball and cast members Anna Paquin, Nelsan Ellis, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Carrie Preston, and Stephen Moyer on the red carpet of the True Blood premiere at Cinerama Dome.



(Thanks to forum member Silva for the heads up)

Tags: Video, Appearances, True Blood

Thanks to WireLover, here’s the True Blood Episode 2 Preview Trailer:

Tags: Video, S01E02, True Blood

The Los Angeles Premiere screening of HBO's Series "True Blood" was held at the Cinerama Dome on September 4, 2008 in Hollywood, Cafliornia. This was followed up by an after-party where “Tru Blood” was served...

Photos of people arriving at the premiere:
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/lyINc-n9krE/Los+Angeles+Premiere+HBO+Series+True+Blood/

Photos from the After Party:
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/pqJwTA5HBL8/Los+Angeles+Premiere+HBO+Series+True+Blood/

Tags: Appearances, Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Sam Trammell, Nelsan Ellis, Charlaine Harris, True Blood

True Blood’s Stephen Moyer made a brief appearance on the September 3rd, 2008 Broadcast Of Entertainment Tonight. He talks about the difficulty in talking while wearing fangs and does a great comic Dracula impression.



(Source: Forum member Bretagne)

Tags: Video, Stephen Moyer, Appearances, True Blood

Alan Ball and other members of the True Blood cast and creative team will take part in a panel at The Paley Center For Media in Los Angeles, CA on Thursday December 4th, 2008 at 7:00PM PT.

For more information, see:
http://www.paleycenter.org/la-fall-series-2008-true-blood

Tags: Appearances, Convention, True Blood

Blockbuster is offering a free DVD rental on True Blood episode 1, “Strange Love”. If you just can’t wait until September 7th, head out to your local Blockbuster location and grab a copy. Then leave your review of the pilot in our forum.

Tags: Marketing, DVD, True Blood

The HBP special “True Blood: Alan Ball POV” that originally aired on August 7th, 2008 has now been made available online. Alan Ball talks about his new HBO drama series True Blood and reflects on his career in this interview.

Tags: Video, HBO, Alan Ball, Production, True Blood

HBO has posted a 2 minute behind the scenes look at the set of True Blood with interview snippets featuring the cast and crew.

Tags: Video, Production, True Blood

Beginning August 25th, 2008 HBO will be running the "True Blood: They Live Among Us" $10,000 sweepstakes. There will, also, be prizes awarded daily. Keep checking the site http://livingvampires.com/ for updated details.

...and don’t forget we’re running a give-away in our forum, as well!

Tags: HBO, Give-Away, True Blood

The True Blood trailers just keep getting longer and longer! Pretty soon we won’t even need to see the episodes. This one features some additional screen time for Fangtasia and future episodes beyond the pilot.

Tags: Video, Marketing, True Blood

As of August 14th, 2008 HBO has made yet another extended trailer for True Blood available. This one is the longest yet and has a running time of around 2 and a half minutes. Like previous trailers, this one features scenes from multiple episodes and includes glimpes of Sookie, Bill, Eric, Fangtasia and numerous other vampires and fang-bangers.

Tags: Video, Marketing, Tru Blood

Courtesy of dailymotion.com, The special “In Focus: Shedding Light On Vampires In America" that previously aired on HBO is now available for viewing online. Billed as a “Primetime Network Exclusive” and presenting itself as an investigative news show, this is production covers “The Great Revelation” of vampires coming out of the coffin across the world and - in particular - Bon Temps, LA. There is no new footage but if you missed it during it’s original broadcast, or just wish to see it again, here you go:

Tags: Video, Vampires, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Extensive footage of the HBO True Blood Panel at San Diego Comic-Con has been posted online in 8 parts. These were recorded by an audience member and seem to be mosty of the view screen. You can view them below:

















(Source: Gonturan74 )

Tags: Video, Convention, Appearances, Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Nelsan Ellis, Rutina Wesley, Charlaine Harris

Around August 4th, 2008 HBO begun broadcasting a second, extended trailer for True Blood. Clocking in at a minute and a half, this trailer features scenes from multiple episodes and includes glimpes of Eric, Fangtasia and numerous other vampires and fang-bangers.




Thanks to forum member “definelike” for the heads up.

Tags: Video, Marketing, True Blood

Yet another snippet of video footage from the HBO Tru Blood Comic-Con Panel has surfaced. This time from Daemons.tv, it features Q&A with Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, CHarlaine Harris and Stephen Moyer.




Thanks to forum member LadyAyla for the heads up.

Tags: Video, Convention, Appearances, Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Charlaine Harris, Stephen Moyer, True Blood

BloodCopy has relased numerous videos recently of interviews with Bon Temps locals concerning their feelings about Vampires (and other possible creatures). Some of these locals will feature in HBO’s upcoming True Blood TV show. You can watch them below.

Bon Temps Locals On Other Creatures:


Interview With Sam Merlotte, proprietor of Merlotte’s bar:


Interview With Sheriff Bud Dearborne:


Interview with Lafayette Reynolds:

Tags: Video, Viral Marketing, Vampires, True Blood

Another segment of video from the HBO True Blood panel at Comic-Con has been posted online. In this one, series creator Alan Ball responds to audience questions.




The HBO True Blood panel, also, continues to get coverage at various online sites with each blogger/journalist offering up new tidbits among the info we’ve all read about previously.

http://io9.com/5028935/forget-the-drink--true-blood-is-all-about-sex-sex-sex
http://blog.zap2it.com/scifi/2008/07/true-blood-brin.html
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1826502,00.html
http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/07/25/comic-con-true-blood-and-alan-balls-unique-take-on-vampires/

Tags: Video, Articles, Appearances, Alan Ball, True Blood

As Of July 27th, 2008 HBO has begun broadcasting it’s first direct/mainstream advertisement for True Blood in the form of a 30 second teaser trailer featuring scenes from multiple episodes.




Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: Video, Marketing, True Blood

Courtesy of KPBS, we have around 8 minutes of video from the HBO True Blood Panel at Comic-Con:


Alan Ball, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, also, appeared on G4TV’s “Attack Of The Show” as part of thei Comic-Con coverage:

Tags: Video, Appearances, Convention, Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Charlaine Harris, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Nelsan Ellis, True Blood

The fight over the “Vampire Rights Amendment” is heating up! In conjunction with the pro-vampire American Vampire League and anti-vampire Fellowship Of The Sun websites, posters are now appearing in major cities supporting each stance. The AVL posters remind us that “Vampires Were People Too” while FOTS warns us that “Vampires Are Immoral”. Which side are you on?

You can see example photos of these posts in our VRA Photo Gallery.


Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: Viral Marketing, True Blood

The San Diego Comic-Con panel for HBO's "True Blood" took place Thursday afternoon between 4:30 and 5:30 Pacific time and reports are now coming in. Here is a quick summary of the event.

In Attendance were Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Nelsan Ellis, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris.

The moderator for the panel was Entertainment Weekly’s Lynette Rice.

Panel Description: “Based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, True Blood is created by Alan Ball, creator of HBO’s Emmy-winning series Six Feet Under. The series takes place in the not-too-distant future, when, thanks to the invention of synthetic blood, vampires no longer need humans for their fix and can walk freely, if not yet comfortably, among their living counterparts. With their integration into a small Louisiana town causing a stir, a love story ensues between Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin, the X-Men films; Academy Award winner for The Piano), an innocent waitress with the unusual ability to read minds, and vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer, The Starter Wife). The series also features Ryan Kwanten (Summerland), Rutina Wesley (How She Move), Sam Trammell (Judging Amy), and Nelsan Ellis (The Inside). True Blood debuts September 7 exclusively on HBO. Room 6CDEF ”

*A trailer was prepared and played specifically for Comic-Con.
*They have only three more days of shooting for this season.
*The first season follows the first book with only slight transgressions beyond.
*Alan Ball says that the biggest challenge has been expanding the show’s universe beyond the book serie,s given they are told from Sookie’s point of view.
*The relationship between Sookie and Bill will be the centerpeice of the series.
*Alan Ball promises to avoid the vampire cliches of “blue light, contact lenses and opera music”.
*Alan Ball was tight lipped when asked if the book character “Bubba” would be in the series.
*Alan Ball says it’s a show about relationships, not just vampires.
*When asked if there was going to be a real Tru Blood beverage, Alan Ball answered “V8, Valium, Vicodin and Viagra”
*Alan Ball doesn’t have time to go online and worry about fan reaction. He’s respectful but won’t cater to them.
*We don’t learn why Sookie is telepathic this season.
*Sookie has remained a virgin because of her “disability”.
*Aside from working at Merlotte’s, Lafayette runs an adult website.
*When vampire blood is used as a drug in the series, the effects are different with each person.
*The vampire Eric will be introduced later in the season as part of the setup for season 2.
*Stephen Moyer tries to be ‘very still’ when playing Bill. Since there’s no heartbeat, there’s no extraneous or unintended movements.
*Ryan Kwanten lost all of his inhibitions after playing Jason Stackhouse.
*Sam Trammellwas drawn to the role because his family’s from LA.
*Nelsan Ellis loves playing a character without boundaries.
*Alan Ball doesn’t feel there’s need for competition with different vampire projects like Twilight, though Charlaine says they could take ‘em.
*Alan doesn’t have a rule on whether the cast should read ahead in the Southern Vampire novels. Anna has read the first three, for a better understanding of her character.
*Alan Ball ends the discussion by revealing that “ I wanted to do something fun and so far I’ve had more fun working on this series than anything else in my career.”

Did you attend Comic-Con? I’d love to hear of your experience and post your photos. Let me know.

Meanwhile, don’t forget about our Tru Blood Beverage Give-Away!

Tags: Appearances, Convention, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Nelsan Ellis, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Alan Ball, Charlaine Harris

Beyond from the “Tru Blood” beverage centered TV commercials that have been airing, HBO has been expanding the world of True Blood’s Sookie Stackhouse and vampire Bill Compton with a string of cheesetastic yet realistic adverts promoting seemingly everyday services - like dating sites, lawyers and motels.

First up the previously seen advert for LoveBitten.net, a vampire/human dating website:


Delbert & Delbert, pro-vampire lawyers:


The Styx River Suites Motel:

Tags: Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Boasting the mission statement: “To preserve the strength and purity of the human race by preventing vampires from gaining a foothold in our businesses, government and communities”. The Fellowship Of the Sun has a website dedicated to convincing you to say “NO” to the Vampire Rights Amendment.

http://www.fellowshipofthesun.org/


Update: Anti-Vampire Rights Amendment TV Commercial:


Personally, I think everyone deserves their equal rights. What do you think? Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: Viral Marketing, True Blood

Reminding us that “Vampires Were People Too”, the American Vampire League “is dedicated to securing equal rights for vampires and to dispelling misinformation” via the website:

http://www.americanvampireleague.com/


Update:
Pro-Vampire Rights Amendment TV Commercial:


Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: Viral Marketing, True Blood

HBO, the network behind True Blood, has begun airing advertisements for “LoveBitten.net - The Best Human/Vampire Dating Site” and it is, indeed, a live site.

Purportedly, you can sign up and search for compatible fang bangers or vampires.



(Thanks to forum member ProgGrrl)

Tags: Viral Marketing, True Blood

Forum member ProgGrrl caught a different Tru Blood Commercial on HBO Signature last night:



Thanks for the heads up, ProgGrrl!

Tags: HBO, TV, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

True Blood will be featured at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, CA which is running from July 24th through the 27th, 2008. An hour will be devoted to True Blood on Thursday, July 24th from 4:30-5:30PM in room “6CDEF”. I’ll post further details as it is made available to me.

In the meantime, check out the Comic-Con website (and note the Tru Blood” advertisements). WIll you be attending? Let me know!

Tags: Appearances, True Blood

I was watching the “John Adams” marathon on HBO this evening and between episodes they were airing what appeared to be a beer commercial, oddly enough. There were three guys sitting around a campfire, enjoying their beer, and out jumps a vampire asking for something to drink. A friend it turns out, they hand him a Tru Blood beverage.



It then goes on to advertise the http://trubeverage.com site.



Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: HBO, TV, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

HBO has unveiled the official “True Blood” TV series site at http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/. At the moment it is rather sparse - containing only links to http://bloodcopy.com/ , http://trubeverage.com/ , and a behind the scenes video clip featuring Alan Ball.


Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: HBO, True Blood

In connection with the Tru Blood mailings that have been sent out (as mentioned in the previous News entry), several websites have come to light.

The main site, at the moment, seems to be http://bloodcopy.com/. This is a blog site that purports to cover vampires news around the world, including their “coming out of the coffin” and the importance of “Tru Blood” (a synthetic blood nourishment beverage) to their open integration within mortal society. To quote “With the advent of Tru Blood, a synthetic blood substitute, vampires have decided to announce their presence and exist among us openly. This website chronicles the amazing days we live in as vampires attempt to integrate with humans.”

As well, “Tru Blood” itself has it’s own advertisement site at http://trubeverage.com/ which includes information on the fictional product line, a section of extras (including wallpapers downloads and more), and an online shop where yoiu can purchase “Tru Blood” branded merchandise (such as clothing and drinking glasses).

In addition to the above, there are or have been numerous satellite sites.

http://www.chishio.jp/ - The site of the Japanese ‘creators’ of “Tru Blood”. This link is now redirecting to http://bloodcopy.com/.
http://www.revenantones.com/ - A forum where vampires around the world discussed issues surrounding their “coming out of the coffin”. This link now, also, is redirecting to http://bloodcopy.com/.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BloodCopyCom - A frequently updated YouTube profile containing various videos related to the http://bloodcopy.com/ site, including a “Tru Blood vs Human” vampire taste test.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=389839563 - MySpace profile of a person going under the handle "Blood" and listing himself as 28 years old and living in Shreveport, Louisiana has begun uploading videos to his profile (duplicating some of the videos seen on the above YouTube profile).

If you have found others, please let me know or post about them in our forum.

Tags: Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Starting a little over a month ago, someone has been mailing out mysterious, wax sealed velum envelopes containing velum letters written in cuniform lettering, followed by bubble wrapped packages containing “samples” of “Tru Blood” - a synthetic blood substitue (actually sugar water ) to online bloggers and other misc site owners.

Miss M of http://GivenEyeToSee.com has posted a YouTube video of her experience.



Discuss this news entry in our True Blood Forum.

Tags: Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood