You might remember when HBO advertised the fictional TruBlood drink, well now they’ve made the real thing!

HBO is launching a new TruBlood Beverage this weekend, starting at 6pm (PST) on Saturday, 7/25. It’s a Blood Orange flavored carbonated beverage, “All Flavor. No Bite.” The HBO Store will be the exclusive provider:

Tags: HBO, Tru Blood

As of May 19th, 2009 True Blood Season 1 is available for purchase on iTunes. Each episode can be purchased seperately, however if you buy those whole season at once you will receive a free behind-the-scenes special called "Making True Blood".

Click here to purchase True Blood Season1 from iTunes:

The season is, also, available for immediate purchase in DVD or Blu-Ray from Amazon.com:

True Blood On DVD

True Blood On Blu-Ray

Tags: DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, Tru Blood

Courtesy of HBO, 10 official promotion photos from the production of True Blood Season 2 are now available in the True-Blood.tv Photo Gallery.

True Blood Season 2 will premiere June 14th, 2009 on HBO

Tags: Pictures, Season 2, Tru Blood

InsideView: Bruce Dunn, co-producer HBO series True Blood
Markee

"Bruce Dunn has co-produced Strange Love, Tell Me You Love Me, Local Color, Kingdom Hospital, and has associate produced Californication, The Path to 9/11, Desperation, Sleeper Cell, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, Rose Red, Storm of the Century, The Siege at Ruby Ridge, and Sophie & the Moonhanger.

Markee: HBO’s new hit series, True Blood, from Alan Ball, gives a new twist to the vampire legend. With the development of synthetic blood, vampires have come out of the coffin to be integrated with mortal culture in rural Louisiana. Did you shoot there at all?
Dunn: We shot in Shreveport to get big-value local exteriors: the town of Bon Temps, the trailer that a tornado supposedly hit surrounded by those mossy trees we love, the exterior of Jason’s and Bill’s houses. We’re definitely going back to block shoot for the second season – it’s important for Alan to be where Charlaine Harris set her Sookie Stackhouse books. Louisiana’s tax incentives are icing on the cake, and the crews supporting us there are top-notch.

Since the second book in the series is called Living Dead in Dallas, it’s likely we’ll do doing a bit of shooting in Dallas, too.

MARKEE: Right from the opening titles – a collage of images ranging from bayous and evangelicals to sexy dancers and road kill – the audience knows it’s in for a different viewing experience.
Dunn: Digital Kitchen did the title montage. They worked on the opening sequence for Six Feet Under so Alan had a relationship with them. Their storyboards for the initial presentation blew us away – they really caught the flavor of what we were looking for. One of the mandates was to sell Louisiana, to let viewers know they were going to see something quirky and visit locations they’d never been to before."

Full Article:
http://www.markeemag.com/site/MMdepartments1.php#inview


One-On-One Interview with Actor Todd Lowe
By Jerod Williams
Splash Magazines Worldwide

"JW: What can the audience expect for Season 2 of TRUE BLOOD?
TL: I am contractually bound not to disclose any upcoming spoilers for Season 2. I’m dying to tell someone. I can’t even tell my mom who uses my cousins to get information out of me. I can tell you this much just based on last season that Terry’s coming back and appears to have a developing relationship with Arlene (played by Carrie Preston).

JW: Does your theatre background work better for you in either television or film ?
TL: I would have to say television. Television is a medium that I prefer and I am able to improvise. There is a rhythm and an arc and a pace that feels comfortable. There is something about doing a television table read that feels like reading a stage play. I’m thankful for having a theatre background because as an actor, you can sense the pulse of your audience whether it is with the director, the writer, the studio heads, etc. At this point in my career, I haven’t done enough film to know if I am good at it. I’m more of a character actor and I put a lot of myself into playing oddballs. "

Full Article:
http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/One-On-One_Interview_with_Actor_Todd_Lowe_-.php


True Blood grabs audiences by the jugular
By Erica Thompson
The Courier-Mail

"THERE'S one major drawback to being a vampire in Los Angeles.

"I wasn't allowed to go into the sun because my character's white," laments British actor Stephen Moyer, who plays a 173-year-old blood sucker in raunchy US drama True Blood.

"After a while I was like, 'Come on, guys. I'm in LA! I live by the beach. Let me play'.

"Then of course I started getting the LA permatan and got in big trouble.""

Full Article:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25002140-7642,00.html


Paquin: Not Exactly Bloodthirsty
By Tom Gilbert
TV Week

"Blink has heard of low-carb diets, but this borders on the extreme. According to Dan Rebert, a creature and prosthetics make-up artist with MastersFX, which just signed on to do effects for a second season of HBO’s “True Blood,” star Anna Paquin is way conscientious about what she consumes on the set, even in character.

“Alan Ball requested of us during the first season that any time Anna Paquin needs to drink ‘blood’ on set, we have to ensure that our special-effects blood is carb-free...."

Full Article:
http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/blink/2009/01/paquin_not_exactly_bloodthirst.php


2009 MPSE Golden Reel Award Nominees: Television

"Best Sound Editing: Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television

CALIFORNICATION “The Raw and the Cooked”
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION “Bull”
CSI: NY “Hostage #421”
FRINGE “Safe”
LOST “Confirmed Dead #402”
MAD MEN “The Jet Set”
THE TUDORS “Episode 210”
TRUE BLOOD “The Fourth Man in the Fire"

The Awards will be presented February 21, 2009:
Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites
404 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Full List Of Nominees:
http://www.mpse.org/goldenreels/2009awards/2009tvnominees.html


20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Nominees

"OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The L Word (Showtime)
South of Nowhere (The N)
Torchwood (BBC America)
True Blood (HBO)"

Winners will be awarded their trophies during a trio of ceremonies in New York (March 28th), Los Angeles (April 18th) and San Francisco (May 9th).

Full list of nominees:
http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/20thAnnual/nominees.php


HBO Asia Takes Personalisation To New Levels
by Daryl Tay
Unique-Frequency.com

"Earlier this year, I got an email from Yin Qi from HBO Asia, who I met at a Social Media Breakfast, asking me if I was back from exchange and that HBO had a little something to send me for the new year. I replied yes and provided them with my address. When the package came, I was pleasantly surprised to find not one, but two True Blood calendars..."

Full Article:
http://uniquefrequency.com/2009/01/22/hbo-asia-takes-personalisation-to-new-levels/


Ad-On: 'Q' Score May Suggest Better TV Performance
by Wayne Friedman
Media Post News

"Emotionally bonded to your TV show? That may mean more to advertisers than just pure TV viewership.
Marketing Evaluations' Q Scores says high emotional bonding to TV shows is a better indication of future TV performance. In a recent study with its new metric, "Emotional Bonding Q scores," a number of scripted cable dramas posted better emotional levels than broadcast TV shows among women viewers.

Showtime's "Dexter," Sci-Fi Channel's "Sanctuary," ABC Family's "The Middleman" and HBO's "True Blood" bested all top broadcast TV shows. With a 100 index being average, "Dexter" hit a 174 index with females 18-49, the highest of any TV show. "Sanctuary" had a 171, "Middleman" was at 168 and "True Blood" earned a 157."

Full Article:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=98834

Tags: Articles, Stephen Moyer, Todd Lowe, Tru Blood

The True Blood Season 1 DVD is now available for Pre-Order from Amazon.com! Full details forthcoming.

Tags: DVD, Tru Blood

(source: Dauphinmm/YouTube)

Tags: Video, S01E10, Tru Blood

Sookie dressed in her finest gothic romance night gown was quite the treat for Bill, now it's your chance to dress up and get a treat of your own!

In the spirit of the holiday season, post a photo of yourself in this thread dressed up in some Halloween garb... anything from a simple photo of you wearing some prop fangs to a full-on costume... be it vampire, witch, ghost or other. Be creative, you can even dress up as your favorite character from True Blood!

3 winners from the submissions will be chosen! Each winner will receive a package of surprise True Blood goodies delivered to their door and the first place winner's package will include a Tru Blood T-Shirt.

The contest will run October 13th to the November 2nd, 2008 broadcast of True Blood episode 9. The winners will be announced on November 2nd after the episode ends.

Visit our forum for complete info and to post your photos!

http://thebluewhalepub.com/viewtopic.php?f=219&t=3918

Tags: Give-Away, Tru Blood, True Blood

Sookie dressed in her finest ‘gothic romance’ night gown was quite the treat for Bill, now it's your chance to dress up and get a treat of your own!

In the spirit of the holiday season, post a photo of yourself in our forum dressed up in some Halloween garb... anything from a simple photo of you wearing some prop fangs to a full-on costume... be it vampire, witch, ghost or other. Be creative, you can even dress up as your favorite character from True Blood!

3 winners from the submissions will be chosen! Each winner will receive a package of surprise True Blood goodies delivered to their door and the first place winner's package will include a Tru Blood T-Shirt.

The contest will run October 13th-November 1st, 2008 with the winners announced on November 2nd!

Visit our forum for complete info and to post your photos!

http://thebluewhalepub.com/viewtopic.php?f=219&t=3918

Tags: Give-Away, Tru Blood, True Blood

In case you haven’t followed the link on the front page, I’ve been running a Tru Blood Give-Away since July 13th.

Tonight the final sample of Tru Blood will be given away! If you’re a member of the True-Blood.tv Forums, you could be the lucky recipient of an

OFFICIAL Tru Blood Sample Kit

This final sample will be given away on Sunday September 14th, 2008 during our True Blood Episode 2 LiveChat!


More info is available in the forum.

Good luck!

Tags: Give-Away, Tru Blood, True Blood

In case you haven’t followed the link on the front page, I’ve been running a Tru Blood Give-Away since July 13th.

Our first winner has been chosen: Congratulations to Tanya C. of Manhattan! Forum members will recognize her by the username ‘tmc’.

However, the give-away is not over! If you’re a member of the True-Blood.tv Forums, you could be the lucky recipient of an

OFFICIAL Tru Blood Sample Kit

I will choose the next lucky vampire or fang banger soon!

More info is available in the forum.

Good luck!

Tags: Give-Away, Tru Blood, 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

Fangtasia, the infamous vampire bar in Shreveport, Louisiana will be hosting a party August 9th, 2008 - “The Black Masquerade” ball. A flyer for the event is now in our Photo Gallery. It will be “A night of music, drinking, and making new acquaintences”. Please be aware there is NO biting on the premises. Our friend Andrew over at Bloodcopy.com even received a phone call from Eric Northman, the bar’s proprietor, alerting him to the event.

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

In case you haven’t followed the link on the front page, I’ve been running a Tru Blood Give-Away since July 13th.

If you’re a member of the True-Blood.tv Forums, you could be the lucky recipient of an

OFFICIAL Tru Blood Sample Kit

I have obtained a few samples to give away and will choose the first lucky vampire or fang banger the week of August 10th. The final sample will be given away on Sunday September 14th, 2008 during our True Blood Episode 2 LiveChat!


More info is available in the forum.

Good luck!

Tags: Give-Away, Tru Blood, True Blood

As of July 30th, it appears Louisiana has it’s very own vampire-friendly bar & nightclub called “FANGTASIA”. The proprietor’s names are Pam and Eric and sources are reporting they are, indeed, vampires themselves. Courtesy of BloodCopy, we have a photo of their promotional flyer in our Photo Gallery along with a photo of Fangtasia itself. If you happen to be in the Shreveport/Bon Temps area then you may want to find the location of this bar and stop by for a drink! This bar is featured in HBO’s upcoming True Blood TV Show.

A BloodCopy.com reader recently interviewed a vampire named Pam who enjoys living her life openly among friends. BloodCopy thinks it’s the same Pam.

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

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

Lynette Rice at hollywoodinsider.ew.com has posted a brief article on the confusion among mainstream consumers due to HBO’s clever “Tru Blood” viral marketing. I myself continue to receive inquires on where the product can be purchased on a weekly basis:

“HBO’s inventive campaign to drum up interest for True Blood, the vampire series from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball that debuts Sept. 7, may be a little too high concept for the average mortal. Outdoor ads and vending machines that tout a bottled drink called Tru Blood have driven consumers to the network website, where they’ve futilely tried to buy the product or locate a dealer.”

Full Article:
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/07/tru-blood-campa.html

As a reminder, I am giving away free samples of Tru Blood in the forum.

Tags: Articles, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

The Website Advertising Age has a new article covering HBO’s ever expanding promotion for True Blood. We’ve seen an expansive viral marketing campaign for the in-story Tru Blood beverage, along with ads for vampire friendly dating services and lawyers. Over the next few weeks it seems that HBO and Campfire will be continuing with the viral marketing but, also, offering more mainstream advertisements:

“Coming next: a mock public-service campaign supporting both sides of a "Vampire Rights Amendment" debate, with microsites for two different advocacy groups involved in the fray: the American Vampire League and the Fellowship of the Sun. A faux newsmagazine, "In Focus," covering the vampire story, will run on HBO and HBO on Demand. At the annual Comic-Con in San Diego, a large gathering of fans of comics and sci-fi, HBO will be distributing comic books that recap story elements, have Tru Blood sponsor a masquerade costume ball and seek signatures for both the Vampire League and the Fellowship.

The effort grows less subtle as the summer wears on: Traditional tune-in spots start to run July 27, as well as a "True Blood" website with episode guides and more. An online comic book debuts July 30, and will have two pages debut per week for eight weeks. Finally, when the series premieres Sept. 7, HBO.com will offer such things as a "True Blood" wiki, where fans and vampire enthusiasts can update and edit the bloodsuckers' mythology.”

Full Article:
http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=129734

Tags: Articles, Advertising, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

As I reported a few days ago, the streets of larger cities are being covered with numerous Tru Blood posters (copies of many are available for downloads as PDF from http://trubeverage.com ).

Thanks to forum members Pennylane3575 and Tanya, we have more photo examples of how/where this promotional material is being displayed in the “Marketing” section of the True Blood Photo Gallery. Tanya even captured pics of the Tru Blood delivery truck!

Have you seen an advert for Tru(e) Blood? Send me a picture!

Tags: Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

Douglas Quenqua of The New York Times has posted a rather detailed article covering the creation of HBO’s exceedingly clever and continually expansive marketing efforts for True Blood.

“The campaign for the show, “True Blood,” based on a series of vampire books by Charlaine Harris, is shaping up to be the most extensive that HBO has ever undertaken.

By the time the program begins, the promotional effort will be four months old, having required the full-time attention of six Campfire employees who are monitoring message boards, maintaining a fake blog and coordinating the precisely timed release of new materials. In addition, 20 freelancers are working on other technical aspects of the campaign. HBO and Campfire began plotting the effort in February.”

Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/business/media/15adco.html?ex=1373860800&en=03669b67e2bcba83&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Tags: Articles, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, True Blood

If you’re a member of the True-Blood.tv Forums, you could be the lucky recipient of an

OFFICIAL Tru Blood Sample Kit

I have obtained a few samples to give away and will soon begin semi-randomly choosing lucky vampires and fang bangers. The final sample will be given away on Sunday September 14th, 2008 during our True Blood Episode 2 LiveChat!


More info is available in the forum.

Good luck!

Tags: Give-Away, Tru Blood, True Blood

The advertising department behind Tru Blood has been producing an amazing amount of viral marketing materials. Beyond the previously mentioned Tru Blood mailings, videos and online ARG style sites, they have been taking out print ads in major magazines and blanketing the streets of larger cities with numerous posters (copies of many are available for downloads as PDF from http://trubeverage.com ).

Thanks to Tanya and Jennifer C., we have photo examples of how/where this promotional material is being displayed in the “Marketing” section of the True Blood Photo Gallery.

Have you seen an advert for Tru(e) Blood? Send me a picture!

Tags: Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, 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

Some vampire somewhere must like me... On July 7th, 2008 I received a white envelope in the mail. Inside, I found a sample of the new "Tru Blood" Synthetic Blood Nourishment Beverage.

You can see pictures in the Marketing section of the Photo Gallery.

...and then discuss it with the rest of us in our Forum.

If you’ve received a Tru(e) Blood related item, or captured images of their marketing efforts, please let me know!

Tags: Pictures, Viral Marketing, Tru Blood, 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

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