by Demian Russian

Sirius XM (SIRI) shook up the nation’s televisions this last weekend with the launch of what CEO Mel Karmazin referred to during the company’s Q3 earnings conference call as “the most aggressive national ad branding campaign in our history.” The new Sirius XM thirty second ad spot, seen on millions of televisions across the country, begins with vintage footage of Elvis Presley from his ‘68 Comeback Special singing a rousing version of “All Shook Up.” While the song continues to play, the slick visual moves through footage of Michael Jordan, Richard Pryor and Howard Stern. The end of the ad brings text exclaiming “Satellite Radio is changing it again.” The Sirius XM logo and web address to the newly launched siriusxm.com are shown in the final frame.

Following in the footsteps of Sirius XM’s strong history of intriguing television ads, this new eye-catching ad seems to be getting the same positive response. Filmmaker/writer Jason Hill said, “The ad is one of the more creative ads I have seen in a while, connecting the achievements of the best in music, sports, comedy and radio to what the service has to offer. I like how the ad opens up with “All Shook Up” while showing nostalgic clips of Elvis, Jordan and Pryor, then transitioning to Stern with nice motion graphic titles married to the frame — the presentation is very impressive.” Impressed with the strategy of the ads message as well, Mr. Hill said, “The ad does a good job of promoting Sirius XM’s content by putting out in front the value of their primary offerings, and doing it with lots of style. The ad is very entertaining while cleverly promoting all four major content products Sirius XM offers: music, sports, comedy, and talk radio.”

Shifting away from the company’s position earlier in the year of “curtailed media spending in an economic environment where we did not think it made sense to spend it” and “maximizing inherent opportunities with our major talent and programming as substitutes for marketing dollars,” the company now sees value in media advertising spending. During the Q3 earnings conference call, Mel Karmazin hinted that consumers are beginning “to feel less pressure on their discretionary spending.” Commenting on the timing and scope of the new ad campaign, Mr. Karmazin said, “With so much media coverage about our merger and past liquidity issues, it’s now time for current and potential subscribers to hear about our great and differentiated content — and they will hear about it with the most exciting campaign we’ve prepared.”

In an exclusive interview on The Satwaves Radio Show, Standard & Poor’s Senior Entertainment Analyst, Tuna Amobi, said “This brand campaign is going to be closely watched. It’s a very good step for the company to take at this point — particularly to be able to reverse some of the negative publicity that kind of dragged on through the bankruptcy rumors, as well as the confusion following the merger.” With Sirius XM’s iPhone/iPod Touch SkyDock accessory now rolling out in the nation’s Apple (AAPL) stores ahead of Black Friday, Sirius XM may have saved their ad spending for exactly the right time.

Position: Long SIRI, no position AAPL

Contact the Author: DemianRussian@satwaves.com

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