“Don’t
you think selling already existing formats would be easier to do? How did you
come to creating and selling an original format when you can sell one that
already existed?” I ask, and he tells me they wanted to create a world-leading
brand that belonged to them in every aspect. “The Legend” isn’t Pinto’s first
format yet it is the one that he believes in the most. He first came up with
the idea of the format while he was watching the internationally famous Turkish
pop star Tarkan performing at Monaco last year. He notes that he comes up with
all of his formats as he watches concerts. It’s almost a nourishing ritual for
him, just like the two-day tour he takes with a convertible around Cannes every
year after the fair.
Global Agency is looking for Legends to create
It's like the one at Madame Tussauds but real...
Selfie with the Bestie
“The
Legend” was a hit at the fair. 300 people, all potential buyers, showed up at
the launch held at MipFormats prior to MipTV, when the estimated number was 100
to 150. There are currently over 20 channels interested in buying it. “I want
the show to air abroad first” he says. There are 2 potential buyers in Turkey
whom Pinto named that I won’t reveal here. On a side note, this year’s MIPCOM
will take place in October 2016 which coincides with Global Agency’s 10th anniversary.
Known for their interesting advertorials,
it is exhausting to even take a guess at what Global Agency might do at next
year’s fair!
This
year, Global Agency was present everywhere you could think of, even as a
door-sign at five-star hotels. The Lady Gaga look-alike they brought to the
fair created such a buzz that everyone was taking selfies with her. Talk about
perfect publicity… I am not sure what Pinto has in mind for the celebration in
October and frankly I was too scared to ask as I fear I won’t be able to keep
my mouth shut and ruin the surprise. I can’t wait till October!
Be quiet, The Legend needs her beauty sleep!
If I
had to sum up “The Legend” (which I only heard once so here it goes); every
week each of the 10 contestants sing one random song from a list of 10 to 12
songs that have been selected and rehearsed beforehand, in front of an
audience. All of the performances are rated by the audience either by a keypad
or a phone application that can be downloaded. What seems to be a pretty normal
and classic song contest gets interesting later on. Let’s say you scored 82%
and your opponent scored 87%. You need the highest score to get past all other
contestants and become one of the 2 people to make it to the semi-finals. What
do you need to do? You press the button in front of you to get a chance to sing
another song. You press and you sing. All is well if you scored higher than
your first shot; if not, you leave. If you sang again, scored higher but it’s
still not enough then you can press the button for the third time and sing,
which really depends on how ambitious and confident you are.
24
people compete at the semi-finals. 12 best contestants through the weeks go to
the grand finale and fight to be “The Legend”. This format allows the families
and friends of the contestants to be present at the studio for full support.
This way the format gets to include personal stories. There is a team of judges
made up of 3 celebrities. Each week, the judges can save one of those who lost,
if they feel like saying “no luck this week but we like you, so come again next
week!” and give the contestant a fresh chance... I don’t think we’re going to
have to wait much longer to watch “The Legend” on TV. It’s going to be on a
foreign network first and then in Turkey, sooner than you think!