microsoft and machinima

baldmonk said:
there has to be a deal in place somewhere along the lines davey,why Microsoft why not another console like one that needs it like the wii u ? its not like they have been completely honest with the public since first announcing the console,what would macinima gain from promoting xbox one ?
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All companies pay to promote their products, and of course they only want the positives promoted. MS are certainly not alone on that. However, if there is a contract in place to hide the fact MS are paying Machinima, but that contract originates from Machinima and not MS, I feel MS aren't doing anything wrong.

Like I said, I feel all paid advertising should be noted as being paid for so people are informed, but if that fact is hidden by the advertiser, not the paying company, that is hardly the fault of the paying company.
 
i see what your saying davey, machinima have messed up big on this but i also find it hard to believe that Microsoft didn't know the full details of the promotion or the contracts.
 
baldmonk said:
i see what your saying davey, machinima have messed up big on this but i also find it hard to believe that Microsoft didn't know the full details of the promotion or the contracts.
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That's entirely possible I guess. Without knowing the full facts of what went on though, we can either take the statements at face value and accept that Machinima were at fault, or we can choose to ignore the statements and blame MS.

I personally chose to take the statements at face value, purely for the fact that MS have had so much bad publicity recently, I don't think they'd intentionally put themselves in a position for more bad PR when the console sales are actually doing quite well.
 
Just seen this on one of the articles about this..

Update 2: Microsoft tells us that it is halting the program, and trying to bring existing videos in line with the FTC's requirements. "We have asked Machinima to not post any additional Xbox One content as part of this media buy and we have asked them to add disclaimers to the videos that were part of this program indicating they were part of paid advertising," writes a spokesperson.
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I very much doubt Machinima are going to get into legal trouble for Microsoft's sake without some big financial incentives, you'd have to be naive to believe that this was an 'honest error' on Machinima's part.
 
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What confuses me is why didnt E3, Comic-con and PAX Machinima promotions use the same contracts if they were standard ones? All the promotions we know of demonstrated full disclosure - the only ones that dont are the 2 MS ones...

Can we really just put that down to coincedence? I think theres a degree of culpability here for both parties and if you take it at face value then some stupidity in not verifying the marketing terms you are engaged in.

As an aside, Im glad to see this might give a shake-up in how Marketeers deal with Youtubers and how they present themselves to their audience.

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
To be fair seems like this is going to be a bit of a pointless conversation if despite flat out statements from both Machinima and Microsoft (the only people that actually know) that Microsoft had no view or influence of the NDA and specifically had not requested it people are just going to go with "well they would say that" and "there's no smoke without fire". /shrug

As an aside didn't Machinma mention that the NDA doesn't forbid someone mentioning the promotion, only the contractual terms? That sort of makes sense if you think they were mandated to tag all videos with XB1M13 seems daf to do that if you're tying to keep a campaign secret.? I've had a quick look at the NDA that was pastebinned and I can't see anything that says you cannot mention in the video it's part of a campaign (blurb below if someone sharper eyed than me can give it the once over) I could be wrong though.



  1. EXHIBIT “A” NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT
  2. In connection with a proposed business relationship, Machinima, Inc. (hereinafter “Company”) have allowed You (the individual or entity named in the Agreement attached hereto) access, or may allow You access, to business, technical or other information, materials and/or ideas regarding Company’s business practices (“Proprietary Information,” which term shall include, without limitation, anything You learn or discover as a result of exposure to or analysis of any Proprietary Information).
  3. In consideration of any disclosure and any negotiations concerning the proposed business relationship, You agree as follows:
  4. You will hold in confidence and will not possess or use (except as required to evaluate the proposed business relationship) or disclose any Proprietary Information except information You can document (a) is in the public domain through no fault of yours, (b) was properly known to You, without restriction, prior to disclosure by Company or (c) was properly disclosed to You by another person without restriction. You will not reverse engineer or attempt to derive the composition or underlying information, structure or ideas of any Proprietary Information. The foregoing does not grant You a license in or to any of the Proprietary Information.
  5. If You decide not to proceed with the proposed business relationship or if asked by Company, You will promptly return all Proprietary Information and all copies, extracts and other objects or items in which Proprietary Information may be contained or embodied.
  6. You will promptly notify Company of any unauthorized release, disclosure or use of Proprietary Information.
  7. You understand that this Agreement does not obligate Company to disclose any information or negotiate or enter into any agreement or relationship. You will strictly abide by any and all instructions and restrictions provided by Company from time to time with respect to Proprietary Information or Company systems. You will ensure the security of any facilities, machines, accounts, passwords and methods You use to store any Proprietary Information or to access Company systems and ensure that no other person has or obtains access thereto.
  8. The terms of this Agreement will remain in effect with respect to any particular Proprietary Information until You can document that such Proprietary Information falls into one of the exceptions stated in Paragraph 1 above.
  9. You acknowledge and agree that due to the unique nature of the Proprietary Information, any breach of this agreement would cause irreparable harm to Company for which damages are not an adequate remedy, and that Company shall therefore be entitled to equitable relief in addition to all other remedies available at law.
  10. This Agreement is personal to You, is nonassignable by You, is governed by the internal laws of the State of California and may be modified or waived only in writing signed by both parties. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, such provision will be limited or deleted to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining terms remain in full force and effect. The prevailing party in any dispute or legal action regarding the subject matter of this Agreement shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
  11. By signing the Agreement attached hereto, You are agreeing to all of the terms of this Nondisclosure Agreement, above.
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the blurb in the general part of the contract seems a little more wooly which I guess may be where the "you can't mention this is part of a campaign" bit came from?


  1. 5. CONFIDENTIALITY
  2. You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above. You understand that You may not post a copy of this Agreement or any terms thereof online or share them with any third party (other than a legal or financial representative). You agree that You have read the Nondisclosure Agreement (attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A”) and You understand and agree to all of terms of the Nondisclosure Agreement, which is incorporated as part of this Agreement.
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Having said all that - if you take money for a review you should say so even if it's only giving your own honest opinion.
 
someone at Microsoft had to agree and sign off on the PR program with the PR agency, its debatable if the offending clause was in the contract that microsoft signed off or if it was added by the 3rd party PR company or if it was added by machinima.

Again it's standard business/management practice, place as many layers between yourself and the issue so you don't get your hands dirty.
 
Macro said:
You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above.
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That's as good as saying keep stum about them being given money to promote it, which is unlawful. All other promotions that Machinima have sent out specifically state that the person MUST make it clear that they are an affiliate and being paid to do so.

If everybody had followed the terms and the terms had not been leaked we'd all be non the wiser.
 
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Or just that under the circumstances given the questions they have suspended the campaign. They could easily be saying they find the Machinima NDA unacceptable and so have suspended the campaign?
 
the NDA is the biggest problem but we will never find out who put it there :confused: so what does this mean for me - will i still play xbox (yes) will i stop watching vids from mach (yes) do i trust less tubers than i did last week(yeah sure) does this affect my life and my enjoyment of games (hell no) :D
 
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