In "Back to My Roots," Wayans explains how his decision to host the BET AWARDS was driven by his desire to reconnect with Black culture — but he’s shown doing the exact opposite.

$8 million makes for quite an impressive multiplatform campaign for the BET Awards ’06 that will be televised live on June 27th:

Valued at $8 million, the multi-platform strategy includes national television ads on BET and other Viacom-owned networks featuring first-time BET AWARDS host Damon Wayans in a series of hilarious spots, radio buys and print ads in top African American publications, as well as outdoor and transit advertising; local cable; online promos; network contests; an extensive media relations campaign involving high-profile celebrity honorees and nominees; a mobile fan promotion; exclusive broadband programming; a grassroots effort utilizing movie theaters, beauty and barber shops and dance clubs; and several new innovative initiatives for national advertisers and sponsors.

I love this press release because it really lays out everything that I’d want to know in detail about a massive campaign, given the inherent limits of a release.

BET Mobile looks interesting:

Viewer’s Choice voting also has a BET Mobile tie-in sponsored by Verizon Wireless and began on June 1. Artists will be interacting with the BET AWARDS ’06 Mobile Fan Club community by sending text messages, real-time show updates, and pictures of their BET AWARDS preparations such as rehearsals, practicing their acceptance speech and wardrobe selection. Artists such as T.I., Chris Brown, Yung Joc and LeToya will be communicating with fans while preparing for the Awards and hanging out in LA.

I’m especially glad they included their plans for "Grassroots Marketing".  Highlights include but are not limited to:

The BET AWARDS ’06 Ice Cream Truck will feature celebrities handing out free "ROCKET POPS" and other promotional items in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles from June 22-26.

Barber shops and beauty salons nationwide will showcase BET AWARDS branded capes, aprons and promo reels for their shops beginning June 15. These salons are cultural centers known to be ‘ground zero’ when it comes to generating buzz and word-of-mouth awareness about what’s hip and relevant to the African American community.

BET’s Grassroots Marketing efforts also include in-store promotions and partnerships with retailers:

Wal-Mart is featuring BET Awards promos on Walmart-TV, banners on WalMart.com, and an insert in newspapers in over 40 million newspapers nationwide.

Footlocker, Footaction and Champs stores are running promo spots and showcasing the shows’ nominees with graphics that run during their music videos. Shoppers will also receive various BET promotional items from May 26 to June 27.

And street teams are part of the mix:

BET Awards street teams will infiltrate local hotspots and large gatherings around the country with picket signs, t-shirts and other giveaways from June 24-27.

I hope I’m not the only one that feels like $8 million is an obscene figure, even when put to such a variety of interesting uses, or that the promo shot with Damon Wayans is not even funny, though he can be a pretty funny guy.  I assume BET sees a reasonable ROI.  I’d love to see that broken down.

Official site: BET.COM