Charlie Sheen's First Twitter Sponsor: Internships.com
Ad.ly says promotional tweet garnered 100,000 clicks in 75 minutes.
Charlie Sheen has run his first Twitter advertisement – for hiring site Internships.com – only five days after Ad.ly helped launch him on the micro-blogging site. And while Warner Bros. Studios has reportedly fired the actor, Sheen’s in a hiring kind of mood.
Here’s the copy from his tweet, which was posted around 4 p.m. ET: “I’m looking to hire a #winning INTERN with #TigerBlood. Apply here – http://bit.ly/hykQQF #TigerBloodIntern #internship #ad”.
People who click through are taken to a landing page at Internships.com. It reads: “Do you have #TigerBlood? Are you all about #Winning? Can you #PlanBetter than anyone else? If so, we want you on #TeamSheen as our social media #TigerBloodIntern! This unique internship opportunity will allow a hard-working, self-motivated, creative, resourceful and social media savvy individual to work closely with Charlie Sheen in leveraging his social network.”
People logging directly onto Internships.com are seeing an interstitial ad (see image) that asks: “Looking for the Charlie Sheen internship?” Below the copy is a “Go” button that takes viewers to the same landing page being used for the Twitter ad.
Viewers can apply for the paid, eight-week summer internship by giving their name and e-mail address prior to March 11. In addition, they are charged with explaining why they deserve the #TigerBloodIntern job in 75 characters or less.
On March 2, Los Angeles-based Ad.ly helped Sheen launch his Twitter presence, which has since exploded to 2.1 million followers. At 5:15 p.m. Monday, the company told ClickZ via e-mail that the actor’s tweet had already received 100,000 clicks. It didn’t disclose other specifics or plans for Sheen’s account.
Last week, Derek Rey, Ad.ly’s VP of media, said his firm received 20 calls from advertisers – many in the entertainment vertical – before 9 a.m. on March 3. “The phrase ‘ringing off the hook’ – it’s beyond that,” he told ClickZ at the time. “We’re talking about the top [level] of advertisers …Charlie’s the biggest billboard in America right now.”
Seventeen-month-old Ad.ly facilitates celebrity endorsements for brands on Twitter and Facebook. The company has placed 24,000 endorsements for brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Toyota, American Airlines, Best Buy, Cover Girl, AT&T, and LivingSocial.
But whether or not major brands attach their name to the controversial Sheen – on Twitter or elsewhere – remains to be seen. Within an hour of his first tweet, Warner Bros. issued a brief statement to cut ties with the 45-year-old actor: “After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen’s services on ‘Two and a Half Men’ effective immediately.”
