If you’ve never heard of the term ‘Belinker’, don’t see the comical potential of a pomegranate, and have never diaried Mondays for #PornoDay, you’re missing out on one of the most successful global podcasts of the last couple of years…and an incredibly clever cross-media marketing lesson.
For those that don’t know it, My Dad Wrote a Porno is the cult megahit podcast of a generation, with over 160 million global downloads, devoted Hollywood A-list fans, a sell-out world tour and a live HBO comedy special coming to airwaves this year. The podcast is the brainchild of Jamie Morton, whose father, under the pen name Rocky Flintstone, wrote a series of erotic novels in his retirement. Rocky shared an early manuscript of the Belinda Blinked series with his only son, who, in turn, shared it with two of his best uni mates, James Cooper and Alice Levine. The trio, who independently were already working in TV production and media projects, instantly recognised the material’s podcast potential. They started meeting regularly at one of their flats to record Jamie reading a chapter of his dad’s erotic fiction aloud while James and Alice listen, query, gag, and crack up, in equal measure.
Rocky’s somewhat confused understanding of the female anatomy, mixed with his penchant for chronicling the mundanity of business and sales admin, makes for a hilarious combination. It’s raunchy, sure, but in a ridiculous way. The men mostly wear black thongs, “vaginal lids pop open,” and the pots and pans industry fills London’s O2 venue (sorry, “the Millennium Dome”) to capacity with 20,000 revellers.
With lines like this, it’s the kind of audio material you’ll find yourself frantically closing down when your headphone cord slips out mid-listen in public: “Her nipples hardened with her feeling and they were now as large as the three inch rivets which had held the hull of the fateful Titanic together.”
We were early converts to the series, revelling not only in its comic genius but its marketing prowess. With overwhelming podcast choice and powerhouses like This American Life and Stuff You Should Know vying for audiences’ attention, how did such a homespun production capture the imagination of millions? Since launching in 2015, the series has since spawned a live show (over 50 cities around the world to more than 70,000 people) a merchandise range, and, this May, a live comedy special on HBO. It’s also picked up an impressive A-list Hollywood following, with guests like Elijah Wood, Daisy Ridley and Dame Emma Thompson contacting the gang to join in on the banter.
It’s also inspired a league of mega-fans (the aforementioned ‘Belinkers’) who dress up in Belinda Blinked-inspired costumes, host series finale parties and take over Twitter with their rallying cries to turn Monday into Porno Day.
Fresh from filming their HBO series at London’s Roundhouse, I’ll be sitting with the MDWAP team live in Amsterdam at Promax’s annual European conference later this month. We’ll talk about their brand, how they built it, and what tips they’d give to TV marketers who want to break out of a rut.
If you’re an entertainment industry exec and you haven’t already booked, check out the schedule for this year’s conference. It’s chock-full of creative, marketing and strategic sessions brought to you by the people who build the biggest brands in media and pop culture.
And if you have something you’d like me to ask Jamie and the gang, get in touch @redbeecreative. And no, I’m not asking if he’s ever been aroused by his dad’s writing.
Aileen Madden, Deputy Managing Director