Those folks in Minnesota are getting serious about their corn (guy).
America, meet a new superhero: Corn Guy, now seen on his own website: www.cornguy.tv.
The Minnesota E85 Team asked Chuck Olsen, a well-known filmmaker and video blogger (“vlogger”) from Minneapolis to create the Corn Guy series as part of its viral video campaign. These are a series of short, YouTube-style video clips, designed to be shared on the Internet. The public-private Team, directed by the American Lung Association of Minnesota, is using the humorous and unconventional method to reach those who now use the Web as a primary source of news, information and entertainment.
“We need to use all of communication tools available today to discuss the benefits of biofuels and to counter the misconceptions out there,” said Bob Moffitt, communications director for the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest’s clean fuel and vehicle technologies program. “We’ve had success in the past using blogs, podcasts and live webchats to promote issues important to the American Lung Association, so we decided to use these to share the truth about E85 and biodiesel, two cleaner fuels we strongly supports.”
Moffitt said the Corn Guy segments are being edited and should be on the website soon. The “introduction” video now on the site has received thousands of hits since it went up earlier this month. “There is much speculation on just who ‘Corn Guy’ really is,” Moffitt said. “I can’t reveal his secret identity, but I can say that many of the guesses have been wrong.”
Corn Guy is here to save the day! Watch him get smacked by Taco Lady. Don’t worry, it’ll all make sense in later episodes when Corn Guy sets the record straight on the “food vs. fuel” debate, and other misinformation surrounding cleaner-burning corn-powered ethanol.
The American Lung Association of Minnesota has a YouTube video about their “Path to Cleaner Air” exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair. It focuses on how “Biofuels like E85 (ethanol) and biodiesel are making Minnesota’s air cleaner and greener.”
Thanks to Bob Moffitt, Communications Director, Clean Fuels & Vehicle Technologies Program, American Lung Association of Upper Midwest, for bringing it to our attention.
Do you think we should add it to our “Worth Watching” list?
An interesting story came out at the end of last week on TheNorthwestern.com. Apparently some gas stations (42 of them) are upset with an ethanol production company (Utica Energy, LLC) for selling fuel below the state’s strange minimum markup law. They’ve filed a lawsuit for $12 million dollars against the company and it’s retailer, Renew E-85. Now all this “under the price law” selling took place apparently at a 2-pump station. How that had a $12 million impact on other gas stations seems a mystery to me.
The story says:
According to court records, the gas station owners claim Renew’s two-pump station on Lineville Road in Green Bay sold fuel below the minimum price allowed under the state’s Unfair Sales Act, also referred to as the minimum mark-up law, for 143 days straight from Aug. 12, 2006, to Jan. 1, 2007. Based on unspecified injuries, each station owner asked the court to order Utica Energy and Renew to pay each station a total of $2,000-per-day per-violation, or $286,000.
At the least that sounds a little excessive wouldn’t you think? The story quotes Utica and Renew attorney Bruce Bauer. “He argues in a response to the gas station’s lawsuit that the gas station’s claims are more about the threat ethanol producers pose to “big oil” than anything else, saying the stations “ganged up” on Renew and Utica.
“The obvious goal is to put not just that station, but Renew itself, out of business,” a March 29 filing reads.”
Food and fuel. Corn prices. Ethanol. Farm policy. Issues in agriculture. Welcome to Corn Commentary. We’ll be discussing these issues and more. We hope to have some fun along the way so it’s only fitting our inaugural post is related to the power of viral marketing and ethanol.
If you haven’t yet seen the series of ethanol videos on Project Phin, Clean My Ride, Flex My Fuel, you’re missing a great laugh. The star-studded cast touts the benefits of e85, the need for improved ethanol infrastructure and improved mileage standards. Here’s how it got started. You’ll find more on their site.
www.cleanmyride.org has all the elements of a strong grassroots campaign. It’s got a strong message, a catchy theme and a call to action.
We liked Ben Affleck in “Hollywoodland” and have caught his numerous appearances on Saturday Night Live. However, his role as an ear of corn is truly praiseworthy.
An interesting story came out at the end of last week 
The story says: