Okay, I can't say I've ever heard of a stranger transmedia product than this one.
Many people say that transmedia extensions of a primary media property can, among other things, give greater attention to a smaller player in a story, whose character can be expanded in some ancillary content. That's exactly what's happening right now with a figure that has played a part in some World Wrestling Entertainment storylines over the years--Vince McMahon's backside.
Only in the world of the WWE could a weekly cartoon about the CEO's butt be considered a plausible idea for a transmedia extension.
The cartoon debuted shortly before Thanksgiving, after a delay. On November 15, WWE put up a story that the cartoon couldn't debut on its planned release date due to the stubbornness of Vince's rump. "The cartoon's director claims that although Mr. McMahon was great to work with, his ass often refused to leave his trailer, demanded daily massages and would "butt" heads with everyone around him. The ass was not available for comment, but sources close to the prominent posterior say his mood of late has been crappy," the story said.
Inexplicably, Vince's butt has it's own set of arms in the "Kiss My Ass" cartoons. Who is the target demographic for the cartoon? Perhaps Vince himself?
The Thanksgiving debut of the cartoon featured Vince's celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with his "favorite asset."
To be fair, this particular part of Vince's anatomy has played a central role in storylines in the past due to Vince's development of a "Kiss My Ass" club for employees to have to do to keep their jobs, by making them kiss his bare buttocks on live television. And this has happened on numerous occasions.
Perhaps this tidbit from Dave Meltzer, an independent journalist who covers pro wrestling with his Wrestling Observer newsletter put it best: "The WWE is going to be doing its own cartoon on its web site called 'Mr. McMahon's Ass.' It's an already insane business that just gets even more insane by the day."
Animax, who created the animation, claims the Thanksgiving episode may "rank right up there with Peanuts as a classic holiday cartoon."
Reaction of the cartoon has run the gamut from amusement to slight disgust.
It's almost too bizarre for words...
Hi - just thought we'd let you know that it's official - "Mr. McMahon's Kiss My Ass" cartoon is a classic and has surpassed A Charlie Brown Christmas in terms of classicness.
Took us awhile to understand all the MIT-speak, but I think we got it. http://news.animaxent.com/2006/12/animax-got-into-mit.html
Michael, thanks for sending the link to the story. Glad we were able to educate you on a new buzzword we are trying to help spread around. :) As you can see, one of our regular labels for posts here on the site are "transmedia," so feel free to click there and see what kind of company you are keeping.
Oh, and by the way, another good resource for anyone interested in various sites relating to the origins and uses of the term transmedia is here.