Entrepreneurial Strategies 151Making People Laugh, for Money
In 1998, Evan Spiridellis showed his brother,
Gregg, a streaming computer video cartoon
produced by the creator of the “Ren and
Stimpy” show. “It was silly,” he recalls, “but
what it made us realize was that there was
the potential to get a creative product out
there without distribution people getting so
involved in ruining the creative process.” At
the time, Evan was a commercial artist and
independent animator, while Gregg was a for-
mer investment banker and MBA student at
the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton
School. But within a matter of months, they
were both working out of a garage in
Brooklyn to launch a company called JibJab
Media, Inc.
While you may not know the name, you
may be familiar with JibJab’s work. During
the 2004 presidential campaign, the brothers
produced a cartoon parodying the election
with humorous lyrics set to the tune of “This
Land Is Your Land.” The two-minute spoof
attracted more than 70 million hits after it was
posted on their Web site (www.jibjab.com).
Jay Leno showed the cartoon on the
“Tonight” show, which encouraged the broth-
ers to create other political lampoons, includ-
ing “Good to Be in D.C.” and “She’ll Be
Coming ‘Round the Mountain.” Their edgy
animation has also been featured on the
“Today” show, CNN, FOX, and was profiled in
both the New York Times and the Los
Angeles Times.
The Spiridellis have not made any money
directly from their political cartoons, but their
animations have led to other work for JibJab
Media. Yahoo commissioned the company to
create two humorous shorts. A screening of
their work at the 2004 Sundance Film
Festival led to a contract to make trailers for
some of the films shown there. They are cur-
rently working on an animated TV series pilot.
“To use a Wharton term, our ‘core compe-
tency’ is creating the animation,” says writer
and business manager, Gregg Spiridellis.
“But what we would really like to do is be a
leader in on-line original content in many
areas.”
The JibJab site now carries advertising
from a major beverage company. Chuckling
Spiridellis fans can purchase hats, t-shirts,
iPod and desktop downloads, and a DVD
with some of JibJab’s funniest work from the
company Web site. Their political cartoons
have also led to a lot of buzz for the compa-
ny’s other projects, which include animation,
children’s books, and toys for Disney,
Scholastic, the History Channel, and other
vendors.
JibJab is not the only company tapping
into the comic video market. “It is becoming a
business instead of a pastime,” notes Frank
Dellario of ILL Chan Productions, a company
that has produced shorts for MTV2 and other
commercial vendors. Other online comic
video sites include Icebox (www.icebox.com),
whose “Queer Duck” animated series was
released as a home video by Paramount in
2006, and Mondo Media (www.mondome-
dia.com), whose “Happy Tree Friends” has
aired on MTV, starred in five best-selling
DVDs, and adorned merchandise sold in
youth-oriented retailer, Hot Topic.
Some sites, including JibJab, post humorous
videos from amateurs. Fledgling filmmakers
often need just a computer, some software,
and some volunteer labor to produce a three-
minute short for as little as $3,000. Jason
Reitman, the son of Ghostbusters’ director
Ivan Reitman, says three short films he post-
ed on the Web with AtomFilms (www.atom-
films.com) helped him raise money for his
full-length feature film, Thank You for
Smoking. Other on-line videographers have
ended up with contracts to create commer-
cials for companies like Ford and AT&T.DISCUSSION CASE