We are proud to announce our partnership with film veteran Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers, GI Joe) for Higher Power, a high-octane, effects-driven sci-fi thriller. Not only is it directed by a seriously talented Hollywood filmmaker, it also features amazing VFX from specialist Matt Santoro (300, X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Higher Power is shot from the point of view of surveillance cameras, drones and first person footage as it follows Joe, a man who wakes up in an alley and discovers his life is under the control of a brilliant psychopath bent on domination and revenge. The story explores what happens when an “Average Joe” is given the uncontrollable power of God.

Higher Power will be released in chapterized segments online and later as a full-length feature across traditional distribution platforms. Check out the trailer for Higher Power below and visit Hardcoded for our Homeland Security series, Armed Response.

Oh, it’s on! Since May 1^st, users have been digitally lining up to take a crack at the Miracle Whip piñata in our latest partnership. Miracle Whip’s “keep an open mouth” campaign encourages people to give their product a shot before they “bash” it. In that spirit, we teamed up with Deeplocal to create a unique way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, wherever you are.

Through May 5th, users can battle it out against each other to bash or defend a Miracle Whip shaped piñata. All that is needed to get in the game and be eligible for a $5,000 grand prize is a keyboard, used to direct a digitally controlled robot arm. Commentators are live to give some flavor to the epic smackdowns.

Watch the daily battles on Break and check out this video highlighting how the robot was built. The conversation is live on twitter with the hashtag #MiracleWhip and on Miracle Whip’s Facebook.

Love is in the air on Made Man. Throughout April, our Love Matters programming centers around what it’s like to be single and dating for today’s man. We’ve got original videos, articles, and photo galleries on everything from How to Win at Speed Dating to 4 Drinks to Make Her Fall in Love. New video series Inside Dating features Parks & Rec’s Mara Marini sharing her often hilarious online dating stories and hot tips. Sex and relationship expert Anna David contributed a fascinating look into the world of online Sugar Daddies/Babies in a 3-part series. And our editors interview some of our audience favorites:  Jennifer Love Hewitt, Katrina Bowden, Adrienne Palicki, and Hannah Simone. The program is live and updating all April on Made Man.

Our new high-octane original series Armed Response follows members of a Homeland Security response team as they battle a Mexican drug cartel at the Port Of Long Beach. The series unfolds entirely through helmet-mounted cameras and security footage, giving it a live-action video game type of viewing experience. This is the first series on our new adrenaline-fueled YouTube channel, Hardcoded, which will feature premium content showcasing the most talented filmmakers working in the action, sci-fi, and effects-driven genre.

Armed Response was written by “24″ and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” writer Matt Michnovetz and created by SXM’s Tom Bannister and Justin Lutsky, who also directed. The series unfolds in 4 episodes, each 5 minutes, and stars Camille Guatty (Prison Break), James Kyson (Heroes), Wes Chatham (The Unit) and Jason Olazabal (Dexter).

Exclusively previewed at SXSW during the Producing Action for the Web panel, the series has been featured on sites including Deadline, Cynopsis, and Tubefilter. View the entire series on Hardcoded.

The channel launched with its first series, Man At Arms, which follows Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton as he recreates iconic weapons in pop culture. The premiere episode details the creation of Game of Thrones’ villain Jaime Lannister’s mythical sword.

In less than a month, the series has seen incredible traction, press coverage, and channel growth as a result of the action-packed, quality content.  It was featured on USAToday.com, Last Call with Carson Daly, and dozens of other media outlets.  The channel has over 55k subscribers and we’re already plotting future episodes, taking ideas from the suggestions left by fans of the series. Check out our latest episode featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Raphael’s Sais.

This year we’re proud to once again partner with the Movember foundation.  Movember, the month formerly known as November, is when men pledge to grow a Moustache to create awareness for men’s health, specifically cancers affecting men.  In 2011, Movember had another record setting year with over 850,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas participating worldwide.  That group raised over $126 million dollars in support of men’s health initiatives.

In 2012 our partnership will bring stronger content to our audience and more awareness for the cause.  We have built a dedicated hub on Made Man and we’ll be rolling out our content across Break.com over the course of the month.

Our first video stars professional moustache connoisseur Nick Offerman, also known as Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks and Recreation.  Nick kicks off our campaign with some words of wisdom for would-be Mo Bros on how to best approach their growth.  With support from dozens of leading websites, print publications, and even on air support from the Today show our support campaign started in a big way and built a strong foundation for a great Movember.

We welcome all friends and partners to join one of the Break and Friends Movember teams – register today at: brk.to/BreakAndFriends. Our team is already 115 strong and growing! A huge thanks to all the Break Media team members who make this partnership, our content, and our users aware of this noble cause.  Also thanks to this years’ brand partners include T-mobile, Jack Links, Chunky’s soup, and Fosters.

Here’s to a great Movember.

The report is a high level look at the zeitgeist of men today. Combining video, statistics, and Break Media’s experience in the men’s space, we hope to help you understand where men are today.  The Acumen Report is not a segmentation study, a study of men’s behaviors in specific verticals, or lifestyle data that can be had from syndicated sources.

Men at Home:

According to The Acumen Report, men’s roles at home and with family are the epicenter of his priorities. Over 90% of men believe that part of being a man is taking care of your family and those around you. An equal percentage says they would sacrifice their own needs to care for their families. However pressure to follow traditional gender roles at home still exists, with 3 out of 4 men concurring that society looks down on men who choose to be stay-at-home dads.

For guys stepping into a larger role at home has also upended traditional household responsibilities, and men now having increased responsibility for traditionally female tasks.

Men and Career:

As men have embraced a larger household role, their careers have changed in tandem. While a majority (86%) say there is still a lot of pressure on them to be the breadwinner, three-quarters of men surveyed say realities dictate that it’s okay for a man not to be the breadwinner in his household. In fact, over half of men in relationships admit they no longer are the primary breadwinners.

Technology has enabled a mobile workforce and men are now relying on their smartphones as their modern ‘tech-rectaries,’ with half of men describing their phones as ‘like a third arm.’ Concurrently there is a new wave of entrepreneurism, and 81% of men now admit they would like to work for themselves someday.

Men in the Media:

The study makes it clear that men believe the media hasn’t caught on to the evolved character of today’s man. Men surveyed said they are 32% more likely to see ‘macho man’ personalities in the media and 23% more likely to see ‘skirt chasers’, yet 31% less likely to see men portrayed as ‘good-hearted and trying to do the right thing’ and 30% less likely to see ‘hard-working, self-sacrificing’ types.  Our interviews with men revealed that male-targeted ads with the highest resonance are those depicting good-hearted guys that don’t take themselves too seriously.  

Men today are more apt to want a personal connection to the products and services they consume, with implications for purchasing decisions. Ninety percent of men indicate they look for products that are right for them and not just the latest and greatest. Over half say they will pay more for products that tell a story or say something about themselves, and they increasingly are the primary decision-maker for products that previously were more female-oriented.

More on The Acumen Report:

Excerpts of “The Acumen Report – The Definitive Guide to Men” are available on Break Media’s insights portal at acumen.breakmedia.com. For a detailed presentation of the findings, please contact your Break Media representative.

Our immensely popular Screen Junkies show, Honest Trailers, was created after brainstorming a unique content concept surrounding popular films. The idea is simple – a deep, Batman-esque voiceover explains what a movie is really like over clips from the film .   Written and edited by the Break Media in-house Creative Lab, the series has lampooned blockbusters including Twilight , The Hunger Games, and The Avengers.  Our spoofs of  Transformers and Titanic have each racked up over 2.5 million views and YouTube channel subscribers have grown substantially with each release.

With Honest Trailer: Avatar, we sought to create a stronger fan interaction by asking them in the videos which movies they wanted to see us cover next. Clearly movie fans wanted the honest truth about their favorite movies.  This was followed up by including actual viewer comments in the next Honest Trailer production. Not only did we allow users to help determine the next trailer created, we had our voiceover actor say requested oddball phrases for them in his distinguished voice.

The series has added countless fans since it’s debate, with over 12 million views and growing. Consistent sharing of each episode has repeatedly landed Honest Trailers on the front pages of Reddit and 9gag. It has also garnered media mentions from The Hollywood Reporter, Yahoo! and regular features on outlets such as Huffington Post and PerezHilton.com.

Audience demand has upped our production schedule from one Honest Trailer per month to bi-monthly releases. It also paved the way for another series, The Screen Junkies Show, which airs every Wednesday where our film obsessed team of “ScreenJunkies” will comically celebrate the movies and TV shows they love and love to hate. A recent episode features Christopher Walken doing a reading from the popular reality series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

And the follow up, where Mama and Honey Boo Boo read Walken.

Before the series even aired it earned major media buzz after Brian Wilson brought Sasquatch as his plus one for the ESPY Awards. Content was filmed as the duo prepped for the award show and hit the red carpet together.  This promotional stunt resulted in over 1 billion media impressions in two weeks.

Following the ESPYs stunt, the series launched on Made Man and Break.  Our media distribution plan expanded upon our billion plus media impressions by including outreach to our syndicated partners, sports-centric media, the SF Giants and their fans. Both Facebook and Twitter featured posts and the AskSquatch hashtag which allowed viewers to interact directly with Brian Wilson.  The content was featured in every SportsCenter highlight package around the ESPYs, and were featured on ESPN, NBC Sports, MLB TV, FOXSports.com, Bleacherreport.com, Yahoo!, and more.

Thank you to OMMA Awards for naming us a finalist. Voting is now live and we would greatly appreciate your support!