He's With Coco

      It took Mike Mitchell's image of a heroic, brooding, almost-Churchillian, flame-haired Conan O'Brien tagged with the now-immortal "I'm With Coco" fewer than eight hours early this week to become a viral internet and cultural sensation. It took less than a day before he would have to consult with lawyers about possible copyright infringement by another commercial entity. BustedTees' Conan is blank-faced, less Churchillian, less darkly-anxious, less certain of victory in battle against the dark forces represented by NBC but uses verbatim the "I'm With Coco" tag.

     Mitchell, a Los Angeles-based graphic artist (sirmikeofmitchell.com) started thinking about ways of demonstrating support for Conan on Monday night. He said via email that he wanted "to do a campaign poster with a bit of World War II propaganda." It morphed from "I'm With Conan in 2010 to I'm with Conan" to the delicious and now-immortal battle-cry "I'm with Coco." The iconic image was completed in four hours and is certain to become a commemorative item in light of today's news that NBC has signed Jay Leno to a one hour show.

      Much of Mitchell's work has a visceral impact, evidence of an extraordinary, intelligent pop-sensibility at play. His Balloon Boy and Icons Of The Empire provide bracing commentary on current issues. Mitchell cites James Jean and Gary Baseman as artistic influences and notes that he finds inspiration in much of pop culture, in particular, Star Wars and Super Mario Brothers and ... Coco. Mitchell urges fans on his website to download and exchange the Coco image freely for non-commercial purposes. T-shirts with the Coco image and other apparel are available for purchase on his site. And his fans have taken his directives to heart - the "I'm With Coco" group on Facebook (listed amusingly enough as a religious organization) has more than 103 000 members.

     But there, in a nutshell, lies the heart of the dilemma for network television. The coveted 18-34 year old demographic demands a level of interactivity and creative freedom on a level unimaginable just a few years ago. And interestingly enough, they now have the creative and technological tools and savvy to back up that demand. They may have not been watching Coco at night, but they rallied online in support of O'Brien, their multi-layered creativity on full-display, re-mixing, re-mashing and fully engaged in the project with some genuinely talented artists and creators like Mitchell emerging from the fracas.