The Money Zone

The Money Zone is a recurring segment in My Brother, My Brother and Me, where they read advertisements from their sponsors and then play a prerecorded advertisement for one of the other MaxFun podcasts.

Jingles

 * See also: Money Zone Jingles

For a while, Griffin McElroy provided custom jingles for all Jumbotron messages. He stopped making jingles for personal messages in Episode 66, and stopped making jingles for business messages in Episode 108.

Jumbotron Messages
"Jumbotrons" were special messages, sent in and paid for by a listener, and then read by the brothers during the Money Zone. A typical Jumbotron might be a short advertisement or a personal message to another listener, wishing them well or congratulating them on a birthday/wedding anniversary.

Problems and Discontinuation
Because demand for Jumbotrons was so high, message slots were sold in batches and scheduling was done on a first-come, first-serve basis. This meant that not only were Jumbotron messages difficult to get, they were also notorious for being read later than the senders hoped.

Eventually, Jumbotrons were discontinued altogether, because the brothers felt that the limited quantity and scheduling issues resulted in a net bummer. The final Jumbotrons were read in Episode 436. Although Jumbotrons for MBMBaM and The Adventure Zone were discontinued, the service is still available to listeners of other podcasts on the Maximum Fun Network, including some that are hosted by McElroys.

Best Message Ever
In Episode 209, the brothers received possibly the best Jumbotron message ever:

"To Elliot from Matt -- thanks for vibing it and keeping it tight. If you need me, I'm on my mobile."

The brothers praised the message for its brevity and wit, and continued to bring it up in several subsequent episodes. In Episode 211, they talk about other messages coming close to dethroning the best ever message, but as yet, nothing has been able to top it.

The Meanest Thing Anybody's Ever Done on This Show
In Episode 304, one listener, Rishi, put their friend Avital on blast by submitting part of a LiveJournal entry she had written after a Coldplay concert in 2003. Rishi and Avital both attended the live show in Episode 307, where John Hodgman performed a live reading of the LiveJournal post, and Rishi sent in further Jumbotron messages for Episode 356 and Episode 407.

Links

 * More information on purchasing a Jumbotron message on a Maximum Fun Network podcast
 * Sponsors that have supported MBMBaM