Vertigo, founded by Vic Thomas and T.J. DiReda this past summer, released its first video, "More Chicks Than Dicks" in September, and made a splash over the weekend when two of the studio's first five titles picked up a total of four AVN Awards Nominations, including nominations for best gonzo release with "Rock Hard," best anal sex scene for Sharon Wild and Anthony Hardwood in "F To The A", most outrageous sex scene with Julie Night in "F To The A," and best overall marketing campaign company image.
The final nomination for best overall marketing campaign was seen as no accident.
"There is so much product out there that the consumer doesn't know what they're getting. It really is diluted in a manner of speaking," said company co-founder T.J. DiReda, who has spearheaded Vertigo's "hit the ground running" marketing campaign. "If you're going to really do this with your best foot forward, you want to create a company image, you want to create a sensibility with the type of porn you are making so that you can target certain consumers."
Vertigo co-founder T.J. DiReda told XBiz that "right out of the starting gate, we really wanted to give people the idea that we were going to hit the ground running with hardcore. But we were also going to make it sort of female-friendly.
"In other words we weren't going to be making predator sex. We were going to make films with sex that the girls were just as much a part of, just as much involved with, just as much as excited about as the male performers. That is something that no one has really been doing, to be honest with you. We really wanted to get that idea out first before we sent the product out so that we already had an image and a perception in the market place."
Vertigo teamed with established wall-to-wall players 3rd Degree Films and Zero Tolerance to throw a hip Los Angeles launch party in late August. DiRieda credits those companies with helping Vertigo to instantly establish "street credibility."
"Having their support is really important," DiRieda told XBiz. "As we all know, this is a very tight-knit group. You're either on the outside or the inside."
"We're trying to align ourselves with only the best and most respected companies in the business, and I consider AEBN to be one of the premier adult content providers on the Internet," said Vertigo co-founder Vic Thomas. "We are excited to have made this agreement, and have AEBN as one of our video-on-demand and pay-per-view streaming partners."
Vertigo is currently the "Featured Studio" on AEBN, with "F To The A", "Mad At Daddy," and "More Chicks Than Dicks" currently available for streaming pay-per-view, rental and download in both Windows and Real format.