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| Joe Francis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Joseph R. Francis (1973-04-01) April 1, 1973 (age 51) Atlanta, GA |
| Occupation | Founder of Girls Gone Wild |
Joseph R. "Joe" Francis (born April 1, 1973) is an American entrepreneur, known as the creator of the Girls Gone Wild entertainment brand.
Francis grew up in Laguna Beach, California. Following high school Francis attended and graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.
Upon graduation Francis worked with his father's business, then for various media production companies, where he founded Banned From Television videos, using clips not suitable for mainstream broadcast from the studios he worked at to market on a direct to consumer basis. Banned from Television made Francis a millionaire by 24. It was from Banned From Television, that Francis developed the concept of college girls exposing their breasts and marketing these videos direct to consumers as well. Initially marketed as College Girls Gone Wild, Girls Gone Wild was born from this concept.
Beginning of a brand
Francis' first video, sold through commercials, was a series of private clips and news footage deletions of fatal accidents that were considered too graphic for broadcast. Banned From Television was considered a commercial success and it spawned other sequels. One of the videos that Francis had licensed contained footage of female college students flashing their breasts during Mardi Gras and Spring Break. Seeing the marketing appeal, he titled that footage Girls Gone Wild (GGW). He eventually stopped licensing the material and began producing it himself.
Francis' Girls Gone Wild is regularly referenced in today’s society and pop culture atmosphere and was recently cited as an example of "sexualization," number 23 on USA Today's list of the "25 Trends that Changed America".
Controversies
In September, 2006, Francis pled guilty to failing to keep age and identification records for films depicting sexually explicit conduct.
In March, 2008, Francis pled no contest to one count of child abuse and two counts of prostitution.
Francis has been involved in numerous other legal controversies, including accusations against him of sexual misconduct and harassment.
References
- "meetjoefrancis.com".
- "'Joe Francis Biography'". 2007-09-29.
- http://www.meetjoefrancis.com/joe-francis-biography/
- "Joe Francis Business Bio Page".
- USA Today, 25 Trends That Changed America, 2007-03-27
- http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=5&xmldoc=In%20FCO%2020110201069.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR&SizeDisp=7.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=5&xmldoc=In%20FCO%2020110201069.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR&SizeDisp=7.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - http://www.latimes.com/features/la-tm-gonewild32aug06,0,4420998,full.story.
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External links
- Joe Francis at IMDb