Earlier this year I tried to work a product placement deal between Tiki Bar TV and a prominent spirits company. I was pretty excited by the prospects, but sadly it never went anywhere.
Today, The Wall Street Journal details successful forays by brands into the land of web-based shows.
The Journal points to “edgy niche video sites” like Break.com and College Humor as two that have made production deals with Samsung, Mountain Dew and Old Spice.
Break.com created the three-part series “Ballpark Invasion” to promote Samsung’s Instinct phone. Old Spice recently drafted College Humor to produce a series to promote its two-in-one body wash and moisturizer. The result: “The Great American Twofer Hunt.”
Costs for the shows, which are typically a couple of minutes long and include anywhere from two to 20 episodes, range from about $250,000 to $750,000.
College Humor is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp.
seriously, man, thanks for continually sharing goodness like this.
it’s fun to see where all of the lines cross in order to get the right message to the right audience. cheers to the folks @ Samsung, Old Spice and the Dew.
on the flipside, i hate it just a little bit for creatives everywhere. now, all of the frustrated, wannabe tv producers who ended up working in advertising will have a new pseudo-tv gimmick to force fit into any and every campaign.
but, hey, maybe they’ll finally give up the “viral” rally cry.
i’d take that trade.