Content Is Advertising... On TV
from the but-you-need-to-be-careful dept
Continuing my series of posts on how all content is advertising and all advertising is content, there was an interesting story last week about how a top ad agency is teaming up with NBC to create TV shows around sponsors' products. This is an interesting idea, but the risk is in how it's being implemented. Such a strategy worked well when BMW put together its BMWfilms effort -- but the focus there was very much on making sure that the films were top notch. It involved star directors making quality short films that didn't necessarily promote BMW, but had BMWs in those films. The content itself was quite entertaining, and many people watched them.And that, of course, is the key element here. The content itself needs to be compelling and stand alone as quality content, no matter what the products being showcased. Also, since the films were clearly labeled and promoted as BMWfilms, there was no "hidden" product placement. Everything was very upfront and aboveboard. What I fear with something like this new experiment from NBC, is that the the advertisers at the table will have too much of a say in the creative content, and will focus on making sure the product is positioned right, rather than making sure the content actually works and has entertainment value.
It will also be interesting to see how NBC handles promotion of this series. Will it be treated like any other series? Will it be available online? Will NBC let others copy and share it? Will there still be interruptions from commercials when it airs on TV? The answers may be very telling in how NBC is approaching this effort. Either way, this will be an experiment worth following. My guess is that, given the players involved, it will fail. The ad agency will push too hard to make the content more focused on the sponsored products. NBC will struggle with how to position and promote the show. And the whole thing will disappear quickly. I'd love to be wrong, and see real quality content come out of this, but, that may be asking too much at this point.
Other posts in this series:
- Advertising Is Content; Content Is Advertising
- On Content, Promotions, Basic Economics... And Loutish Statements
- Content Is Advertising... In The Newspaper Industry
- Content Is Advertising... On TV
- Newspaper Content Is Advertising For More News Content
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: advertising, content, product placement, tv
Companies: nbc
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
How NBC will handle it...
I've gotten to the point that I just don't watch new NBC shows at all, because the likelihood of this happening is way higher than on other networks (and especially cable).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
a new sitcom
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Already Happening Elsewhere...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Anonymous Coward
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Anonymous Coward
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Anonymous Coward
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Captive Audiences
http://impatientsufferance.com/2008/04/21/captive-audiences-in-the-digital-age-171/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ad Free Content Please
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Ad Free Content Please
Not at all. I think the idea is not to be sneaky at all, but to be totally upfront about it.
As google knows and their competition found out too late, you can't force people to view advertising that don't apply to them for too long before they look elsewhere.
But that's the point! ALL content, even those that you don't think of as "advertising" already is advertising in some way. You view plenty of content because you *like* it and it provides value to you. If NBC can pull that off here, then what's the problem?
Why would I ever watch a show I know is a thinly disguised advertisement for a product I don't care for.
Again, the point is that it's not thinly disguised, and the content is actually *worth* watching on its own.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The best product placement of all time.
Brilliant.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You are right, this would never work
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I could see it working if it eliminated commercials
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN UP EARLY
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yep, you knew I was going to post.
Many examples were posted but I don't find it a coincidence that the "good" content featured cars while the "bad" content featured products (Smallville Stride episode).
Even with the upcoming Speed Racer movie, you're going to see car related advertising within it.
So does this mean it can only be good with automobiles only? I believe so. Many viewers of the Transformers movie were not fooled by the GM placement ads of their vehicles. Many were keen to point out the other non-GM vehicles had no company logos, taking away a bit of the "reality" often expected in shows.
Interesting how this is perceived by the average consumer. Of course, GM made sure it was introducing itself as the "proud sponsor" of the movie with its TV ads, but overall, the director went missing when the logos disappeared.
That's shameful to consumers and this only points to the notion I've been arguing since day 1 that the entertainment industry no longer wants to produce content, but strictly advertising. By "marrying" the two together, we, as consumers, ultimately fail and will force many to see entertainment elsewhere.
Another thing I would like to point out is how the trend is moving to force consumers to purchase ads, as opposed to the "old school" design of giving away content for free due to the ads. Every day, this gets pushed farther and farther into consumers' lives and yet, there is no "resistance" to it.
Most likely because there is absolutely no alternative available. When people expect "content" to be free of ads during purchase, I wonder what will happen when they see they must also purchase these ads in addition.
Video games are already taking this step and some DVDs also do this (for other DVD purchases, some you can't even skip past).
Personally, I find the entertainment industry failing as a whole and while it may take a while, consumers will eventually "fight back" by tuning elsewhere to entertain themselves.
Just as they're doing with cable shows as the "big 3" continue to spend less for game shows and reality shows while canning decent "content" (Jericho fans can relate).
TNT, TBS, Sci-Fi, and USA are taking advantage of this as their viewership for original content has skyrocketed in the last 3 years, despite offering more ads per break than the "big 3" (side note: Even the "big 3" ad breaks are getting longer).
If anyone here watches futuristic anime, it's interesting to see the amount of ads found in the shows (many are fake, but the quantity is obvious). I find the Japanese have a pretty damn good idea where advertising is going in the future.
Bleak, it is.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The Office
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Disney
The proof that this approach works is that we have bought loads of toys and are planning a trip to Disneyland at some point. It should be noted as well that the BBC has a very successful kids' TV show called In The Night Garden, which has an abundance of associated products. (We have bought about 30 so far, from toys to night-lights to duvet sets.) Thankfully, it's all really good stuff - otherwise I would be cursing those clever marketing people!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]