A DIFFERENT TYPE OF AGENCY

As a collective, The Factory Interactive is fueled by a passion for developing enduring messages conceived through a marriage of design and technology. At the core, we are explorers of possibility and architects of memory. We create rich immersive experiences that increase message retention and reward the audience. Our mission: give personality to products, resulting in a stronger, more effective brand.

_{February 5, 2009}
SNL’s MacGruber likes his Pepsi. _{By Ashley}

As I was watching “SNL” this past weekend, the first of three MacGruber sketches came on which featured Pepsi (and MacGyver… classic). I wasn’t sure if this was a joke, or product placement. But all questions were cleared up when the second and third MacGruber sketches came on. PEPSI, PEPSI, PEPSI

Were these Pepsi ads or SNL sketches? Turns out, all were paid commercials by Pepsi, made in collaboration with “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels. The sketches weren’t product placement, but commercials paid for by Pepsi and produced by “SNL.” Though they appeared to be sketches on “SNL,” they ran during allotted commercial breaks.

When asked about the SNL/Pepsi ads, NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman says, “What we’re doing is selling entertainment vehicles and marketing platforms,”  (Silverman has looked for other revenue streams for NBC as network TV ratings have slid.) “This is where programming is going.”

To me, this begs the question… will all TV shows eventually start to “sell out” in hopes of finding additional revenue? With MacGruber, it’s at least funny but do I really want to watch “24″ and watch Jack Bauer sipping on Budweiser for an entire 30 seconds? Probably not. It should be interesting to see what Silverman means by, “This is where programming is going”.

Filed under: Media News — @ 12:54 pm

Comments (0)

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Subscribe to our feed