Slater, NBC and GM drive right off the road
NBC has canceled My Own Worst Enemy, Christian Slater's product-placement-riddled TV series, proving once again that you can't polish a turd. Abysmal ratings put NBC in fourth place for the hour—an unacceptable situation. Four episodes have shown, and at least five more will air as NBC honors its contract with General Motors, whose Camaro and Traverse brands were "integrated" into the show. I can understand how it seemed like a sure bet. Those little BMW films with Clive Owen were brilliant, and Christian Slater is a pretty big name for network TV. The brands even marginally fit with the plot of Slater as a secret agent who is also a loving father. You may recall that the Traverse is the whipped-man-mobile, and the Camero is ... well, bitchin'. But the GM promos claiming that the cars were the real stars of the show, and the heavy PR campaign touting the partnership, removed any trace of integrated, seamless product placement. Despite the show's fall, GM and NBC remain characteristically optimistic and open to new partnerships, so don't be surprised if the suicidal robot gets its own talk show. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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November 17, 2008 in Automotive, Cullers, GM, NBC | Permalink |
Comments
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Ah...the whole show not being good thing. Definitely a problem for marketers...regardless of how awesome your brand integration is. 30 Rock is an example of a show actually hilariously doing marketing/brand integration right. Mainly because they make fun of it :).
Posted by: Stuart Foster | Nov 17, 2008 10:37:40 AM
yeah not surprised, this campaign made the show seem pretty unappealing... but then again, so did Christian Slater.
i think heroes has done a better job with integrating nissan since they debuted. their vehicles are still used quite often, but they're not as over-the-top with it as they were during the first season.
Posted by: mike | Nov 17, 2008 10:38:36 AM
Actually Waynes World was the best example of product integration in the last decade.
The issue with this show was that it was just plain bad and Slater didn't help. What a freaky looking guy.
Posted by: Like Totally | Nov 18, 2008 11:48:13 AM
