NBC, won't you please take PETA's money?

Sure, companies have groused about their spots getting banned from the Super Bowl for years. But this year it's full-blown PR-stunt mania. I've gotten releases about a half-dozen such ads, and I've seen a few more on the Web. Were these commercials really submitted for approval? Who knows for sure. Publicity's what their makers crave, so I won't mention any names. Well, one name: PETA, because its spot—though clearly designed not to air—is way better than most of what will actually appear during the game. That is one lucky stalk of broccoli! Anyway, instead of being prudish, I wish NBC had accepted the ad, charged PETA $3 million and put those whining whale watchers outta business when they couldn't pay. Then we could all wear fur coats, eat veal and watch football in peace.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on January 28, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (16)
Filed under Controversy, Gianatasio, NBC, PETA, Super Bowl

You'll need 3-D glasses for Super Bowl XLIII

Exciting news in the perennially up-and-coming field of 3-D technology: Four marketers are teaming up to air two commercials in super-fabulous 3-D as part of a special "event" during this year's Super Bowl telecast on Feb. 1. The ads, which will run at the end of the second quarter (a big bathroom-break moment, unfortunately), will be a 3-D trailer for DreamWorks Animation's upcoming 3-D feature film, Monsters vs. Aliens, and a 60-second spot in 3-D for PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater. The other two marketers involved are Intel, which has made 125 million pairs of 3-D glasses for the occasion (to be made available at various retail locations), and NBC, this year's Super Bowl broadcaster, which will also air a 3-D episode of Chuck the following day (to be promoted under the slogan "Don't Chuck your glasses"). The whole thing is ludicrous enough to get lots of attention, but don't expect the Lifewater ad to knock your socks off. It will feature "the SoBe lizards and stars from DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens [dancing] alongside current NFL stars."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on January 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under DreamWorks, Intel, NBC, Nudd, SoBe, Super Bowl

My kingdom for a decent TV viral campaign

NBC follows the lead of HBO and Showtime in putting forth yet another TV campaign that blurs the line between reality and the fictional world of a show. A campaign for Kings, a drama that tells a modern-day version of the Biblical story of David, has been flitting its symbolic butterfly wings around the holiday advertising. Fliers around New York and L.A. proclaim, "Post no bills by order of the king" (first thought: the Burger King?), and online teasers from the king lead you to the fake news Web site of the kingdom: UNN Reports. Nice concept, horrendous follow-through. Those who make it to the Web site have almost nothing to explore. Amid a host of links that don't work, there are only two stories to read. Apparently, the kingdom of Gilboa is as boring as Nascar without any crashes. Or maybe they put all the money for the news network into the development of a two-minute trailer whose overblown dramatic tone is at odds with the glibness of the ad copy. Are there no decent ad agencies in the whole kingdom of Gilboa?

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on January 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Cullers, NBC

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

Published on November 17, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Automotive, Cullers, GM, NBC