Is “As Seen on TV” the End of the 30-Second Spot?”

CHARLEY HOWE

Vice President

Tad Ware & Company

charles@tadware.com

tadware.com

Topic: Marketing/ Communications

I have a client who introduced a new product earlier this year to much acclaim. The product sold well at retail, outperforming other leaders in the category by a large margin. It’s also gotten major buzz from being listed as a Top 125 new food product by Women’s Health magazine. And then ABC’s Good Morning America had the editor of Women’s Health on the show. The GMA hosts discussed five of those Top 125, and my client was given more talk time than the other four combined. Nice one, right?

Given some of this initial success, my client wanted to keep the momentum going by capturing more media attention. That led our team to review product placement opportunities on television shows.

I should point out here that it has been a while since I did this. Last time, I went into it somewhat naïvely, believing that dealing with Hollywood should be no different than dealing with the rest of the planet. But I was wrong. Just when you finally think you have a done deal, someone new calls and says they need another two truckloads of cash to come to terms. And then so-and-so’s agent gets involved and you’re back to square one.

This time around, though, I felt better prepared for the never-ending requests for more money. Wrong again. I was immediately taken aback by the dollars funneling into television not just for product placement, but for actual story lines integrating the product into the script. Hollywood is desperately attempting to capture operating revenue amidst a sluggish economy and a drastically declining advertising base.

Want Charlie Sheen on CBS’ Two And A Half Men to wear his Hanes tidy whiteys in an episode, commenting throughout how much they help him meet women? That’ll be $5,000,000, plus a $10,000,000 commitment to CBS network. Want Teri Hatcher to go out and buy some silky, slinky undergarments at a Victoria Secret store on ABC’s Desperate Housewives? They’ll even have her try them on in front of a changing room mirror. Just send over that truckload of cash and it’s in the script.

Why is this, in my opinion, an alarming situation? (No offense to Teri.) Ever heard of interruptive advertising? That’s what this is. No longer will you be able to tune out the commercials by taking a potty break or fast forwarding on TiVo or DVR. Now the commercial will be integrated into the storyline and there’s nothing you can do about it except turn off the TV.

I had to go back to my client and tell them that it really wasn’t cost-efficient right now to have Teri nibbling their food product on Wisteria Lane. Will all shows up the ante like this? No, not all, but many will be forced to entertain new ways to help pay the bills, or we’ll end up with nothing but low-cost reality junk.

As a consumer, I’d still prefer to see some real acting with decent dialogue. And at the very least, passively agree to sit through a commercial, rather than having one forced on me. How about you?

2010-04-21 10:40:35 -0500