At the dawn of television, programs were wholly sponsored by individual companies. Variety hours such as the Texaco Star Theater were funded and presented solely by one company looking to promote its brand and products (in this case oil suppliers Texaco). Likewise, the term “soap opera” comes from the soap manufacturers that sponsored the melodramatic serials. These programs were not only brought to you by the company but featured full integration of the product. It was a simpler time. As advertisers and broadcasters moved to thirty second spots the practice of one specific, integrated sponsor began to fade away.
Fast forward forty years to the rise of VCRs and now, DVRs. A shock wave rolls throughout the advertising industry. Viewers have been given the power to skip the commercials. What are we going to do?
Ironically advertising and entertainment have come full circle. How do you get the viewer to watch the commercial? Make the show the commercial. This is what’s known as “branded entertainment” and thanks to some innovative ad minds and a little help from the history books, it’s shaping the way brands reach the public and what we as consumers digest.
‘Back on Topps‘ won the 2010 Streamy Award for Best Branded Entertainment. ‘Topps’ is a mockumentary comedy series starring the Sklar Brothers as trading card executives. Each episode is about six minutes long and entertaining in its own right as a web series. It just so happens to be brought to you by Topps, a sports trading card manufacturer. The Sklar Brothers are respected and well known in comedy circles as well as sports circles, so their involvement is not only relevant but draws in an audience that might not want to watch a six minute commercial. Branded entertainment is all about engaging an audience while sending out the brand impression you wish to transfer. Topps does a great job balancing the story, the comedy, and their sports-centric, light hearted brand energy.
Jason Bateman and Will Arnett saw the tide turning towards brand entertainment, and acted accordingly by launching marketing production studio, Dumbdumb. Dumbdumb’s first viral hit was a sketch for Orbit titled “The Prom Date” in which Bateman plays a father sending his daughter (Aubrey Plaza) off to prom, only to have scummy teacher Skip (Arnett) show up to get her. In the end chewing Orbit gum, conspicuously referenced, soothes their worries and cleans up the dirty situation. The actors used their notoriety and comedic chops to draw viewers to the video (and keep them there) while Orbit funded the project and got to bask in the eyeballs attracted. At times the video feels like a five minute commercial, especially when they first pull out the product, but the company tag line at the end “A good clean feeling no matter what” ties everything together nicely. The Huffington Post had this to say about the video, “Yes, it’s good. Yes, it’s effective. And no, we don’t mind knowing we’re being sold something if it means Bateman and Arnett sharing the screen again.” The video which only premiered in June already has hundreds of thousands of hits, and that has everything to do with the talent and the writing. Consequently, Orbit comes off as self aware, sharp, and necessary in those sticky situations.
But comedy sketches and series aren’t the only type of branded entertainment. Skittles runs an ingenious interactive campaign titled “Mob the Rainbow” in which they call upon their fans (the Mob) to do good deeds by banding together and voting for action. In May, Skittles proposed that if 100,000 liked their post on Facebook they would give a scholarship to a young man hoping to go to bowling college. And it worked. The result is a compelling, quirky video showcasing the young man, his dreams, and the presentation of a check from Skittles thanks to the Mob. The Skittles Mob have also planted a tree and sent Valentines Letters to a parking enforcement officer. The Mob acts as a metaphor for Skittles, they’re all individual and important pieces who make up a greater whole. The videos are quirky and fun which runs parallel to Skittles’ brand.
The average viewer is smart. They don’t want to watch a commercial unless it’s utterly compelling, and thanks to DVR and the web, they don’t have to. Using branded entertainment to attract people with unique, original content that happens to be brought to you by a third party is necessary now more than ever. But it’s the added ability to reach an audience and synchronize a brand that makes branded entertainment so useful. Makes you think, if the entertainers and advertisers of the 50s got it right, maybe we’ve been doing it wrong all along?
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