Or, How Agencies and Movie Studios Are Becoming More Alike Than They Are Different

With a background in both advertising and film/commercial production, I have a real soft spot for good advertising and good movies. I’m the guy that actually looks forward to the pre-show spots playing ahead of the feature at your local cinema. There’s a reason I love Mad Men.

When these two worlds intersect, even better. And we’ve seen a lot more of this intersection of late in the form of branded entertainment.

Why Branded Entertainment?

With the massive online content boom of the Aughts –and the rolling aftershocks that continue to shape our daily work as ad professionals – the way we speak to consumers is changing. We’re more content-hungry than ever and it is readily available at every turn. It’s on computer screens, mobile devices, and now the living room with technologies such as Google TV and Apple TV (from the Goliath’s) plus Roku and Boxee (from the David’s).

It follows that advertising messages are increasingly more integrated in the content – the stories – that we consume so insatiably. This is nothing new, of course. Think back to the P&G sponsored soap operas at advent of TV and the corporate sponsored radio shows of the Great Depression. Hell, even the first Sears-Roebuck catalog had to be entertaining on some level for early settlers in the outhouse.

So as more eyes and ears gather at the web for their content, often to timeshift and avoid ads in traditional broadcast programming, we’ve seen many smart brands/agencies catch on and integrate their message accordingly. Even as I write, I’m listening to Trent Reznor’s free five track sampler of The Social Network’s soundtrack. Is this advertising or entertainment? I don’t really care, it makes my ears happy.

Examples of Branded Entertainment

Of course, there are examples of both good and not-so-good executions of branded entertainment. On my good list I would recommend you take a few minutes and sample the following:

• In Gayle We Trust: This online comedy series follows an American Family Insurance agent helping the members of her community. Talk about baked-in brand values. Produced by NBC Universal Digital Studio and Mindshare Entertainment.
• The Temp Life: Just renewed for its fifth season, this is the longest running brand sponsored web series to date. The story follows the fun(ny) side of taking temporary work while still aspiring to big dreams. Produced by CJP Communications for Spherion, a large US recruiting and staffing company.
• Will it Blend?: Ah, an oldie but a goody. One of the lowest budget and most virally popular, this homegrown series produced by/for Blendtec blenders satisfies the curious child in all of us by showing what happens when you put an iPad, glowsticks, or golf balls into a blender. Not your traditional, narrative-based branded entertainment per se, but this series has racked up millions of views and driven great awareness for Blendtec.

The Move to the Movie Model

While countless ad agencies are creating this work on commission by their clients, there are others who are creating original entertainment on speculation that they will attract a brand sponsor. This falls into a unique type of medium, one that is on some level integrated with a message. And while there are several downsides such as a limited ability to tailor the content to a client, the upfront investment, etc., I believe that agencies with an in-tune creative sense will win big here.

In a great AdWeek article about the challenges of creating branded entertainment with media, creative, and digital shops all collaborating for a given client, the author (Mike Wiese of JWT NY) mentions another key benefit of this approach, which is that creatives thrive under the freedom to create. A great example here is Wieden + Kennedy’s entertainment division, which describes itself as “an arts and culture digital content delivery platform [whose] goal is to renegotiate the relationship between art, media, advertising and the consumer.”

While this emerging business model may strike many as risky, I say to them, “It is.” But when did anything worthwhile ever come without risk? There will surely be a big pay off here, both on the business and consumer side. And of course, there will always be poorly-made entertainment along with the good stuff. But art and entertainment have always been on some levels linked to the mighty dollar. This goes back to the days of patronage supporting the likes of artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci. But thankfully, true artists will prevail by producing their greatest work within the context of some sort of external boundary or brief.

We’re going to see more and more original and branded entertainment coming from agencies in the years to come. Given my personal dual/dueling passions, this is an exciting prospect and one that places even more responsibility on us as advertising professionals. To produce work that brings value to both client and consumer.  Work that inspires and brings out the best in us.

Stay tuned, folks…