Animation Domination Meets Product Integration On Fox
Posted by meredith on 10-14-2009
In a twist on the FOX Animation Domination lineup, earlier this week the channel announced the details of an upcoming Microsoft-sponsored “Family Guy” variety show. The special, hosted by creator Seth MacFarlane on Nov. 8, will integrate Windows-branded programming throughout the half-hour. From the press release:
“We’re working with FOX on innovative brand integrations that will show how the power and simplicity of Windows 7 can enhance the content FOX viewers love,” said Gayle Troberman, general manager of consumer engagement and advertising at Microsoft. “We have simplified the PC with Windows 7, and together with FOX, we’re simplifying entertainment.”
On the one hand, as skeptics will be quick to point out, it’s hard to imagine the crass breed of humor associated with “Family Guy” seamlessly jiving with a sales pitch for the Microsoft operating system. Then again, with teens and college students paying less attention to traditional advertising and going online to watch shows they may have missed on TV, we will only see more networks experimenting with this type of branded entertainment.
Ypulse Insights researched teens and college students’ television viewing habits and effective marketing strategies for the Ypulse September Report and abbreviated Ypulse Monitor (available now!) and found both are, in fact, highly aware of product placement. And while only one in seven reported that product placements in TV shows have an effect on their perception of the brands noticed, those who claim that their perceptions have changed are more than three times as likely to favor the product placement than dislike it. Also, 38 percent of teens and 26 percent of college students noticed websites in a TV show or movie and not only did they notice, but 53 percent of both teens and college students actually went and checked the site out.
Couple these tendencies with the popularity of FOX as the top ranking channel among both teens and college students? And “commercial-free,” branded entertainment might just be the messaging innovation brands and networks have been searching for. That is, if the message is translated authentically into MacFarlane-ese. It’s a dated reference, but I can’t help thinking of the scene in the “Wayne’s World” movie when a local arcade agrees to sponsor the show, only to have the owner mercilessly mocked when he comes on for an interview. The classic prank delights viewers and arcade-goers alike.. and saves the show from corporate dullness. It might be an overly optimistic view of the strategy, and I can see plenty of room for error….Ypulsers, what do you think?
For more of Ypulse Insights research on teens and collegians, check out the new Ypulse Research section of our site.
Categorized under: TV, Youth Marketing, Ypulse Research