I saw a very interesting integrated campaign last night on the CW network that was designed specifically to foil ad-skipping. Several of the commercial breaks during The Search for the Next Doll reality show bled directly into infotainment-style interviews with the contestants, sponsored by Caress shampoo.
In an added twist, Caress developed a separate story-line featuring a ballet dancer teaching a linebacker to waltz, a nod to ABC's smash Dancing with the Stars. The commerical ends and viewers have to go to the CW site to watch the rest of the episode.
There is a little bit too much going on for the campaign to be total success. The Caress content is written in the classic bland housewife's (C)PG fantasy style, which will seem incredible dull to the CW's young female audience, especially when contrasted with the racy content of the show. It's narrated by Kate Walsh from Grey's Anatomy, but using a voiceover inspired by Wysteria Lane. And it looks like Unilever couldn't get CW to show the Caress URL in their own spot - the viewer is driven to the CW site and you have to dig around to find the link.
But overall it succeeded in that I stopped the Tivo and actually watched the spots.
Misha Cornes
Strategists & Planners
Comments (1)
I've been waiting for this to happen... to see how old school ad agencies stay relevant this way. American Idol has been doing similar things with the Ford music video as part of the programming during the hit show. Interviews with the show host and contestants also have a bubbling Coca Cola backdrop that's impossible to ignore.
Posted on April 26, 2007 10:56