Vodka On the Small Screen

This week’s Nip/Tuck finale was a two hour special sponsored by Smirnoff vodka. FX activated the sponsorship by branding the wrap party with Smirnoff product and signage and editing the footage of the VIP event into short vignettes that played before and after the episode.

For those that aren’t familiar, Nip/Tuck is set in a south Florida plastic surgery center, McNamara-Troy, and centers on the lives of the two doctors who own it. During the first season, the doctors got mixed up with a Colombian drug lord who forced the two to do free surgery on his drug mules. This season’s plot revolved around a serial rapist/torturer named the Carver who has been terrorizing female victims around Miami.

As the finale promised to answer the question of the Carver’s identity, Smirnoff took a risk in associating their brand with an episode focused on unmasking the identity of a rapist. In addition, the actor who played the Carver (Roma Maffia) was the only celebrity in the vignettes that mentioned the brand’s presence at the party. Now that’s how you get buzz!

Nip/Tuck is undoubtedly a series that pushes the boundaries of cable and since it revolves around the lives of successful surgeons in image conscious Miami, it is an organic fit for the Smirnoff brand. However, it is important to our industry to understand the risks that Smirnoff took in leveraging this particular episode as a platform for a Smirnoff branded experience. Clearly the architects of this deal wanted to turn heads among the show’s loyal audience and they did.

For us on the sidelines, it is interesting to recognize how two completely different alcohol brands activate their cable product placement partnerships. In the previous post we discussed Grey Goose and their show ICONOCLASTS and how the brand used a VIP party to showcase their activation.

In ICONOCLASTS, Grey Goose demonstrates that they are more than a commercial advertiser or sponsor, rather, they are television producers. In NIP/TUCK, Smirnoff is not a show producer, but rather a brand that is willing to take risks and proud to showoff these risks to a mass audience.

The Art of Product Placement without the Product

ICONOCLASTS, the six-part original series produced by Grey Goose Entertainment and Sundance Channel is one of our favorite product placement stories of the year.

If you’ve seen the show, you are probably questioning our sanity. If you haven’t, then we have to tell you that in the hour long episode, there isn’t a single Grey Goose product shot (except for the footage of the pre-show VIP party).

The show is about… “Twelve of the most fearless and relentlessly innovative forces of our time meet one-on-one to explore their shared passions. They are ICONOCLASTS - individuals of singular vision who have transformed the cultural landscape.

Each episode of ICONOCLASTS brings together two innovative leaders from different fields including film and television, architecture and design, fashion, food, music, and sports and presents an intimate, unpredictable portrait of today's provocative creative leaders.

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe bears his soul to executive chef and restaurateur Mario Batali. Fashion designer Tom Ford shares his inspiration with artist Jeff Koons. Screen legend Samuel L. Jackson plays verbal one-on-one with sports legend Bill Russell. Oscar®-winning producer Brian Grazer holds forth with corporate CEO Sumner Redstone.” And the grand finale, Robert Redford on Paul Newman.


All of the individuals featured in ICONOCLASTS represent their own distinctly powerful and successful brand names. Redstone, Redford, Newman, Ford, Jackson and Grazer, are all A-List talents with resumes that prove they got to the top of their class, their own way.

Grey Goose’s brand values- ambition, success, style, passion, luxury and creativity all overflow from this compelling investigation on the subject of what makes people successful. And, the producers at Grey Goose even created their own term to define success while pocketing an invaluable Hollywood producer credit.

The show was supported in print magazine (a beautiful color spread in The New Yorker), online, consumer promotions (“Live Like the Iconoclasts”), industry newsletters (Cynthia Turner Cynopsis) and of course, television ads. In the print ads, Mark Selinger provides the powerful and romantic imagery of the stars. His portraits are book-ended by beautiful shots of the Grey Goose vodka bottle suggesting that every one of these living legends returns home to enjoy their favorite Grey Goose martini.

The more prevalent product placement becomes in our industry, the more difficult it becomes for a brand to break through. Grey Goose hit a product placement homerun with this promotional activation without compromising their brand's credibility or values or ramming their message down the consumers’ throat.

Congratulations Grey Goose and Sundance- can’t wait to see what you have (or don’t have) onscreen for us in 2006.

TV and The Internet Belong Together.

NBC and their sophomore show, "The Office" are using the web to offer viewers the chance to join in the show's Christmas party festivities.

Fans can go online to the show's webpage to view photos from last week's Christmas party episode. The photo that receives the most votes will be featured on the cover of the company's newsletter available online next week.

In addition, NBC and Purina have launched a promotion called Dog Show USA that activates Purina's sponsorship of the National Dog Show on the network. Purina is asking dog lovers worldwide if their dogs have what it takes to win Best In Show.

Purina has created their own interactive component to showcase user-generated content and promote tune-in on a branded Dog Show USA microsite. The best photo or short video entrants win Purina products and a trip to next year's show. By leveraging their sponsorship of the show and illustrating their brand tagline online (Your Pet, Our Passion), Purina shows they get it.

Consumers want to interact with their favorite brands and entertainment, and thus every show should be supported by an interactive promotion component. If an interactive online promotion is not in your media budget, then you are missing another chance to speak and interact with your target consumer. By activating a product placement with the right content and online promotion, you will be able to maximize your brand’s marketing investment.

Biggest Gorilla in the World

A 30 foot tall gorilla took over New York City's Times Square on Monday.

The gorilla was used to generate excitement for the premiere of Peter Jackson's King Kong from Universal Studios. The statue served as the centerpiece for a photo shoot with the film's cast and crew and the throngs of workers and tourists that experience Times Square every day. To build buzz around this $207 million film, 20 screens in Times Square aired three minutes of never-before release footage from the film.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg even declared Monday as "King Kong Day."

It takes a really big ape to make headlines in Times Square these days, but Universal did it with this placement. Our favorite part was having all of the daily entertainment shows report live from King Kong's lap.

Product Placement and Lingerie

Only weeks before Christmas and millions of men across the country are wondering what they should put under their Christmas tree. They grab some beers and hot wings. They tune-into Sunday football and start arguing about their favorite teams. Until the commercials begin...

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is coming and Gisele, Heidi and Tyra are wearing the perfect Christmas gifts.

The show is among our favorite examples of branded entertainment - and the fact that it once brought down computers worldwide is no laughing matter. Beautiful models, perfect pre-Christmas shopping timing, a network partner and in-store signage in malls across the country will undoubtedly drive incremental holiday sales for this brand. Victoria's Secret has perfected their product placement formula.

Do I Need a Product Placement Formula?

Yes....No....Maybe?

The process of developing your perfect product placement formula may be more valuable than actually having one. What would make your placement perfect? For example, would the main character talk about how great your product is and then go online to send it from your website to his dream girl? Would the hero use your product to save the day?


Of course, the formula changes depending on what type of product you represent, the content creative, the platform, what objectives you are trying to accomplish and what organically fits into the entertainment content. But it is truly invaluable to sit down with the right people at the table to discuss your company's product placement formula.

We recommend that clients paint their blue sky scenario and send it as a one-pager to their entertainment partners as a starting point in the discussions. Often the perfect scenario is not possible due to the multitude of competing interests, but at least it puts everyone on the same page toward a true partnership.