Welcome, Guest [Sign In]

July 2007 - Strategy Magazine
Fall TV preview

Beyond the Pod
More than ever, nets are redefining the traditional commercial pod. And they're getting creative to keep both advertisers and viewers engaged

by Jesse Kohl
page 36

CanWest's Go-To Guy could be sitting a few doors down from 24's Jack Bauer at the counter-terrorism unit this fall. He's the man who works alongside the stars, making sure their coffee is fresh and ordering their hot lunches. And maybe on the walls of his office are posters of ads for a big-brand vehicle, which he casually mentions in a phone call home: "Oh, mom, the [insert brand name here] is great! It gets 'em where they want to go, and you know how fast they've gotta move. Did you know they make this thing in Canada?"

He's a star in the making - but of the commercial pod.

If CanWest MediaWorks' Gaye McDonald, VP marketing ventures/brand partnership, gets her way, the Go-To Guy (who's still nameless) is one of the leading scenarios for the net's upcoming pod-busting plans.

The hybrid of commercial/programming snippets are based on a fictitious character who fills an everyday, yet important, role for the actual show, says McDonald. And the character, through well-scripted dialogue, will extol the virtues of a different consumer product each time we see him. Timed for premiere during the commercial breaks, or pods, of season premieres, the four 30-second spots will speak to viewers in the language and style of the show. They'll mimic the series through sound design and set decoration, colour, tone and manner. As well, they'll likely air in the last commercial spot in a cluster, immediately prior to the show's return from the break - and be backed up by a web platform for extending viewing.

McDonald says the beauty of the idea will be its execution. "It makes sense," she says. "It's speaking to the viewers, talking to them in the tone and manner of the show itself. It will allow bold advertisers to step outside of the norm of just running brand spots. We will be putting forward offerings that tie them in with that wonderful blurred line between content and commercial time."

It's not the first time CanWest MediaWorks has blurred that line for pod-busting purposes, and clients have been asking for more series-like pod programming, says McDonald. General Motors signed up for some pod-busting treatment in May, when Global premiered the second season of From the Ground Up with Debbie Travis. The commercial pod components showcased the 14 protégés competing in the design series while highlighting GM's dedication to great design.

One of the net's most innovative pod-busting tactics was last November's Ford Edge launch campaign. The Global TV spots flowed out of Prison Break, House, Shark and Las Vegas - replicating the look and feel of each show as a chameleon "hero" character "stayed on the Edge" by solving crimes, playing doctor or wearing a winning poker face during the pods.

"It was one of our first real efforts to tie our clients into the brands of our shows, by creating a series of spots that were specific to the genre," says McDonald. "We hadn't seen this done in Canada before. The 60s ran right in the first spot in a cluster. So with the blessing of our marketing team at Global, we actually moved their promos out of their coveted spots. People thought: 'Oh, hang on, the show's not over yet.' We took a couple of [spots] and placed them at the end of the clusters as well, so for the viewer it was: 'Okay, I'm back now.'"

Quick Search