More branded entertainment from NBC.com

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

NBC Universal announced the second show today in its lineup of original online productions, ‘In Gayle We Trust.’ The protagonist is ‘the centerpiece of the town, serving as the sounding board, guru and trusted adviser among the town’s idiosyncratic clientele,’ the network says in its press release. OK, no ground broken so far. She’s also an insurance agent. That’s what piques my interest.

You see, this year’s crop of shows created by the NBC Universal Digital Studio group is ‘branded entertainment’ -- a cross between entertainment and advertising. The sponsors of the shows -- in this case, American Family Insurance -- do more than just buy ads. They’re involved in several stages of the production, helping make sure that the characters, script and plot advance their brand’s message. The underlying theme of ‘In Gayle We Trust’ is that insurance agents are good, problem-solving people.

I haven’t seen the show -- it goes live online Sept. 15 -- so I can’t say whether American Family’s touch is subtle or ham-fisted. Supporters of the branded-entertainment concept say that viewers will keep the shows honest. If something plays more like advertising than entertainment, people will tune out. But with TV’s traditional ad-supported business model undermined by the proliferation of commercial-skipping DVRs, networks are experimenting with all sorts of ways to deliver their advertisers’ messages. The line between content and come-on has already been extinguished in kids’ TV, much of which exists mainly to sell action figures and card games. The risk for grown-up viewers is that their shows will have their priorities reversed too.

The network’s first branded-entertainment series, an amusing workplace comedy dubbed ‘CTRL,’ inserts a few obvious promotions for sponsor Nestea into each short episode. It’s so blatant, in fact, it’s easy to segregate the pitch from the programming (and ignore it, if you want). There’s no telling at this point whether the new series will blend the two elements more skillfully, but the sponsor’s motives are the same. Here’s more from the NBC Universal announcement:

‘In Gayle We Trust’ is one component in a marketing campaign for American Family Insurance -- integrating entertainment and education to engage consumers with the brand, its products and its agents as uniquely suited to help families protect all the things they love.

The integrated campaign also includes expert personal finance advice on MSN.com and an engaging CBS Radio/Katz Advantage radio promotion, all aligned by a similar theme emphasizing American Family agents role as trusted advisors. Individual websites are digitally linked and provide an American Family agent locater tool.
-- Jon Healey

Healey writes editorials for The Times’ Opinion Manufacturing Division.