Bringing More Barnum to Brand Integration
are already apoplectic that brand intrusions are threatening their very special Emmysodes devoted to illuminating the human condition. And while you might persuade a Fox to schedule “The Jeff Bezos Amateur Hour,” a full season of “Amazons!” would rankle the Targets and Walmarts that advertise on other network properties.
Transference is a double-edged trait. If warm, fuzzy feelings can humanize brands, creative duds can poison perceptions. Imagine “The Office” set in Redmond. Creatively, you could easily sustain a couple years’ worth of programs — but can you have a workplace sitcom without at least one dumb or ill-tempered boss? Every company has them, but who wants to admit it? The first rule of marketing: Do no harm.
Three words: ROI, ROI, ROI. Production companies bankroll creative costs to the tune of single-digit millions per episode. Extrapolate that to