Advertisers Sponsor TV Movie

Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble – the world’s largest retailer and consumer-products maker, respectively – are partnering to produce and air a television movie that executives believe reflects that values embodies by the two companies. “Secrets of the Mountain” will air on NBC in April. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Secrets of the Mountain” is the story of a single mother and emphasizes generosity, honesty and togetherness. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703455804575057551112653666.html?mod=djemMM_t)

Wal-Mart and P&G executives make the argument that the companies are judged by the company they keep – the company in this case being the television shows during which their commercials air. This idea isn’t new. More than a decade ago, marketers (which included P&G and Wal-Mart, according to WSJ) formed the Alliance for Family Entertainment in an effort to create family-friendly programming. Out of the Alliance came the WB’s long-running “Gilmore Girls.”

In some ways this is a throwback to the early days of radio when companies like P&G sponsored soap operas so the company would have another place to advertise. Both Wal-Mart and P&G ads will air during the movie. Their products will also be shown within the movie itself. According to “Business Week,” featured products will include Duracell batteries, Iams dog food and cereal from Wal-Mart’s private label. (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-11/wal-mart-p-g-to-produce-family-friendly-television-programs.html).

The Wall Street Journal quotes Wal-Mart’s chief marketing officer as saying: "We're at a point where we really couldn't increase our advertising significantly from here unless we have more programming options … (Marketers) really worry about the last 10% to 20% of the ads that they have to place, because they're squeamish about the reaction they might get from the audience.” The marketing office singled out the Super Bowl and the Hallmark Channel as examples of family programming. (I would like to hear how the Super Bowl qualifies as family programming given the sexiest and “sexy” commercials that aired during the game.)

It will be interesting to see if families do in fact turn in to see the movie. On the one hand, parents may welcome a program they can watch with their children and teenagers. A study by the Association of National Advertisers (cited by the WSJ) said only 23 percent of parents were satisfied with the amount of family programming currently available on TV. At the same time, I wonder whether kids will have any interest in watching TV with their parents (just because parents feel one way doesn’t mean children do). “When you self-consciously set out to make it family friendly, you almost already have given it a kiss of death,” Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, told the newspaper.

Also, to what extent will the product placement be a distraction? A camera zoom onto a package of batteries will hardly feel organic or natural to the telling of the story (remember “You’ve Got Mail?” The entire movie was like a commercial for late-90s consumer goods).

“Secrets of the Mountain” will air April 16.

(This was originally a discussion post for a class at Medill; February 2010).