• by Paul Gough , February 5, 2003

A campaign by Verizon Wireless will get a boost with a product placement on ABC’s John Ritter sitcom 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter.

The Feb. 11 episode – the second of a two-part arc that features former Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter – will feature characters using Verizon Wireless phones and features like text messaging and other aspects of the company’s Get It Now service. One of Ritter’s daughters in the TV show can tell who’s calling based on the ringtones, with different tunes for her father or a boyfriend.

“You will see something that makes it clear that Verizon Wireless is the service provider,” said Meredith Momoda, vice president of integrated marketing and promotions at ABC TV.

Momoda said the placement is organic and part of the storyline. She said 8 Simple Rules’ writers saw the value and considered it a creative challenge to find ways to get Verizon Wireless’s products and services into the show.

The audience of 8 Simple Rules – parents and teen-age children, among others – matches with the targets of Verizon Wireless’ campaigns.

“We thought the show was perfect, as John Ritter is keeping tabs on his teenage daughters … The producers thought they could do it naturally and fit it into the storyline,” Momoda said.

“It reaches our entire market,” said Brenda Raney, spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless.

The product integration is part of a larger campaign built around 8 Simple Rules, which also includes a sweepstakes. Viewers have to note the ways the characters use their Verizon Wireless phones and then send their answers to abc.com; eight winners receive a new VX4400 color wireless phone and $8,000 in phone services. The campaign is also supported by two ads in People magazine.

Raney said the integrated campaign allows Verizon Wireless to talk to the 16- to 24-year-olds who are the primary audience for the Get it Now service. She said they’re technology-focused.

“To differentiate yourself as a wireless carrier, you need to go the extra mile with your advertising. You need to be edgier. And this show for us was the best setting. It reaches our demographic, it’s a great show in terms of quality, and it’s award-winning,” she said.

It’s not the first time ABC TV has worked with Verizon Wireless. Last season, the Test Man character from Verizon’s “Can You Hear Me Now” campaigns appeared on the sets of ABC shows. The promos advertised the night’s upcoming lineup. Raney said

“[The promos] placed him on the sets of various shows. He wasn’t in the show, but because he was on the set it gave the appearance of him being on the show,” Raney said.