• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 13, 2005

Chrysler Group looks like its inked the first pre-upfront deal of the season. But don't go looking for that money at ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox. Try DirecTV.

The giant automotive maker struck an advertising deal for new interactive ads and other marketing tricks with the satellite TV distributor.

No, this deal won't be making anyone nervous at the networks. It won't steal away significant millions from any of the traditional TV programmers. Network executives might look at this effort not so much as upfront as downback.

Major TV advertisers toyed with interactive advertising in the early '90s. Then, as now, interactive advertising was where viewers with a remote control could push a button and, in theory, get a brochure or have a test drive or car delivery come to their door.

Interactive TV was thought to be a panacea for the eroding value of 30-second commercials - much as branded entertainment is now for some marketers.

The effort is still a preventive one - much in the vein of cross-platform deals at the beginning of this decade and, more recently, branded entertainment deals. All these alternative TV media deals are for locating soon-to-depart TV viewers who will move to new technologies - be it, TiVo, wireless, or Internet.

Ironically, one of Chrysler's interactive aims is to use DirecTV's own proprietary digital video recording technology - the same technology that, according to research, steals consumers away from major advertisers' traditional 30-second commercial marketing efforts.

This isn't new. TiVo inked similar advertising efforts in the past with entertainment marketers such as NBC Universal and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and others.

But an upfront? Maybe Chrysler ought to make more of a statement and really move from significant dollars to DirecTV. Make a statement like that of Mitsubishi Motors, who a year ago decided to forgo all TV network advertising.

What did that get the company? Poor car sales and the departure of a high-ranking marketing executive. Hmmm... Maybe regular TV advertising is still the better way - at least in saving near-term media jobs.

No upfront here, then. At best it's a little further along. Let's call it an up-future. And, if this doesn't work, you can always back-down.