• by Wayne Friedman , May 4, 2007

MTV Network's advertising-supported basic cable network, Logo, is taking a calculated risk--it's offering an entire series without commercials.

Stolichnaya, the vodka brand, Carat Entertainment, the branded entertainment division of Carat Americas, Logo and GoodLife Entertainment will debut a five-part TV series, called "Be Real," portraying the real-life experiences of gays and lesbians. It will debut May 14.

In the past, ad-supported cable networks have offered special one-time-only commercial-free premieres of new shows, but never an entire series. HBO and Showtime, along with other pay TV non-commercial networks, run series commercial-free.

"It is a collaborative effort between Stoli and Logo, where both sides are investing," says Adam Rosen, brand manager for Stolichnaya Vodka at Pernod Ricard USA. "Logo is putting on- and off-channel promotion for the series, and Stoli is partnering with Logo with an ad buy." A spokesman for Pernod Ricard said the vodka brand is making an ad buy on the network, but none of the commercials will appear in "Be Real."

In the past, certain program sellers have been unable to fully sell a show with regular commercials to advertisers, due to content concerns. Instead, they strike deals with a single advertiser. For example, NBC's "Schindler's List" was sponsored solely by Ford Motor Co. in 1999. But Logo's series doesn't seem to have content problems; it's about real gays and lesbians on a network that targets that audience.

The Stoli/Logo deal is similar to others on commercial-free cable movie channels, especially ones that have linked with spirit makers when it comes to programming. Grey Goose Entertainment sponsors the Sundance Channel interview series "Iconoclasts." Skyy Vodka recently did a deal as a presenting sponsor of IFC's "Blue Room" theme Saturday-night movie programming, which kicked off April 21. Both brands receive sponsors credit at the beginning of their respective shows.

Spirit companies are still relatively new as TV advertisers. For decades, they voluntarily decided not to advertise on TV. But in recent years, especially on cable networks, many have slowly begun to buy regular media schedules. In December 2001, NBC became the first big broadcaster to air ads for hard liquor in about 50 years with a spot for Smirnoff vodka on "Saturday Night Live." But the experiment was short-lived, after some public outcry.