• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 14, 2007

It's almost comical what Verizon Wireless was attempting to do in its sponsorship of Fox's summer flop "On The Lot," a reality-competition show where would-be Spielbergs compete for a Dreamworks development deal.

In the summer of 2002, AT&T took a flier as a sponsor of a British import known as "American Idol," where it would receive abundant exposure as the facilitator of the audience voting process. Lightning struck. AT&T has re-upped the deal ever since (even as its brand has morphed from AT&T Wireless to Cingular to AT&T, no Wireless, over the last six years). And linking with arguably the most dominant TV show of all time has of course proven to be as good as it gets in marketing. Verizon Wireless was simply hoping lightning would strike twice, for its "On The Lot" integration differs very little conceptually from AT&T and "Idol."

For that matter, the concept of the show itself hardly differs--it's just about fledgling filmmakers, not singers. Why an industry legend such as Steven Spielberg, the executive producer, would want to lend his name to essentially knock-off TV is quizzical. EW.com calls it "'American Idol's' inbred sister."

As with "Idol," viewers get to listen to judges' takes after watching the would-be big-time auteurs' creations, then get to select themselves which contestants move on. While they can vote by calling toll-free or using the Internet, the most heavily promoted way on-air is by sending a text message, which only Verizon Wireless customers can do. Those customers are charged a fee, where revenues are surely shared between Fox and Verizon. (The integration was one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX.)

While "On The Lot's" host encourages viewers to vote for each contestant, the Verizon Wireless logo is displayed on screen liberally. Verizon Wireless' sponsorship also includes all types of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage on its V-Cast service, another revenue opportunity for the telecom giant.

As much as Verizon Wireless was hoping the summer experiment would become a phenomenon a la "Idol" giving it a sponsorship position as valuable as its competitor, lightning not only didn't strike twice, it didn't even hit nearby. The show's Tuesday edition by one measure is averaging a middling 1.6 in the key adult 18-to-49 demo.

As other marketers evaluate what Verizon Wireless attempted to do, they surely won't be engaging in any idol worship.