• by kyle , Daisy Whitney , January 31, 2008

We may have found Dom DeLuise’s evil kid brother. And he has a solution to pesky pre-roll probs — product placement.

When Hayden Black — a goatee-sporting middle age man who bears an uncanny resemblance to Burt Reynolds’ sidekick — launched “Abigail’s X-Rated Teen Diary” last fall, the show debuted at a profit because of a product integration deal with Warner Home Video for its straight-to-DVD movie Return to House on Haunted Hill. 

In the episode, Mr. Black’s “Abigail” appears under the covers, holding a flashlight, having just been scared by the slasher flick. When an advertiser inks a deal for a pre-roll spot on the show’s home page, the ads won’t necessarily be seen when the clip is embedded on other sites. “Consumers want to watch videos on MySpace, YouTube or Facebook. Advertisers need to realize it’s the show that is the piece they want to be a part of,” Black says.

He sold the Warner placement for an upfront fee along with a CPM rate for October. The episode in question is called “Dr. Slasher” and has been viewed more than 170,000 times.