Brandtique: Corona, Whirlpool, T-Mobile, Wii

by Wayne Friedman, May 22, 2008, 7:30 AM

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"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and Corona Beer

Corona Beer and Cinco de Mayo? Seems like they go together. But I'm not sure adding late night host Conan O'Brien and a seemingly non-Spanish speaking cast member of his show does anything for the beer brand.

In a comedy bit on the show, it seems Max Weinberg, the drummer on "Late Night," doesn't speak Spanish, so he's left out of the conversation O'Brien and announcer Joel Godard are having. They decide to make fun of him--telling him that a dead monkey has better rhythm or that he has several different kinds of herpes.

Funny? Somewhat. Did I remember Corona? Not so much.

Perhaps the best bit for Corona was the kicker, when O'Brien said having a Corona was one of the perks of hosting a late-night talk show. Surely, the price is right. Guess we all have to get our own talk shows.

TLC's "Little People, Big World"--Whirlpool

Even reality show people have to do laundry. But they need to find their clothes first. Matt of TLC's "Little People, Big World" found some of his--as part of an overall job in remodeling the house.

What comes next? We are treated to a shot of the washer--and then inexplicably--a shot of logo on the washer. Then we have a cutaway, and another logo shot. Even less attentive cable TV network viewers might have thrown up their hands over that one.

Apparently, producers couldn't get Matt to say: "I need to wash my clothes in a Whirlpool washer." He didn't even mention he was going to do a wash in his phone conversation once he had made his discovery.

No doubt branded entertainment surveys will prove otherwise--washing their hands over the whole thing.

Bravo "Step It up and Dance"--T-Mobile

Bravo's earnest dancer-wannabes get a message on their new T-Mobile Sidekick 3--they are going shopping. How do we know? "We got a new message on our new Sidekick 3," says one dancer. Ah hah! You always need electronic messaging for reality-show contestants so they can get to their next event, audition, challenge, or shopping spree.

Just what the world needed: One more product placement of a mobile phone that will have brand managers cheering. After all, the dancer didn't blow the line calling it "the new Palm Treo."

Perhaps injecting some new brand entertainment creative into this category is in order. How about accidently doing a little cha-cha-cha on the device with someone screaming: "You are tap dancing my new Sidekick 3!"

I'd remember to kick up my heels over that one.

MTV's "The Paper"--Nintendo Wii

What should be on the front page of school newspaper?

Obviously, the best stories--but sometimes the managing editor has other ideas. What better way of discussing the vagaries of journalism than flaying one's arms through a video boxing game?

As students throw punches to become the next editor of Cypress Bay High School's The Circuit, Nintendo helps students mix it up. The danger, of course, is the matter-of-fact way the brand is presented. A background of video games in a young adult environment can be a little clichéd.

But the real issue comes later in the show: They don't have enough articles or ads to fill all the pages!

Haven't they been to the offices of MediaPost? All you need to do is scream like they do in 1940s movies: "Get me copy!"

Product Placements Of The Week
	Product	Show	Q-Ratio
	Corona	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	2.0827
	Nintendo Wii	The Paper	0.9210
	T-Mobile Sidekick	Step It Up and Dance	0.6114
	Scrabble	Gossip Girl	0.5397
	Whirlpool	Little People, Big World	0.4653

Click here to view these placements. Data and analysis provided by iTVX.

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