• by Aaron Baar , July 16, 2009

In the new series, called "Uncovered presented by Southern Comfort," notable artists such as 3 Doors Down, The Cardigans, JET and Drive-By Truckers discuss the songs that influenced them, and perform covers of those songs. The first video, for instance, features the members of Dinosaur Jr. discuss how they were influenced by The Cure before they play, "Just Like Heaven."

"One of the key insights we've had is that adults 21-29, who are our target, are very interested in music as a cultural language," Lena DerOhannessian, U.S. marketing director for Southern Comfort, tells Marketing Daily. "We had been doing a great deal with our own music series, and what we wanted to do was take our association with music further."

While Southern Comfort posted video from its SoCo Music Experience festivals on music-oriented sites last year, the "Uncovered" series is a much larger program than what the company has done in the past, DerOhannessian says. She notes that Playboy's attempts to remake itself as an entertainment destination on the web were enticing to Southern Comfort.

"This gives us an opportunity to branch out into other genres," she says. "It seemed like an appropriate fit, not only in terms of content but also for brand agenda and stature."

Southern Comfort is also sponsoring a 10-market concert series it calls "Undercover." In these concerts, one of three popular bands -- The Polyphonic Spree, Ghostland Observatory or The Hold Steady -- plays a set that includes cover songs from artists who have inspired them. "'Uncovered' marries so well with our 'Undercover' program," DerOhannessian says.

The videos, which have been created exclusively for Playboy.com, will premiere every month for the next 10 months. Through the partnership, Southern Comfort has arranged that its name and pre-roll video for the web series is permanently attached, so it is contained if someone embeds it on a blog or social media site, DerOhannessian says.