• by Ken Liebeskind , June 15, 2001

The Family Friendly Programming Forum (FFPF) has done it again. The group of major advertisers, in association with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), has contributed money to a script development fund that led to the development of two new family friendly sitcoms on The WB network.

This week, the ANA announced that Raising Dad, a sitcom about a widower raising two young daughters and starring Bob Saget that will debut this fall was based on a FFPF developed script. A spokesman at The WB told MediaDailyNews another show funded by FFPF, The (Mis) Adventures of Fiona Plum, is also planned for next season. It will be a mid season replacement show, he said.

Both shows were developed with the help of the FFPF, an organization formed last year that pays for script development for family friendly shows. Forty-five advertisers belong to the group, but only 14 contributed money for the scripts, which has caused some to criticize the group for its low level of funding. Still, the money has now led to the development of three shows on The WB with Gilmore Girls, which debuted last fall, the first effort.

The money that goes to script development is returned to the group if the script leads to a pilot. That way, there is no original outlay by the networks and the group can have more money to pursue new scripts.

At first, only The WB network participated, after a "put your money where your mouth is" encounter between the group and the network. After the group agreed to put the money up, Gilmore Girls resulted. The show was a success, prompting other networks to join in. CBS, ABC and NBC are now involved, with scripts in development for next year, according to Barbara Bacci Mirque, senior vice president of the ANA.

John McKeegan, a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, one of the 14 advertisers that have contributed to the fund, lauded its efforts, saying, "It's a tremendous accomplishment for the short time it's been in existence."

He notes that J&J has been a heavy advertiser on Gilmore Girls, buying time to promote mostly women's products, such as Neutrogena and RoC skin care products. Advertising plans for this fall haven't been made, so he was unsure about Raising Dad. But it's "a safe bet," we'll advertise on it, he says.

Advertisers started the FFPF in an effort to create more family friendly shows they can use. Advertisers have long complained about too much sex and violence on prime time TV, so this is their effort to clean things up.

The only problem is that most of the scripts it develops go nowhere, because of intense competition. "There are bunches of scripts, but not many get picked up. But a few have made it on the air," Mirque says.