• March 3, 2010

Continuing its TV partnership with NBC, Nissan has struck a deal as the exclusive sponsor of the premiere episode of "Parenthood" -- the episode will have limited commercial interruptions.

As it has done with other shows, Nissan will get product placement integrations in the show, this time for the Nissan Altima. For "Parenthood," it will also get four custom separate commercials -- each 60 seconds long under the theme of parenthood -- which will tie into the Altima brand.

Two other commercials will feature "Parenthood" cast members Peter Krause and Lauren Graham; they will open and close the episode. Nissan's sponsorship has been promoted on-air, online and in print.

Nissan has done a number of marketing deals with NBC over the years. The most notable has been with "Heroes" for the Nissan Rogue. In 2007, the company, as part of a contest, gave away five Nissan Rogues during NBC's premiere week. A year before, Nissan did a big marketing deal with "Heroes" for the launch of Nissan Versa.

The company's deals have also included sponsorship of "Heroes" Web series of programming.

Mike Pilot, president, sales and marketing for NBC Universal, stated: "They have been a wonderful partner to us over the years and understand the value of aligning their brand creatively with our programming."--Wayne Friedman