• by December 13, 2004

NBC REDISCOVERS T-COMMERCE - Talk about the mother of all product placement deals. NBC Universal, which last week announced plans to get jailbait Martha Stewart back on the air this fall, has a new partnership with a company called Delivery Agent. The San Francisco-based startup has a tech platform that can be embedded into TV shows to enable viewers to order products featured the sets of their favorite TV shows. They can use their remote controls to click on the items - anything from apparel and furniture to appliances and tabletop decorations - call a toll-free number, or go to the network's Web site. It's a no-brainer for NBC Universal and Mark Burnett Productions, the production company fronting the new Martha show, to turn on the Delivery Agent juice. Just think of the opportunities. The shows that are a part of the agreement include "Will & Grace," "Las Vegas," and the daytime soap, "Passions" as well as Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

The agreement calls for Delivery Agent to immediately begin integrating its platform with the existing NBC and Bravo Web sites as well as the individual show sites. Through Delivery Agent's "Just Seen On" platform, consumers will be able to purchase housewares, furniture, beauty products, apparel, and accessories that are associated with each show.

"If there is a hallmark for NBC and Bravo's interactive efforts, it is innovation that enriches the viewer experience for our programming," said Stephen Andrade, NBC vice president of interactive development. "After consistently receiving viewer inquiries about products seen in our shows, we welcomed Delivery Agent's solution to connect viewers with products in this important new area for our business because they share a commitment to innovation, and above all, to our viewers' experience."

"Much has been written lately about the convergence of entertainment and commerce," said Michael Fitzsimmons, Delivery Agent's CEO. "Missing from the dialogue is how an integrated brand will make its way from the screen into the consumer's home. Delivery Agent is excited to offer its dynamic patent-pending 'Just Seen On' commerce solution to solve the extensive complexities of this evolving business challenge."

Earlier this year, San Francisco-based Delivery Agent signed similar deals with ABC TV and Miramax Studios.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH PRODUCT PLACEMENT: Or branded entertainment or whatever the word of the day to describe being subliminally subjected to ads and brands is. We're big supporters of product placement and promotional tie-ins - when done tastefully, not flagrantly. For the upcoming movie "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," there has been many partnerships brokered, the Riff feels this bombardment of deals should result in a discounted ticket price. First of all, we're already subjected to ads before movie previews. Now an ad icon has an appearance in Lemony Snicket's. The AFLAC duck no less. The appearance is brief and supposedly non-speaking, but this marks only the beginning of the partnerships. The AFLAC duck additionally appears in a TV campaign promoting the movie and the insurance company it regularly shills for.

Can you believe it? An ad icon appearing in a campaign promoting its company and a movie that it has a cameo in? Papa John's launched a campaign promoting its partnership with the movie as well. "Papa's Fortunate Deal" offers customers purchasing a large Papa John's pizza with up to five toppings for $13.99 a limited edition Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events sample CD-ROM.

That's not all folks. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kraft Oscar Meyer Lunchables, SunnyD, Ralphs supermarkets and Limited Too have also partnered with the film. Clearly all these partnerships with the exception of AFLAC are not actually used in the movie itself, but I've read more about these deals over the past week than the plot of the actual movie. It even slipped by the Riff that Jude Law is in this movie - a difficult task, I'll admit. Paramount Pictures has either shown us the future of promotional movie agreements or invented a new sport: extreme branded merchandise. Now what's this movie about?