• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 15, 2005

The Emmy nominations are a great time to ramp up the marketing machines when nothing is going on -- in the dead, slow-moving heat of summer. But, Emmys alone don't mean much.

Not that this year's highly honored shows -- "Desperate Housewives" (15 nominations), Will & Grace (15 nominations), and "Lost" (12 nominations) -- need the extra marketing and buzz. For other shows, it's a necessity. For instance, NBC's "Scrubs" got five including, for the first time, one for its lead actor, Zach Braff.

Print trade marketing slips into a higher gear now -- and throughout the rest of the summer. It's a particular time of year when advertising pages don't always flow too easily otherwise. Congratulatory ads by vendors, talent, producers, are the order of the day - anyone that wants to chum up to the big players. That doesn't mean much for potential or established viewers, but business-to-business marketing can sometimes rub off. Big shows get even more help, while the smaller shows struggle to get visibility.

Tiny little "Huff" from Showtime received seven awards, including one for its star Hank Azaria, as the lead actor in a drama series, as well as for supporting players Blythe Danner and Oliver Platt. That's big news for the pay-TV network, which will go a long way in possibly getting more viewers from its tiny base of 400,000.

But winning Emmys isn't a lock on any upward momentum. Fox's highly-praised "Arrested Development" didn't make any ground as one of the critics favorite shows in the last two seasons. The needle also didn't move after winning the Emmy award for best comedy last September. Some executives blame Fox for not blitzing the show's airwaves with ads of its victory. Others say it's a difficult show to market because of its sly humor.

Are the Emmys overrated -- at least when it comes to the marketing morning after? That's been the question for some time, especially when certain actors and behind-the-scenes talent keep winning year in and year out on that particular September night.

It's boring by morning and could be the reason viewers have tuned out of the award show in recent years.