What Hollywood and Madison Avenue euphemistically call "brand integration" was hard to miss last season. Gabrielle Solis, Eva Longoria's character on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," found herself hard
up for money and reluctantly agreed to don an evening gown and extol the virtues of a Buick LaCrosse at a car display. Network, advertising and production executives say that this season, more and
more brands will venture outside the confines of 30-second ads. They may have no choice: As technology and clutter blunt the effectiveness and reach of the commercial spots that have underpinned the
television business for nearly 50 years, the various players are scrambling to adapt.
Read the whole story at The New York Times, October 2, 2005 »