• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 7, 2005

The controversially religious filmmaker and actor Mel Gibson and ABC want to produce a romantic movie around the Holocaust and the one question that comes to mind: How little does ABC need advertising money?

In the 1997, NBC ran "Schlinder's List" and Ford Motor Company sponsored the whole thing--with no commercials. It's tough going these days for TV advertisers looking for the right environment to sell detergent and cell phones. How can ABC buy into another movie about the Holocaust that comes with Mel Gibson's notorious baggage? Mel Gibson's theatrical film "The Passion of the Christ," a graphically raw movie about the last days of Jesus Christ, had anti-Semitic overtones, according to critics. No one gave the movie a chance--and it wound up booking a heavenly $370 million in U.S. box office revenues. Gibson comes to the Holocaust project with the additional baggage of his father, who has been quoted as saying that the Holocaust never occurred.

Is that a problem? Far from it. ABC's senior vice president of movies, Quinn Taylor, told The New York Times, "Controversy's publicity, and vice versa."

Tell that to advertisers.

With all the complaints about clutter and network audience erosion, perhaps it makes sense in this age of constant audience erosion that more controversial programming gets on network schedules--a place where advertisers can take chances. Don't they already do this when they spend $2 million to $4 million buying into one of Mark Burnett Productions' "tasks" for his shows like "The Apprentice"--all with no ratings guarantees?

No doubt Mike Shaw, president of advertising for the ABC Network, would have a smaller advertising list to work from--perhaps only selling one or two advertisers the whole package. But the sell is easy and straightforward: This is an important program for the general corporate branding messaging of your company. With all the complaints about clutter, you'll have this must-see show all to yourself.

To get big viewing in this iTunes, on-demand TV world, the bigger broadcasters will need to go bolder. Airing edgy programming gives networks some lift--maybe in non-sweep, non-crucial-advertising selling periods.

One big advertiser will be looking for some flavor.