Commentary

Brandtique: 'Treasure Hunters,' Ask.com, Genworth

There's one main reason why Ask.com's brand integration on a new NBC series raises questions: Google. With Google now as instinctive a destination for information as the fridge for a late-night snack, Ask's attempt to weave itself into "Treasure Hunters" seems, well, made for television. And since product placement is supposed to feel natural or "organic" to a show, that's a bad thing.

On at least one level, Ask's presence in "Treasure Hunters"--a reality series with a strong resemblance to CBS' "The Amazing Race"--is indeed a made-for-television gambit. One of the show's producers is branded entertainment agency Madison Road Entertainment, which also found major roles for Motorola and Genworth Financial in the competition, where teams try to outwit each other in pursuit of a treasure (to be provided by Genworth).

(All three placements in the June 18 premiere were evaluated and ranked via research firm iTVX as three of the top five most effective product placements last week.)

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At times, however, it feels as if the producers--which also include NBC Universal and Imagine--decided to make a show in the vein of "The Amazing Race" with the goal of carving out product placement opportunities as top-of-mind as creating compelling television.

For the 10 teams of treasure hunters, Ask.com--the search engine owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp--serves as a travel guide during the journey. The contestants are given laptop computers to take along, and told that they have access to Ask's "unique search technology." So, throughout the show, teams desperately trying to find their way are seen going to Ask.com and typing in a search inquiry. Here's where the placement falls short: How likely is it that people hungry for what's billed as "one of the largest prizes in television history" would trust their fate to Ask? More likely, with big bucks on the line, they'd be going straight to Google.

But even if Ask.com offers some advantage over Google--and IAC is in the midst of a marketing campaign that attempts to convey one--the "Treasure Hunters" placement fails miserably when Ask tries to reinforce its brand by clothing the globetrotting contestants in Ask.com T-shirts. How in the world is that organic to the show? That's just hard-sell--direct, in-your-face marketing. And the gray T-shirts don't even look cool; they appear best-suited to the gym for an anonymous run on the treadmill.

There's a third quizzical aspect to how Ask's presence in the show is executed. Ask.com's parent IAC also owns travel booking site Expedia. Yet, when "Treasure Hunters" host Laird MacIntosh informs the contestants they will have access to Ask en route, he immediately follows that with the news that they'll be able to book their travel online at Orbitz.com. Orbitz is a major competitor to Expedia. With IAC's considerable commitment to the show, it's curious why it would stomach a competitor to one of its major business units also playing a role.

Beyond Ask.com, Motorola's product integration is not particularly innovative. The host MacIntosh communicates with the teams via video on Motorola Razrs--the latest role for cell phones on reality TV, where they have a long history of product placement. Clearly, it's an effort by Motorola to promote the video capabilities of its phones--a huge growth opportunity for the mobile business.

The communication between MacIntosh and the contestants is shown from two angles. One, when the teams receive directions or clues from him on their phone screens. While perhaps suffering from overexposure and potential viewer backlash--it seemingly happens in every other scene--the tactic at least has a plausible role in the show. But the other side of the coin, where MacIntosh is seen giving the directions, is over the top. He appears on a giant screen with "Motorola" emblazoned above him. It's supposed to resemble a mobile screen, but is more like a Jumbotron.

Genworth's product placement role is much less prominent than either Ask.com or Motorola, with its brand simply placed on several road signs along the journey. The principal aspects of Genworth's branded entertainment deal include sponsorship of an online game on NBC.com that's promoted during the broadcast, and the supposed boffo prize it's set to deliver to the winner on the finale.

But Genworth's involvement with the show seems curious. What exactly does an insurance holding company have to do with people zipping around the world in search of a lucrative prize--except that insurance companies have big money? However, that's not exactly the image they want to project.

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