• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 6, 2007

In a deal that doubles as a quasi-product placement, Johnson & Johnson will run spots and dots promoting its Visine brand during cable movies in which characters battle visible eye irritation. Under the initiative specially devised for J&J, AMC will air three movies this month. In each, the content will serve as a platform for multiple marketing messages.

While AMC isn't using technology allowing for virtual product placement, J&J will run Visine commercials during the library films and receive billboards touting the brand's sponsorship. If the deal works from J&J's perspective, a viewer will observe the struggling character, consider what he or she might do in a similar situation, and then receive an answer with a soon-to-follow Visine announcement.

AMC went through its library to find productions in which the lead characters suffer from a variety of eye irritations. The three films in the Visine deal are: "Down & Out in Beverly Hills" from 1986 (with Nick Nolte dealing with "red eye" after falling into a pool); which aired last night; "Volcano" from 1997, which will run March 19; and "The Quick and the Dead" from 1995, airing March 29.

Arlene Manos, president of ad sales at Rainbow Media, which oversees AMC, said: "We've created a customized advertising package allotting presence tied to specific movies for them to promote with their brand."

J&J has a history of marketing experimentation with Rainbow, having served as the sole advertiser for the launch year of female-targeted network, WE.

In order to garner more ad revenues in an increasingly competitive landscape, AMC has been aggressive in offering advertisers roles such as title sponsorships (Ford and Hyundai have both sponsored movie blocks) and a presence in on-air promos. The latter are considered somewhat TiVo-proof, since viewers are believed to be less likely to skip promos, which many view as information rather than advertising.

Last week, Rainbow (part of Cablevision) said ad and sponsorship sales for its AMC, WE and IFC channels surged by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, though the networks did experience some distribution increases which could have helped. Total revenues--which include non-ad related dollars--were $160 million for the trio.

While Rainbow may have a preference for crafting nontraditional ad opportunities, Rainbow CEO Josh Sapan said the networks have a lower commercial load that could be increased to drive revenues on AMC and WE. "We are generally a couple of minutes under what the norm is in the business," Sapan said, "so that is an option for our future."