• by John Gaffney , January 13, 2003

Elevator. Going Up: Nothing like getting in on the ground floor of a business opportunity. Seems to me that Pepsi and Nokia understand that “Live From Tomorrow” is worth an initial investment. If you haven’t heard, the variety show will air on the WB this summer with no commercial spots. Just product placements for Pepsi, Nokia and four other sponsors. First of all, I don’t think this represents a trend to avoid commercial zapping as some people have opined. Big brands aren’t so afraid of that yet. It is something of a throwback to the days when sponsors called some of the shots. Can you say soap opera? This is a “colaphone” opera. It wouldn’t surprise me if Pepsi hasn’t already worked closely with the producers of the show. This is an effort for sponsors to get involved early in concept and production. If it beats some TiVo users, so be it. But the fact that commercial spots haven’t been added to the product placement, shows me that the sponsors and producers are serious about delivering good content.

Does This Mean God Is A Media Owner?: At the just-wrapped CES show, FCC chairman Michael Powell said he was so enamored with his new TiVo that he called it “God’s machine.” I’m not hanging the God term on him, but I think Mike should be more careful with his comments. He’s endorsing the ability to skip commercials as well as record copyrighted material. But he’s also endorsing a media deregulation process that could put his TiVo content in the hands of fewer companies. Careful what you wish for.

Lameway: The new Gateway TV ads include a sweepstakes for a trip to “The Big Game.” What? Is that a trip the AAAA conference? No. It’s a trip to the Super Bowl and the PC maker couldn’t get the rights to use the NFL terms and logos and they went ahead with the promotion anyway. Looks very second class. Might as end the Gateway spots with “Dude, You’re getting’ a Dell.”