• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 26, 2007

Fox and Chevrolet have teamed up during the World Series on a newfangled way to air the often indistinguishable billboards where announcers read a "brought to you by" message as a company logo is overlaid on screen.

Instead of the logo's usual placement, Chevy hopes to differentiate itself by placing a logo for its Malibu sedan on a sign held up by a fan in the stands--be it a Red Sox backer at Fenway Park or a Rockies supporter in Denver. The camera then appears to zero in live on the excited fan as the announcer reads the standard sponsor message--with a catch.

While the read by announcer Joe Buck is live, the billboard shot was constructed beforehand, and is "plausibly live." Several days before game one, Chevy--which conceived the concept with agency Publicis' GM Planworks--gathered a group of 50 fans in Fenway and simulated a game-like situation.

It then shot the Sox fan holding up a sign that might normally read "Will you marry me Manny?" or "With Beckett, Boston is K-Ville," then digitally inserted the Malibu plug later. The film was then delivered to Fox, which slotted it in during the broadcast.

The tactic will be used by Chevy in as many Series games as are played with different versions for each, such as a pair of Rockies fans in game three.

Game one marked the first time Fox had tried such legerdemain. Fox and other networks have tried various creative ways to break the monotony that accompanies a series of on-screen billboards; for example, Fox has shown a giant Budweiser sign at Fenway with Buck commenting on it.

Chevrolet is a sponsor of the Series broadcasts on Fox--running multiple spots in game one, including two in one pod.