The packets will plug what ABC says will be "tears of joy" brought on by a new episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and then the debut of "Oprah's Big Give" on March 2. ABC is billing it as "Feel Good Sunday." It's likely to receive significant on-air support during Sunday's Oscar telecast.
The packets won't be included in every issue of the magazine, just to subscribers in select markets.
A similar initiative was employed by ABC last fall as it attached branded, real-size hospital gowns to TV Guide issues in New York and Los Angeles, backing the season debut of "Grey's Anatomy."
Once a dominant advertising outlet for broadcast networks when it was digest-size and its circulation approached 20 million, money-losing TV Guide has pitched its new look and style as an effective marketing outlet--even as the boom in celebrity magazines has become a new pop-culture stronghold.
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"Oprah's Big Give" is an eight-episode limited series where 10 people scramble to creatively alter the lives of complete strangers, via giveaways of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It fits within ABC's stated conceit for its reality series of "wish fulfillment."