Burger King to make feature length movie about Burgers...what next, BudTV?

[mandy]

Marketers have found a new way to try to keep viewers from tuning out: offer them TV shows, movies and online programming created by the marketers themselves, often with help from their advertising agencies.

These new offerings, the marketers hope, will be entertaining enough to endear viewers to the brands behind them.

Burger King, for example, is making a feature-length film that may star — no surprise here — the “King” character of its ad campaign. Office Max recently created a show on the ABC Family channel. Anheuser-Busch plans to start a seven-channel TV network online, called BudTV...

full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/business/media/10adco.html?ei=5090&en=99d45c2f775a63a0&ex=1320814800&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

[amy]

Advertiser-produced content — often called branded content — is a nascent trend.

It's a trend that I hope falls flat on its face and dies. 

viewers had to be in the know to associate the movie with Mountain Dew.

Keeping the fact that its primary purpose is to advertise a product hidden is really slimy, especially when the programming is aimed at children.

[FiberGuy]

I personally would like to see a movie about coffee... imagine that... with a catchy promotional phrase like "from bean to brew" or something.

Then again, I think I just need another cup.