NBC's 30 Rock makes fun of the network, television in general and, in at least a few instances, product integration. Product integration is the new way to get advertising money that's becoming more and more popular. The Office blatantly refers to real corporations like Staples all the time and football has John Madden's scribbles sponsored by someone now. Well, on a recent episode of Rock, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin blatantly praised Verizon Wireless in a brief exchange before Fey turned to the camera and said directly, "Can we have our money now?"
Funny and lucrative apparently, as Yahoo! reports today that this was a real case of product integration, with Verizon paying for the "commercial" which at the same time was making fun of the very thing they were doing which ... wow, this gets confusing.
While 30 Rock can get away with such tactics, it will become a lot more problematic when Jack Bauer is on a tense stakeout and suddenly his Mom shows up. "When my boy is on a stakeout, nothing feeds his spy-sized hunger like a bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup."
"Mom, what the hell--"
"Eat your chunky soup, Jack. You haven't eaten in the past 21 hours, 17 minutes and 28 seconds. A mother knows."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-28-2007 @ 10:26AM
Jim said...
You thought they mentioned Verizon by name for nothing?
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11-28-2007 @ 6:54PM
Ryan said...
That wouldn't have been out of the question. The comedy "Josie and the Pussycats" (Rachel Leigh Cook, Seth Green) featured product integration throughout the movie as a joke, none of which was paid for.
11-28-2007 @ 10:57AM
segsig said...
But, how much can Verizon be willing to pay for a show that 18 people watch?
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11-28-2007 @ 10:42AM
radwimp said...
30 Rock's Snapple integration last season was possibly the best thing ever done on the show.
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11-28-2007 @ 10:55AM
Lou said...
Short memory, much?
Wasn't their very first episode about Jack asking the writers to praise a GE Oven in a sketch all the while forcing the viewer to watch a commercial for the oven?
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11-28-2007 @ 11:00AM
Vito The TiVo said...
The most brilliant though was Jack's original promotion of the GE tri-vection oven whatnot in the pilot. It sounded absolutely ridiculous, but was absolutely real.
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11-28-2007 @ 11:01AM
Jim said...
Oh, no you din't, segsig!
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11-28-2007 @ 11:08AM
moreartplease said...
This isn't that new, actually (though they do it well at 30 Rock.) The first example I can think of off hand is the late lamented Arrested Development, which featured Burger King, and mocked not only the product integration, but also had Henry Winkler jump an actual shark in that episode as a sly commentary of how low they had fallen.
The Loop did a fantastic over the top shout out to Old Navy in their excellent first season.
Frisky Dingo does this regularly, with numerous sponsors, their Docker's sponsored Presidential Debate being a stand out.
Basically we all know we are sold, and sold hard. By mocking the process, the artists who make the shows can:
A) sleep at night
B) protect their hipster cred
C) pretend that it's all still okay, and that the sponsors are not in control
My question is, for how long can you get away with using mockery as a shield for the fact that you are doing this? The joke only goes so far. It s only funny so long as it retains some shock of the new.
This comment brought to you by Pringles.
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12-01-2007 @ 10:37PM
Tacocartguy said...
Actually it was Haggar that sponsored that Presidential Debate in Frisky Dingo (I'm just sayin).
11-28-2007 @ 11:09AM
Ryan said...
If you noticed during the credits it read:
Promotional Consideration provided by: Verizon Wireless.
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11-28-2007 @ 11:16AM
teenagertc said...
I remember "Arrested Development" doing it with the Burger King commercial. Tobias and Carl Weathers were talking about how you get free refills at Burger King, and how great it was!! That was a very funny example of product integration!
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11-28-2007 @ 11:22AM
Vito said...
Tina Fey's no fool. Her show doesn't get great ratings, so being willing to cooperate with the network however possible helps keep her show on the air. Not only is there nothing wrong with this, I find it admirable that she's willing to find ways to work around the system to keep a great show going.
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11-28-2007 @ 11:38AM
L'Emmerdeur said...
I'll buy anything Ms. Fey tells me to buy. See? This is why God should never make people this hot. THEY HAVE TOO MUCH POWER.
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11-28-2007 @ 12:08PM
Scott said...
Once more proving that "30 Rock" is the new "Arrested Development", except, hopefully, with enough viewers to make it for longer than 2 1/2 seasons. Since NBC does sometimes have a clue about how to nurture and grow a comedy series, I think the odds are higher than "AD" at Fox (which did stick by it for quite a long time, considering).
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11-28-2007 @ 3:36PM
Jake said...
Amen, brother, amen.
AD, 30Rock and Curb are some of the best things that TV has ever given us...
Oh, and Flight of the Conchords too :D
11-28-2007 @ 12:26PM
moreartplease said...
I forgot to add the first person to do this, I believe, though in a different artform--Mike Meyers in the first Wayne's World did a hilarious riff on product placement covering multiple products. Of course, he is an SNL vet, so the six degrees back to to Tina are more like 1 degree.
And yes, 30 Rock IS the new AD. Couldn't agree more. And would ALWAYS rather have 21/2 seasons of AD or 30 Rock than 10 of a lesser show.
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11-28-2007 @ 1:19PM
Rob said...
30 Rock, as a premise, is actually really brilliant, because it's basically an NBC (and GE) infomercial that has its own commercials that they can sell, too.
Greenzo goes on the Today show, "SeinfeldVision" shows clips from Heroes, Law & Order SVU, Deal or No Deal. They have product integration during the show and then NBC gets to sell ad time for "actual" commercials.
They'd be insane to cancel that. Right?
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11-28-2007 @ 1:51PM
sitruc said...
Every other show on television does this now. At first it was funny. Now it's as annoying as the ads during the commercial breaks.
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11-28-2007 @ 2:34PM
Matt W. said...
NBC seems to be the king of product integration, and not surprising considering its low Nielsen ratings. 30 Rock is the most egregious because it is the easiest show to slip GE products in to thanks to the fact that GE is basically a "character" in the show.
However, it doesn't end with 30 Rock. If you watch Heros, pay close attention to the celphones. In the second season, all phones are Sprint models, with the logos clear as day -- at least in HD. Additionally, our Heros often drive Nissans. Last season it was Hiro shouting about the Versa, and this season Noah Bennet (HRM) giving Claire the Nissan Rogue. Additionally, Suresh and Sylar traveled the country in an Altima, and the Bennets drove an Armada. Also notice how the bad guys rarely drive a Nissan.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:49AM
sitruc said...
I wouldn't say NBC is the king. You probably notice it more because you watch NBC more. It is just as blatant on other networks. It would be interesting to see what studios actually make the shows though.