D’oh!
Posted: 7/14/2009 9:08:03 AM by
Jim Andrews | with 0 comments
The current issue of IEG Sponsorship Report (available to subscribers here) has an article on Fox Broadcasting signing sponsorship of five fall beer festivals on behalf of the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons.
Apart from being a 40-something fan of the show who was somewhat surprised to find out that The Simpsons needed to market itself to younger viewers (not to mention irked that this reminded me I was no longer one myself), I couldn’t help thinking of the irony of a show whose writers have brilliantly skewered our beloved medium becoming a sponsor itself.
For years, I have found myself guffawing at The Simpsons’ send-ups of stadium naming rights, rock concert sponsorships, cause partnerships, etc., before the “sponsorship-industry-spokesperson” part of my brain would kick in and I would furtively glance around my living room to make sure none of my colleagues/industry friends was lurking behind a chair with an accusatory “aha” waiting to spring from their lips.
I don’t think it’s being disloyal to the industry where I’ve made my career to still chuckle at the episode featuring the Springfield festival Duff Days: A Lost Day for the Whole Family, which featured the Duff Designated Drivers’ Rockin’ Fun Zone—a box surrounded by barbed wire and a chain lock. I’m sure my friends and contacts at A-B, MillerCoors, etc. probably winced at that, but funny is funny.
We will have to see if the show’s writers make any sly references to a TV show being a sponsor, but they will be hard pressed to top their work on Duff Gardens, the theme park that featured The Seven Duffs, four of whom were Tipsy, Queasy, Surly and Remorseful.
Guilty pleasure, indeed!
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Filed under: non-traditional categories, festivals