For Better or Worse, Sprint Gets “Real” on the Product Placement Front
Posted: 11/12/2009 11:05:20 AM by
Shelley Fasulko | with 1 comments
I have no problem admitting I love partaking in some Real Housewives of Orange County viewing (or Atlanta, New Jersey, New York City, hell, it could be The Real Housewives of Des Moines and I’d probably watch). However, it is definitely not the first thing I bring up as conversational fodder when attempting to convey my personality and what I stand for. So, when I read today that Sprint is signed on as a sponsor of Bravo’s fifth season of The Real Housewives of Orange County,I was a bit… well, stunned I guess.
For starters, here are the deets of the deal; Sprint will receive:
- On-air, tagged tune-in spots and billboards;
- Sponsorship of the “A Day In The Life” web series following the wives’ daily lives (this series will air on BravoTV.com and promoted with on-air spots), and;
- Sponsorship of The Real Housewives Mobile fan Club (fans can tap in to exclusive content through their cell phones, e.g., behind-the-scenes footage, trivia, etc.).
I have no problem with this sponsorship in terms of inventory and activation. This all makes sense, kudos to Sprint for leveraging its ability to distribute content with exclusives that consumers can’t get anywhere else and props that they are going digital and cross promoting via more traditional mediums.
What I don’t get is the fit. I’m just going to be blunt: what brand wants to align with a group of people who have been derided through countless media outlets as self-centered, privileged drama queens? Sprint execs pointed to the fit between Housewives viewers and their key demos as a key motivator in doing the deal – but I’ve got to ask if that is worth the potential blemish of aligning with a show that is popular (or notorious, rather) for outrageousness and cattiness? Maybe it won’t tarnish Sprints image at all? All I can say for certain is I don’t ever want the first thing someone thinks about me (or my brand) to be that I sure remind them of those gals flipping tables and pulling off each other’s hairpieces.
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Filed under: branded entertainment, digital media, entertainment, new media, product placement, selling, telecommunications, activation