The CW's New Type Of Advertising: Long-Form Commercial Placement

The CW is committing to a new type of advertising: the long-form
commercial. Instead of a self-contained commercial at each commercial
break, there will be a storyline using real people that will play out
over the course of an entire evening of programming. The advertising
will involve product placements. Essentially, a long commercial serial
that plays out in small segments at each commercial break. The CW hopes
that this will keep viewers sufficiently interested that they won't fast
forward past the segments, just as a serialized TV series (e.g., Lost,
Desperate Housewives) keeps viewers tuning in to each new episode.

David...

I'm guessing you haven't been in the demo they care about since the
heyday of "The Beverly Hillbillies."

Steven L....

A good long-form commercial is like an infomercial, with interesting
factoids. For example, Tropicana did a long-form commercial recently
called "Breakfast Americana," on the history of orange juice. You had

Ken from Chicago...

And as "Jethrene Bodine". How DARE you insult the caliber of the comedic
skills of Max Baer, Master Thespian?!!!

segments on things like the history of orange farming, the health
benefits of Vitamin C, how the Tropicana Corporation was originally
founded 100 years ago and grew steadily, etc.--along with a soft sell
pitch for specific current Tropicana products. Think of it as a
miniseries about Tropicana and orange juice, spaced into segments over
the course of an evening: "Coming up next on Breakfast Americana: Find
out how Tropicana helped America win World War II."

Steven L....

FYI, millions of Americans watch the Super Bowl specifically to see the
new commercials unveiled. The following day, the new commercials are
often a bigger water-cooler topic than the football game itself.

Up till now, other networks have used this type of advertising only
experimentally. It looks like it will be the main form of advertising
on The CW.