Branded Content - Advertainment?

Remember when advertisements used to be solely product-based? Take for instance the claasic 'Ring Around the Collar' Wisk commercial.



The ad employs a simple problem-solution structure with the answer centered around the product, Wisk Detergent. With the sheer number of ads out there growing, it's becoming difficult for advertisers to be heard among the volume of ad traffic. The days of product-focused ads may be waning, instead making room for a new technique in advertising called "branded content."

The best way to describe branded content is a sort of 'blurring of lines' between what consumers traditionally think of as entertainment and advertising. Sometimes referred to as "advertainment" - a name which reflects the blurring of the two - branded content is the fusion of advertising and entertainment to form one final product to be received by consumers as entertainment. I realize this sounds very confusing, so I think it best just to throw a few examples in here to let you all get a better feel for what branded content really is.



This video is a trailer for the short Spike Jonze film entitled "I'm Here." Critically acclaimed and featured in numerous film festivals worldwide, Jonze's film is actually an extended hour-long commercial for Absolut Vodka - however you wouldn't know it. The only thing that allows consumers to know the movie is funded by Absolut is in the very last scene of the movie, when the film is branded with Absolut's logo and tagline "In an Absolut world..." Videos such as this and others like it engage consumers through pure entertainment, and subtly, perhaps even subliminally, sneak in their brand to allow consumers to connect their enjoyment to a particular product.



This commercial features Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson for Oliver People's eyewear. The 3 min spot tells a playful love story between the two. However the most interesting part about the ad is the way in which the products are fused into the scenes - not merely 'placed' as props to be emphasized. The sunglasses are not the heart of the commercial, instead it is the story which demonstrates the sunglasses functionality without it being so obvious and annoyingly 'in-your-face,' so to speak.



Finally, this short film, called "The Hostage," is actually one of eight like films in a collection BMW produced called "The Hire" in the early 2000s. Each film showcases a different BMW model driven by Clive Owen (The Hire), and usually involves him somehow rescuing damsels in distress and beating up bad guys. It's an action-packed series, one that I consider to be highly entertaining and very effective in demonstrating BMW's top performing cars. "The Hire" is one of the earlier examples of the branded content phenomenon, but it's becoming apparent in more and more today. As consumers continue to show they control what brands they engage with, it becomes even more important that advertisers find a way to provide avenues which make that choice much easier - branded content has proven to be one such way of doing so.

Also, not sure if these links are working, so I'll list them here again below in order:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UnpAduZffc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdbQ5jbh7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDA4vbPG0bo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcmn32s6ZSQ

-Patrick Szawara