Advertisers are laying out a record $2.5 million per 30 seconds to showcase their products during the Super Bowl this year, and for the price will get an audience likely to be north of 80 million people.
And what will those 80 million-plus people get? One word: Fabio.
The man who launched a thousand romance-novel covers will poke some fun at himself in a commercial for Nationwide Insurance in which he loses his looks and has to fall back on his insurance policy. It’s the company’s second consecutive Super Bowl appearance; last year, Nationwide’s spot encapsulated the rise and fall of MC Hammer in 30 seconds.
Based on descriptions of a number of ads and video floating around the Internet, the Fabio spot seems emblematic of what most advertisers are going for during Sunday’s broadcast of Super Bowl XL on ABC. The coarse tone of several ads from a couple years back – which caught some of the Janet Jackson-fueled backlash in 2004 – looks to be gone for the most part, replaced by attempts at humor.
Which is not to say that sex won’t sell. Pizza Hut will run an ad in the pregame show featuring Jessica Simpson tempting a slack-jawed teenager with a new product while she sings a retooled version of “These Boots Were Made for Walkin.”‘
Internet domain registry GoDaddy.com, and buxom spokesmodel Candice Michelle, will be back as well. GoDaddy has been milking its efforts to advertise during the game for all they’re worth, keeping a blog detailing the numerous rejected versions of the ad. The one that will air during the game is more of a commentary on that than anything having to do with what it sells.
Usual suspects Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Cadillac and Ford will also be among the advertisers; one of Pepsi’s spots features Sean “Diddy” Combs trying to lock down a recording deal with a can of the soda.
Several movie studios will run trailers during the game as well, for movies such as Disney’s remake of “The Shaggy Dog” and Warner Bros. “Poseidon.” And, oddly enough, according to Ad Age, Magnolia Pictures has bought time for the its film “The World’s Fastest Indian,” which has barely grossed the cost of its ad time.
Super Bowl XL kicks off about 6:15 p.m. EST Sunday on ABC.
PEET, HANDLER GO INSIDE SORKIN’S “STUDIO’
Amanda Peet, Evan Handler and “Daily Show” regular Nathan Corddry have joined Matthew Perry in the cast of “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin’s latest project for NBC.
Carlos Jacott (“Fun with Dick and Jane”) and Michael Stuhlbarg have also signed onto the show, which is now called “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (it was formerly titled “Studio 7”). “Friends” star Perry, Steven Weber (“Reefer Madness”) and comedian D.L. Hughley had previously committed to the show.
The Warner Bros. TV show, which thanks to a hefty financial commitment on NBC’s part is considered a virtual lock to make the fall schedule, will delve into the behind-the-scenes drama at a “Saturday Night Live”-like comedy show. Perry will star as a former writer on the show who’s asked to return when the show’s producer quits.
Peet, recently seen in “Syriana,” is set to play the new president of the network, the showbiz trade papers report. It will mark her first regular TV role since “Jack & Jill” and a reunion with Perry, who starred with her in “The Whole Nine Yards” and its sequel, “The Whole Ten Yards.”
Handler, coming off ABC’s short-lived “Hot Properties,” and Jacott will play writers for the show; both have worked with Sorkin and his fellow exec producer Thomas Schlamme previously as guest stars on “The West Wing” (Handler also appeared on “Jack & Bobby,” another Schlamme series). Corddry will play one of the show’s cast members and Stuhlbarg, a Tony nominee last year for “The Pillowman,” the network censor.
SHOWTIME SPREADS THE “WORD’ FOR ANOTHER SEASON
Riding a surprising ratings wave for what was already one of its most popular series, Showtime has greenlit a fourth season of “The L Word.”
The premium-cable network has ordered 12 more episodes of the show, which began its third season of exploring the lives and loves of a group of lesbian and bisexual L.A. friends last month. Production on the new season will begin next summer, with an airdate likely in 2007.
“‘The L Word’ without a doubt is one of Showtime’s true signature series,” says Robert Greenblatt, president of Showtime Entertainment. “We’ve seen a ratings explosion in season three, the likes of which we would never have predicted. Clearly something has caught fire, and we want the fourth season in production as soon as possible.”
Showtime doesn’t release specific ratings figures, but the network says viewership for “The L Word” are up by better than 50 percent over last season’s first few episodes.
The show picked up its first Emmy nomination last year – a guest-acting nod for Ossie Davis, who played father the father of Beals’ and Grier’s characters.
NBC Enters Online “Tomorrow’ Land
You can watch “Lost”-related extra content on your cell phone, buy episodes of TV shows for your iPod and find original programming at various places on the web.
So it was probably only a matter of time before a TV network developed an online-only series. That time, it turns out, is now.
NBC announced Thursday that it’s developing an online-only music competition called “StarTomorrow,” which will debut on NBC.com in the summer. Viewers will watch the performances of maybe 100 bands from across the country, voting each week on which ones to put through to the final round.
In addition to the performances, the show will offer video packages that include interviews, rehearsal footage and background information on each group. The winner of the 16-week series will get a recording contract with Casablanca Records, headed by music-biz veteran Tommy Mottola – who’s also an executive producer of the series.
“This is the first time NBC will be distributing a network-quality program exclusively online,” says Jeff Gaspin, who oversees digital content for NBC. “We want to give consumers a new viewing experience, and digital content enables us to give more scheduling and programming latitude to them, truly allowing viewers to create their own show.”
The team behind “The Biggest Loser” – Dave Broome, JD Roth, Todd Nelson and John Foy – will executive-produce “StarTomorrow” with Mottola and Jeb Brien.
It’s unclear how an online-only series will make money. Product-placement deals are likely, and a show like “StarTomorrow” would seem like a natural fit with Apple’s iTunes service, which already offers several over-the-air NBC series for download.
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