Which came first – the chicken or CBS’ “egg-vertising” of its new fall season?
George Schweitzer, longtime president of the CBS Marketing Group, is crowing about putting advertisements on some 35 million shells. Eggs-ample: “How I Met Your Mother – Find Your Chick on CBS.”
Rival networks previously have tried promoting their shows on restroom walls and on dry-cleaner bags.
But Schweitzer, architect of 1989’s semi-legendary Kmart Watch-and-Win campaign, is determined to stay ahead of the curve in partnership with EggFusion of Deerfield, Ill.
“It’s not ink. They’re laser-etched,” he said Saturday. “So it’s totally healthy. I feel like I’m with the USDA.”
The campaign will be rolled out this September in major TV markets. The shell of every egg in a carton will have a different message “if the chickens do their jobs right,” Schweitzer assured.
Actually, CBS already has hatched its come-ons, including:
“CBS Mondays – Leave the Yolks to Us.”
“CSI – Crack the Case on CBS.”
“The Amazing Race – Scramble to Win on CBS.”
“Shark – Hard-Boiled Drama.”
“It’s one of the ways we can be intrusive and inclusive,” Schweitzer said. “It’s right in your face. You can’t avoid it.
“And I’m not sharing this with other networks. We’ve got the egg market covered! So that’s a good thing.”
“When they pitched me, they told me there are at least four consumer impressions per egg,” Schweitzer said.
It goes like this:
At the store you open the carton to make sure none of your eggs is broken. Then most people transfer them from cartons to egg containers in the refrigerator. Eventually you take the eggs out to get them ready for consumption.
“And then the fourth time is when you crack the shell!” Schweitzer said with a flourish.
The CBS eggs will be available in a wide variety of brands and grocery stores. And if everything goes according to plan, they’ll bring home the bacon this fall.
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CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler is trying to sell TV critics on the notion that prime-time’s most-watched drama series, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” will be an “underdog” against ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” this fall.
Last season, CSI averaged 25.1 million viewers an episode, compared with “Grey’s”‘ 19.7 million. But the ABC show edged “CSI” among advertiser-craved 18- to 49-year-olds.
“We will be incredibly competitive, but we do expect to get dinged,” she said.
The two hits will face off at 9 p.m. ET Thursdays, with NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” also competing for viewers in that time slot. But seriously, can “CSI” really be considered an underdog?
“Yeah, totally,” Tassler insisted.
“So it would be an upset if “CSI’ beat “Grey’s Anatomy’?” she was asked.
“I don’t know if “upset’ is the right word. But look, we do expect to be dinged. There’s no doubt about it. We’re up for the challenge.”
In its upcoming seventh season, “CSI” will treat viewers to “more of (Gil) Grissom and Sara (Sidle)” away from crime scenes, Tassler said. “That was hugely embraced by the audience last year.”
Tassler earlier drew a heavy volley of return questions when she declared, “I don’t think audiences make a decision to commit to a show, one way or the other, based on its being serialized or not. I think it’s purely about the quality of the programming. And if they like it and the show is good, they’ll continue to watch.”
But the fall season is heavy with new serialized dramas (10 of 15), requiring viewers to watch week-to-week or quickly lose their way. That’s not the case with self-contained “procedurals” such as the “CSI” and “Law & Order” franchises.
Still, Tassler wouldn’t budge, even after a critic asked, “Are you serious?”
“I don’t think the average viewer sits at home and says, “Gee, this is a close-ended episode, I’ll watch this.’ Versus “Oh, this is a serialized show. I’m going to watch that.’ It doesn’t happen that way.”
How many viewers disagree?
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