People are increasingly tired of seeing ads, so big brands including Walmart, Chick-fil-A, and even Google have been getting behind filmed entertainment as a way to grab their attention.
Brands’ dollars and ability to promote projects have been welcomed by Hollywood, which is still hungry for programming but has less money to buy it.
“Brands, platforms, and partners, they’re all open for business more than I’ve ever seen,” said Paul Furia, head of content and creative packaging at ad agency Media by Mother. “Everyone’s having conversations.”
The trend is taking on heightened relevance as Hollywood pinches its pennies. Apple TV+’s Seth Rogen-starring “The Studio” used a fictional Kool-Aid movie storyline to highlight the tension between art and commerce.
Many new iterations of the branded content trend have come to life lately.
Despite Mattel’s success with 2023’s “Barbie,” brands’ comfort zones have largely been unscripted formats like documentaries. But brands ranging from H&R Block to The Knot have begun to branch out to new formats like reality TV and game shows, which are cheap to make, crowd favorites, and lend themselves to product integration.
Brands have also been getting into shoppable shows, a trend that’s likely to continue as brands figure out how to get people to buy things straight from their TVs.
Read: Why Brands like Ally and H&R Block are making reality TV-style shows
New players are trying to capitalize. Many Hollywood production companies are actively pitching their talents to brands, from Michael Sugar’s Sugar23 to Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment (which produced “The Day Sports Stood Still” alongside Nike) and Anonymous Content. New ones like Sonic Gods Studios are going a step further, using brands to fully finance TV shows from the start.
Top talent are no longer turning up their noses at brand films (or their money). Saint Laurent, for example, paired with Pedro Almodóvar and David Cronenberg to make films.
Read: 13 production companies helping Chase, Pepsi, and more brands make Hollywood movies and TV for streamers like Netflix
Streamers are willing partners in brand films. As streamers increasingly look to ad dollars to become profitable, they’re rolling out the red carpet for brands. And brands want the distribution because it legitimizes their projects and helps ensure they get seen (and in some cases, even make a profit). They’re also becoming more systematic about tracking measurement and results.
Read: Netflix and Amazon are duking it out over brand partnerships as streaming ads enter a new phase
Read more about how brands and partners are jumping on filmed entertainment:
