Murketing on TV & the Web, continued…

Los Angeles Times on the latest in branded entertainment:

One such show, “In the Motherhood,” was recently picked up by ABC for prime-time episodes this spring, making the jump from online to TV. “In the Motherhood,” created by Santa Monica agency Science + Fiction for clients Suave beauty products and phone company Sprint, starred some medium size talent, including Leah Remini, Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy. Suave and Sprint were allowed to read over scripts and “make sure it didn’t conflict with the brand,” said Anita Newton, vice president of consumer marketing at Sprint.

Science + Fiction also produced the Web series “The Rookie,” a spinoff of Fox’s “24,” for Degree deodorant. The goal for that show: take all the “brand attributes” of Degree and infuse them into the show’s main character, says Kevin Townsend, founder of Science + Fiction. That doesn’t mean that viewers will see Degree get a plug in the webisodes. Rather, the show’s main character — an intelligence operative — embodies the brand’s image of a guy who is “young, ambitious and always looking for action,” explains Townsend….

This Friday, the agency premieres a new Web series, “Fearless,” on MSN, sponsored by Hummer. The show is about five strangers navigating their way through remote locations around the world. A Hummer certainly would be handy for that.