“Branded” character

In an earlier post, I expressed skepticism that the various changes in the way people consume media, and what those changes mean to advertisers, will add up to “a world in which consumer engagement occurs without consumer interruption,” as some argue. Specifically, I suggested that we’re heading to a world where consumer interruption simply cannot be avoided, because it’s embedded in whatever it is we’re trying to do — the shows we’re trying to watch, the streets we’re trying to walk along, etc. As a for-instance, I mentioned an unavoidable product placement in Lonelygirl15, the much-hyped Web narrative that’s often cited as a glimpse of our supposedly empowering media future.

Having said all of that, I have to pass along this, from Variety:

In an unusual promotional partnership, Neutrogena has inked a deal with the producers of the popular Web series to help market “Lonelygirl15” — with one of the company’s young scientists to join the cast….

[The] show’s new character, who will make his first appearance Monday and appear in episodes over the next two months, had already been conceived by the show’s creators, Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, as a 22-year-old scientist who helps the series’ lead characters create a serum in order to thwart an evil org known as the Order.

He became branded as a Neutrogena staffer after CAA, which reps the Web series and its producers, approached the maker of skin, hair and cosmetics products with the opportunity to tie in with the show.

Neutrogena immediately sparked to “Lonelygirl15,” considering that the show specifically attracts teen and twentysomething consumers — the demo that the company is trying to target with its products.

Variety says that having a “branded” character is an example of how marketers are becoming more “creative.” And I suppose it is.