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No Hard Feelings: G.E. — After Being Targeted by ’30 Rock’ for Years — Runs Ads Saluting the Show

Jan 25, 2013  •  Post A Comment

NBC’s "30 Rock" has poked fun at General Electric for seven seasons, mocking everything from its microwave division to its Six Sigma management focus. But now the conglomerate is taking out a TV ad that salutes the show as it wraps up its run, reports Brian Steinberg in Advertising Age.

"G.E., G.E. employees and G.E. executives have laughed for the last seven years along with the rest of the audience," Linda Boff, G.E.’s global director of brand management, told the publication.

G.E. will air a television ad that salutes the show, and then put together its favorite moments in a segment that will air online at the "30 Rock" website through the end of February. The show will end its run on NBC Jan. 31.

"The move isn’t the normal one," Steinberg writes. "Advertisers typically shy away from programming that makes fun of them or their products."

Steinberg points out that G.E. is obligated to spend money on NBCUniversal because of its sales agreement with Comcast, which bought a controlling stake in the media company. G.E. is contracted to buy at least $59 million worth of advertising each year for five years, starting in 2012, the piece adds.

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