Creative Media Partnership Between History Channel and Boxing Title Match to Promote a TV Series

By Chuck Ross

As clients put more and more pressure on their media agencies to figure out how to break through an ever increasingly crowded media environment, it becomes imcumbent on those who work on the planning side to think out-of-the-box.

That's almost a cliche these days, but it's far easier said than done.

Here's a most recent example of out-of-the-box thinking that sounds smart.

The set-up: The History Channel has this pretty cool show called "Pawn Stars." For those who haven't seen it, think "American Chopper" meets "Antiques Roadshow." It all about the goings on at the Gold and Silver pawn shop in Las Vegas.

The show features three generations of the Harrisons: Granddad Richard, who started the pawn shop, his son Rick, and Rick's son Corey.

As you may have guessed, the show skews male.

The question then becomes: What's a good way to promote this show to its target demo.

That was basically the challenge put to Horizon Media by Ann Marie Granite, History's Director of Consumer Media, and her boss, Chris Moseley, Senior Vice President of Marketing for History.

Moseley, who has won just about every marketing award out there, is a long-time veteran of some great promo campaigns she did for the Hallmark Channel, and before that at Discovery Communications.

As Granite and Moseley explained to me the other day, the idea is to present the History Channel as an entertainment brand that delivers substance and real information.

So here's what Horizon came up with: "Pawn Stars," which has new episodes starting Nov. 30th, has hooked up with Top Rank to sponsor the Nov. 14th world championship welterweight boxing match, in Vegas, between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto.

Horizon worked with The Leverage Agency, Top Rank's brand marketing and sales agency, to do the deal.

According to the History announcement, "Pawn Stars" will sponsor the 'Tale of the Tape,' and will be prominent in the opening, closing and pre-main event portions" of the fight, which will be televised, live, as an HBO pay-per-view event.

Furthermore, the announcement says that "the deal includes ring announcements and ringside seating" for all three of the Harrisons. The venue will be filled with signage featuring the "Pawn Stars" logo, including on the mat.

In addition, "Pawn Stars" will be integrated into the ads for the fight. You'll even get a "Pawn Stars" message if you watch the weigh in, which will be widely distributed by ESPN, DirecTV and Yahoo.com, among others.

Moseley says that it's a hallmark History Channel campaign in that it'll have an "organic" feel. "Half will be advertising, half will be the presence of the Harrisons themselves," she says. For example, plan to see the Harrisons, identified with "Pawn Stars," on-camera during the National Anthem before the fight. And they'll be at the press conference as well--I.D'd with their show, of course.

Furthermore, Moseley says this deal with Top Rank is in the tradition of History's out-of-the box promotions, which include several firsts, such as the first "wrapping" of an Acela Amtrak train and the first "wrapping" of a New York City subway car.

According to Granite and Moseley, the smart media agencies--and the smart brands--should work to break through media clutter by coming up with integrated plans that put brands in places that at first might seem unexpected, but upon reflection are perfect fits.#

Mutual of Omaha, Oprah Settle Lawsuit over Rights to ‘Aha Moment’

Insurance company Mutual of Omaha settled its lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions over rights to the phrase “Aha moment,” the Associated Press reports.

No details were released. The two sides got in a legal tiff earlier this year when Mutual began using the slogan "official sponsor of the aha moment," and Harpo protested that the phrase was closely identified with the talk show host. Mutual countered that it was already in the process of obtaining federal trademark approval, and Harpo hadn’t protested.

--Elizabeth Jensen

CNN.com Teams With Automaker for Weekly Quiz

CNN, In keeping with the increased interactive capability of its newly revamped Web site, CNN.com, has recruited a major automaker to sponsor the CNN Challenge, a weekly current events quiz, reports B&C.

The sponsor is Ford's Sync, an in-car communications and entertainment system co-developed with Microsoft. The Challenge commences this month, and features three rounds so it takes more time to play, thus allowing more promotion for Ford Sync. To succeed at the game, players will need to watch CNN.

-- Allison J. Waldman

TV Executives Embrace Their Former Enemy

TV network executives have embraced their former enemy, the digital video recorder, reports the New York Times.

Not only has DVR viewing helped push some shows from marginal ratings status to hits, the Times reports, but viewers who watch on DVRs are more likely to sit through the ads than previously thought, increasing ad revenue.

Nearly half of all those who watch via DVR still sit through the commercials, according to Nielsen figures.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Despite Retrans Gains For Both Companies, Revs Down 18% For Lin Broadcasting, Down 13% For Meredith Broadcasting

TV station groups continue to struggle in this economy, with revenues down 18% and 13%, respectively, for Lin Broadcasting and Meredith Broadcasting.

Despite revenues for retransmission consent up 36%, Lin Broadcasting's net revenues for the third quarter declined by 18% compared to third quarter 2008, B&C reports.

Similarly, over at Meredith Broadcasting it saw its revenue decline despite its retrans revenue nearly doubling in the quarter. For Meredith, the quarter was actually the first quarter of fiscal 2010, B&C reports.

Meredith's revenue was off 13% compared to the same time last year. It's non-politcal advertising was down 7% in comparing the two quarters.

--Chuck Ross

TV Guide Plans 'Mad Men' Sweepstakes for Media Planners, Buyers

To draw attention to the TVGuideonline entertainment Web site, TVGuideonline and TV Guide Network sales chief Richy Glassberg has created a promotion geared to media planners and buyers, reports MediaPost.

TV Guide is mounting a sweepstakes for planners in which the top prize is a night out with one of the stars of AMC's "Mad Men." The promotion is called Plannerati, with the official promo site -- theplannerati.com -- going live today, along with a Twitter account, twitter.com/theplannerati.

-- Allison J. Waldman

Microsoft is Shocked, Shocked, That Seth MacFarlane Has a Potty Mouth; Pulls Sponsorhip From Show

Seth MacFarlane has proven too racy for Microsoft, Variety reports.

The company pulled its sponsorship from Fox’s Nov. 8 MacFarlane and Alex Borstein variety show, "Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," after attending the taping and finding the content not to its liking.

Sponsorship of the show-- which was to have run commercial-free with Microsoft Windows 7 marketing messages built in--was part of a bigger Microsoft marketing deal with News Corp.

The special included typical “Family Guy”-type jokes, Variety said, such as “riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.”

Fox will air the show with another yet-to-be-named sponsor.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Jeff Bewkes, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner, on Why The AOL Merger NEVER Made Sense, and the Lessons We should Learn from the Fiasco (from the TVWeek Innovation360 Conference in NY City, Oct. 13, 2009)

First Time in History of 'SNL,' a Single Advertiser Will Sponsor Entire Show; Ad Breaks Will Feature Never-Before Aired Clips of Show

"For the first time in the 35-season history of "Saturday Night Live," an advertiser is buying all the national ad time in the broadcast of the venerable late-night comedy show," reports Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age.

The advertiser is Budweiser, which will be pushing its Bud Light Golden Wheat beer. Click here to read the entire story--it's excellent in its detail--about the deal, including the fact that during the commercial breaks viewers will see never-before-aired 'SNL' clips.

--Chuck Ross

Sartorial Alert: Brooks Brothers to Carry Don Draper Suits

“Mad Men” mania has extended to the clothier Brooks Brothers, which is selling a limited edition “Mad Men”-inspired suit for the next few weeks, reports the New York Post.

The suit, inspired by the clothes worn by the character Don Draper, will retail for just under $1,000.

If you want to look as dapper as Draper (we stole that from the Post), you can buy the suits from Oct. 19th through Nov. 8, which is the date of this season's "Mad Men" finale, the report says. There are only 250 of these suits available.

--Elizabeth Jensen