In the debate over the propriety of advertising on reality TV shows, Ray Dundas, the new senior VP, group director of national broadcast at Initiative Media North America, takes a pragmatic approach.
“Reality programming is a fact in our industry,” he said. “We are in the advertising business. Broadcasters are in the business of maximizing rating points. Many times these two businesses are at odds. Nonscripted programs, while popular with the viewing public, may not have the ideal selling environment for our clients’ needs. While the buying community does not want to restrict the programming creative process, broadcasters must know advertisers are in the business of selling product and will seek the best programming environments to move their products.”
Mr. Dundas has just joined Initiative, moving over from OMD New York, where he was group director of the national broadcast department.
In his new position at Initiative, Mr. Dundas, who is based in New York, is responsible for the national broadcast operations of Initiative’s West Coast office and for such clients as Coors Brewing, Merck and SC Johnson.
At OMD, his responsibilities included the Vivendi Universal account. His most interesting deal at OMD occurred when “NBC came to Universal Pictures with a creative Winter Olympics promotional opportunity for the 20th anniversary of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in 2001. The network’s goal was to promote the Games to a younger audience using theatrical trailers.”
NBC offered on-air promotion spots for all dayparts, and Universal received additional promotional inventory to be used later in the year. “A conservative estimate of media exposure for all promotional and branded creative was valued at eight times the dollar investment,” Mr. Dundas said.
Asked if there was anything he wished he’d bought less of in the past, Mr. Dundas replied: Dinotopia.