To elevate its efforts around branded content, Comedy Central will dedicate one two-and-a-half minute commercial pod each month to a branded content series.
The first of those efforts airs Friday night, with its series Handy that follows the adventures of a hapless hand model. Friday night’s episode features Handy struggling to complete a beach-wedding shoot. The episode, called “Lord of the Ring, is sponsored by Zales.
After the spot airs on Comedy Central, it will be posted on social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube as well as on ComedyCentral.com.
The first episode in the Handy series, “Erik Gets Crabs,” is featured above and is sponsored by national restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack.
The overall initiative is spear-headed by Viacom’s in-house branded content and integrated marketing division, Viacom Velocity, which works closely with Comedy Central to produce the spots.
Other branded content series in the works include Craft Services with Barak Hardley, in which actor and artist Hardley turns brands into crafts. So far, those episodes have included Pringles, Old Spice and Dunkin’ Donuts.
Comedy Central also has branded-content series Chill As — the first episode of which, Chill As: Hacking — was sponsored by Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2.
And Viralocity spotlights a fictional agency that helps celebrities make viral videos. The video below features basketball star Jeremy Lin and was sponsored by ride-share company Lyft.
READ MORE: Adweek
[Image courtesy of Adweek.]
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