Adding on a layer to TV Land’s live sitcom episodes, the channel has decided to also include America’s favorite person Betty White in its commercial breaks as well.
The season premieres of two of TV Land’s biggest sitcoms, “Hot in Cleveland” and Cedric The Entertainer’s “Soul Man” will not only be live, but each show will also have live commercials featuring cast members from each show. Bringing the format back from 1960s television, TV Land is re-claiming the idea of actors (in character) hawking wares as content and advertising collide.
Wednesday is actually “Hot in Cleveland’s” second live episode - TV Land aired one in June 2013, which the network viewed as a huge success. “In thinking how else we could add energy to the live shows, for our sake and for the audience’s sake,” TV Land President Larry W. Jones told The New York Times, “we decided to include this time live cutaways to the audience. Then we said, ‘Let’s do live commercials, too,’ as an added layer to make it feel live, live, live.”
This year’s live event is adding two live commercials to the lineup for Toyota, starring all four “Cleveland” ladies and for Bush’s Grillin’ Beans starring Niecy Nash, airing during “Hot in Cleveland” and “Soul Man” respectively. East coast will see each episode and both commercials live, but the west coast will see both pre-taped.
The night’s live episodes will also feature “Soul Man” and “Hot in Cleveland” characters moving between shows, and “Cleveland” will also have a branded integration with partner eHarmony within the episode.
Read more at The New York Times.
Brief Take: In bringing back a mainstay of ‘60s television spots, TV Land is continuing with a successful live premiere strategy while paying homage to its past (and solidifying its sitcom brand).
[Image courtesy of TV Land]
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