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Cheap Seats adds advertorials

When a fast-moving show suddenly does a cold read for a sponsor you can really feel the speed hump.

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You know your show is a hit when the sponsors come a-knockin’.

The Cheap Seats last night introduced its first advertorial in the middle of the clips and punchlines, with a plug for an online used car company.

Tim McDonald read out a plug for the company pushing viewers to a website, which sounded a lot like breakfast radio copy, and without any of Working Dog’s usual finesse. Maybe it would be better to package these within a commercial break itself so as to appear less intrusive (again, like radio does).

Under ACMA rules networks also have to declare commercial partnerships but there’s no risk of that being in any doubt here… it was the opposite.

Commercial TV is as it says, it’s all about paying the bills, but given The Cheap Seats is a fast moving show, for me this felt like a very awkward speed hump.

Can we get Rob Brough to read it out?

9 Responses

  1. I found no problem with it at all like in the tradition going back to Graham Kennedy and now what HYBPA does, they make it funny and ridiculous, as it should be.

  3. The main issue for me is how flatly and blandly it played – as David wrote, just a cold read of copy put in front of them. Perhaps some incorporation into the content of the show would have been better? I can’t see a lot of sales coming from this for the advertiser.

  4. It’s not much different from when Tom Gleisner advertises Mitsubishi on HYBPA? but the difference is incorporating the advertising plug into the show. So Tom will usually have a short skit or have himself superimposed with the advertising picture.

    It’s finding the fine balance where the advertising is incorporated into the comedy or show so the viewers get something out of it that’s entertaining, but also not detract from the branding or promotion of the advertising.

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