Program As Advertisement: Somebody Has to Pay for TV

Source: New York Times, January 10, 2003 "A leading television producer and two major advertisers have joined forces to present a live variety show with no commercial interruptions. Instead, the advertising messages will be incorporated into the show. The advertisers, which so far include Pepsi and Nokia phones, are buying six hours of air time to create what the program's producer, Michael Davies, called 'a contemporary, hip Ed Sullivan show' for the youth-oriented WB Network, part of AOL Time Warner. ... Although the network commercial is far from extinct - advertising spending increased for television in the last year - many executives are concerned that a decline in the effectiveness of the 30-second commercial could rock the economic foundation of broadcast television, which depends on advertising as its main source of revenue. ... Donny Deutsch, the chairman of Deutsch Advertising, said: 'The 30-second commercial is not doomed, certainly not in our lifetimes. Somebody is going to pay for TV. But advertisers have to be more and more creative, whether with product placement or something like they're doing with this show.' "