Advertisers Look To TV Programming To Promote Products

"Some of the nation's largest corporate advertisers, seeking greater control over television, are proposing to create their own shows to air on the major broadcast networks," the Los Angeles Times writes. With network advertising revenues down, some TV executives are open to corporate sponsored shows. Both Ford Motor Company and Coca-Cola are developing TV shows to promote their products. Ford's "No Boundaries" premieres on the WB network in March. Coca-Cola's "Stepping Stones" is set for NBC's summer season. Writes the LA Times: "'Blending a commercial message with a program so that the program is the message' offers an advertiser 'a perfect marketing fit,' said Robert Riesenberg, an executive vice president of Universal McCann, Coke's advertising agency."