It is possible for things to get messy with toilet paper.
An ad for Procter & Gamble’s Charmin toilet tissue ran adjacent last week on Peacock to a “Saturday Night Live” sketch making fun of the product’s long-running ad campaign that features blue bears talking about the benefits of keeping their posteriors clean, and in doing so, sparked a new round of online chatter about how involved advertisers can get in “SNL” content decisions.
They typically can’t. NBC claims that the ad was placed next to the skit. “coincidental,” and not put in place at the request of Procter & Gamble, which has manufactured Charmin since acquiring the product in 1957. Procter, one of the nation’s largest TV advertisers, did not respond to a query seeking comment.
It’s not the most popular sight during its commercials “SNL,”The show has had Apple, consumer-technology marketing companies and movie studios as its major sponsors for a long time. According to Kantar, an ad tracker, Procter spent $5.8 million advertising in 2021. A 30-second TV advertisement costs on average $5.8 million. “SNL”According to Standard Media Index, the last season cost $164,000
Charmin’s advertisement did not appear alongside the magazine, “SNL”Sketch on NBC, but only during the live stream on Peacock. NBC viewers saw an ad for the David O. Russell movie “Amsterdam.’ Commercials on streaming hubs are often dispatched differently to various households, with factors such as geographic location and purchasing habits utilized as part of a distribution that hinges on algorithms.
The ad highlights a new challenge that TV networks will face as more viewers stream their programs via broadband. Advertisers who desire a strong link to a specific program — something that often takes the form of a product placement in the show or bespoke commercials around it — usually pay a premium to do so. Streaming allows advertisers to send ads that are tailored to the needs of their audience rather than those of the producer or network.
The past saw producers at “Saturday Night Live”Some have expressed concerns about how viewers might perceive advertising support for the show. In recent years, this has increased as “SNL” cast members have gained new permission to take part in ad campaigns — a freedom their counterparts from past seasons have not always been granted. Advertisers who use current cast members are told that their commercials can’t run during original broadcasts. This is to avoid viewers thinking the ads and program are intertwined.
Sometimes, mistakes are made. For example, NBC ran two Old Navy ads featuring Aidy Bryant, a former cast member, last season during a new season. “SNL”According to one source, the episode prompted a review of why it occurred. American Express was permitted to move its 2015 commercial next to a 2015. “SNL” sketch spoofing it, the direct result of NBC giving a heads-up to Mindshare, the company’s media buyer at the time.
Lorne Michaels, “SNL’s”Executive producer and long-time guiding light, takes these matters seriously. “I don’t like it, but if someone is going to be well paid and it’s not next to us in the show, then I’m OK,”He told the story VarietyThe cast appeared in commercials in 2017 Incorporating or alongside bespoke advertising messages “SNL,”He is “less welcoming in the sense that the integrity of the show is really all that matters to me,”He added, at the time, that “You can’tmake funof it, andbe withit” simultaneously.
As more viewers turn to live-streaming, “SNL”Instead of watching it on TV, NBC will need to decide whether to let artificial intelligence or maintain control.