‘Madison & Vine’ Turns 10 — But How Far Has Branded Content Really Come?
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It’s been 10 years since “Madison & Vine,” a book written by Scott Donaton while he was editor of Ad Age, called for the ad industry (Madison Avenue) and entertainment industry (Vine Street) to work together to survive the upheaval promised by ad-skipping technology like TiVo. This was to be done partly by clever product placement but more broadly through content consumers actually wanted to watch.
In some ways, the partnership between advertising and entertainment has become just as imperative and pervasive as the book predicted: There’s everything from the P&G-and-Walmart movies on NBC to sponsored listicles on BuzzFeed — and not a reality competition in sight without heavy brand integration. Subway product placement is extending the lives of TV shows that were on the brink. Millions of people go out of their way to watch videos created by Red Bull. Brands pay Stephen Colbert to make fun of them.
But in other ways, it’s shocking how little has changed. “The fact is, traditional TV advertising still works,” said Ben Silverman, founder and chairman of entertainment-production company Electus, former co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and enthusiastic proponent of branded entertainment. “So there’s not that aggressive a move away from it.”
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