Posts with tag 30 Rock

Sure, all shows do some product placement. 30 Rock even makes a big joke of it, building it into the storyline. But Unilever has taken it to a ridiculous level in China. They aren't just doing product placement -- they own a whole show!

Unilever is the parent of Dove products, which were selling poorly in China under the "Campaign for Real Beauty." Rather than try a new campaign, their agency came up with the idea of producing a Chinese version of Ugly Betty -- Ugly "Wudi" -- who becomes beautiful by using Dove products.

(Wait, isn't the point of Ugly Betty about internal beauty?)

Anyway, as the exclusive sponsor, Unilever owns all of the commercials, all of the product placement, and even the script!

The show's star, Lin Wudi, gets gorgeous when, inspired by the ad campaign she is creating for Dove products, starts using them. The marketing team from Unilever managed to get 3,300 seconds of Dove brand into the first season of the show.

So what is this? A season long infomercial? Some kind of hybrid ad-tertainment? Genius marketing? Or an evil melange of all three?

Or is it just the future of ads and network television?

The stars rule the stars. So what's in store for your favorite celeb? Find out in our regular feature, Ho'roscope. The glamor, the sex, the money troubles can all be understood through the astrological powers that really run Hollywood.

Now that we have permission to eat chocolate for our health, at least between now and December 31st, we decided to make chocolate our decorating theme for the holidays. Bowls of bon bons on every available surface! And since they come in such pretty wrappers, Ferrero Rocher seems like the obvious choice for holiday house chocolate.

Liz Lemon isn't the only who loves Oprah -- there are millions of us who can't wait to hear about O's latest discoveries, and follow her suggestions to the letter. Vision boards anyone?

The stars rule the stars. So what's in store for your favorite celeb? Find out in our regular feature, Ho'roscope. The glamor, the sex, the money troubles can all be understood through the astrological powers that really run Hollywood.

We were watching 30 Rock the other night and realized that those crafty types at General Electric had stretched Earth Day into Earth Week. The nerve. We're okay with it though, because we live every day like it's Earth Day. We also live every week like it's Shark Week. Carpe Diem is not lost on us.

It's not lost on Loomstate, either. "Loomstate was founded as a casual brand dedicated to creating demand for certified organic cotton using socially and environmentally responsible methods of production."

If your favorite show on TV is MILF Island, then you are in luck. Don't let the fact that the show doesn't actually exist, yet, keep you from showing your support. We understand that there is also talk of a potential, and equally fictional, spin-off.

On Christmas morning there was one gift left. It was for me. I was a bit surprised as I had already been sufficiently spoiled by all in attendance. I opened the box and looked inside. An iPhone was resting there, gentle and content. Oh, how my heart skipped. I jumped up, still in my pajamas and announced to the 9 family members around me that I would be back momentarily. I had an iPhone and I loved it so much that I just had to be alone.

Actually, what I really said was, "I'm going to take this behind the middle school and get it pregnant." Yes, I stole that line from Tracy Morgan, but damn, I really loved it.

I still do.

The iPhone is sleek and stylish. It is compact and powerful. It is a laptop in your pocket. I'm writing this post on it right now. In a park. That is what the kids call a tax write-off. I'm also using it to listen to Seu Jorge on the built in iPod. When I'm done here I might watch a movie. I rented some flicks off of iTunes and I purchased Season 1 of MTV's classic sketch comedy show "The State."

I won't. I don't want to show off, plus I have kids to play with. I promised them Daddy would be "it" as soon as I was done writing this love letter. Yes, that's exactly what it is.

Now excuse me, I have a phone call.

Not to dwell on what I consider a pretty good problem, but my Thursday night prime time television consumption has suddenly become a little more complicated. At issue is Naomi Campbell's recent announcement that she will be joining the cast of ABC's hit show "Ugly Betty".

"Ugly Betty" is a great show, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't come close to my current television favorites "The Office" and "30 Rock". So I suppose my decision to stick with NBC or jump ship for ABC will ultimately come down to a single question: Who do I love more: Tina Fey or Naomi Campbell?

vs.

Tina Fey: Attended my alma mater, the University of Virginia
Naomi Campbell: Wrote an unreadable novel called Swan

Tina Fey: Proves that smart girls can be hot.
Naomi Campbell: Proves that beautiful girls can be lousy human beings.

Tina Fey: She's fun to watch.
Naomi Campbell: She's fun to mock.

Tina Fey: Wears glasses.
Naomi Campbell: Wears wigs.

Tina Fey: Wrote Mean Girls.
Naomi Campbell: Is a mean girl.

Tina Fey: Co-stars with Alec Baldwin
Naomi Campbell: Derides bald men

Advantage: Tina Fey