March 20th, 2008
Again, It’s (Dorito) Colbert Nation
By Stuart Elliot
The New York Times
Stephen Colbert and his merry brand of product-placement pranksters are at it again.
“The Colbert Report,” Mr. Colbert’s mock news show on the Comedy Central cable network, is teaming up with the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo for a second round of spoofing of branded entertainment and product placement.
The first time was last fall, when Mr. Colbert undertook a semi-serious candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president and said that he was “sponsored” by the Doritos snack chips sold by Frito-Lay. The effort was presented on the show as “The Hail to the Cheese Stephen Colbert Nacho Cheese Doritos 2008 Presidential Campaign.”
Round 2 began this week, when Mr. Colbert announced that “The Colbert Report” would travel to Philadelphia from New York for four shows from April 14 through April 17. This time, a new Doritos flavor, Spicy Sweet Chili, is the title enabler of the trip: “The Colbert Report: Doritos Spicy Sweet Pennsylvania Primary Coverage from Chili-Delphia — The City of Brotherly Crunch.”
When Mr. Colbert announced the visit to Philadelphia, which will mark the first time the show is taped outside New York, dozens of bags of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos fell from the ceiling of his studio. He tossed bags to members of the audience, opened one and ate some chips.
Both sponsorships are part of a long-term relationship among Frito-Lay; its media agency, OMD, part of the Omnicom Group; and Viacom, the parent of Comedy Central. They are simultaneously making fun of — and taking part in — branded entertainment, the popular trend of integrating products into TV programs and movies.
In both instances, Frito-Lay is not paying for the sponsorships. One reason is that under federal election laws, PepsiCo could not sponsor a candidate’s bid for office, whether satirical or real.
Another reason is that the idea to send up brand integration came not from Frito-Lay or OMD but from Mr. Colbert and the writers of “The Colbert Report.”
“It wasn’t an ad buy,” said Jared Dougherty, a spokesman for Frito-Lay. “It’s driven by the creatives at the show.”
“We couldn’t be happier,” he added.
PepsiCo has taken part in many real branded-entertainment initiatives, including a sponsorship of a comedy-variety show on ABC with Dana Carvey in 1996. Some episodes of the series even bore titles like “The Taco Bell Dana Carvey Show.”
And Frito-Lay is involved in a show on another cable network owned by Viacom, MTV, which is also promoting the new Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili flavor. It is a reality dating series to be called “When Spicy Meets Sweet.”
The semi-finalist “spicy girls” and “sweet guys” will be presented on MTV starting on April 18. The winning couple, as determined by votes on a Frito-Lay Web site, will be featured in a commercial for the new Doritos flavor that will run only on MTV and a sibling network, MTV2.