No, this is not a joke, this is a webisode.
Sprays In the City tells the story of Spritzy, the feisty Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers Dressing and Spraychel, the captivating I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! spray. The two sprays pursue love in the big city fridge filled with drama, gossip and excess. They quickly find that their product benefits, like portion control and great taste, make them the center of attention.
What in the world is this you ask? Darn good question.
Unilever has decided to combe two of its spray brands – I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! and Wish-Bone – to launch Sprays In the City, a new animated series of webisodes. The series, which launches June 13 at
www.spraysinthecity.com, features the celebrity star power of Extra's Mark McGrath, Project Runway's Tim Gunn, and heartthrob Fabio.
Have they taken Webisodes too far?
This season, Spritzy and Spraychel are asking viewers for help! At the end of each webisode, consumers can take control by voting on the outcome of a cliffhanger. The following week viewers can tune back in to see which ending won the vote. Participating viewers can win one of five $100 gift cards daily and have the chance to win a $10,000 grand prize shopping spree and a trip for two to New York City.
The celebrity gossip parody is integrated throughout the campaign, and each communication is entertainment in and of itself. Playing off of the pop culture obsession with celebrity gossip, SpraysInTheCity.Com looks and feels like a gossip blog. The 30-second TV commercial, running on cable networks including Bravo, VH1, and E! mimics celebrity news shows. Similarly, the print ad parodies celebrity magazine "Hot or Not" lists and will appear in People, In Touch, Star, US Weekly, and TV Guide. Integrating traditional and non-traditional media, the webisodes are also supported via targeted advertising on key celebrity gossip Websites and blogs such as PerezHilton, PopSugar,and the Superficial. To further engage consumers at multiple touchpoints, subscribers of DirecTV and Cablevision can watch the webisodes on their televisions at home via an interactive TV channel.
"In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, we must find new and unique ways to reach our consumer," said Mike Bauer, Vice President and General Manager, Unilever. "It's important to be innovative in the digital age. These two brands are joining forces to not only engage consumers but entertain them and keep them tuned in."
You got the
unique part right.