Monday, September 21, 2009

Is Fox's Brainstorm Minty Fresh or Curiously Wrong?

Fox Mobile Studios (FMS), the creative production arm of Fox Mobile Group, announced today that it has partnered with Wrigley's Altoids brand to create an 8-episode short form scripted comedy for mobile and online platforms entitled "Brainstorm" (check out the site). The show, which was created in collaboration with LA-based cross-media branded entertainment agency Omelet, is about a dysfunctional advertising agency that hires a wacky ad industry guru to help them land the Altoids account. It premieres on September 28th...online at least. The release doesn't mention where or when the show will debut on mobile, but one's gotta presume this will be a major feature on their Fox.mobi WAP site at the very least. The content will be available for free on the web and probably gratis through mobile outlets as well. It's unclear whether this is a standalone revenue generating initiative for Fox Mobile or if it's more of a support function for a 360-degree (cross platform) advertising deal initiated out of the media giant's TV group. Given the heavy brand integration and their own history with "Mobisodes" (the format they invented and trademarked back in 2005) which were far more successful in terms of publicity than profitability, I have to believe that this is primarily an ad-support play. Assuming that's the case, it will be interesting to see if; 1) this works creatively, 2) it gets eyeballs, 3) if (and how) Altoids deems this a success, and 4) if (and how quickly) other brands come aboard. What do you guys think based on the trailer below?


2 comments:

  1. love it! Looks like it's gonna be funny

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  2. Love your zinginess on this post.

    That no one can respond is because all your readers are industry insiders who know the principles involved.

    Liked the show but think the ROI for the company will be negative.

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