The initials C and W stand for two related entities–one of which has creative implications for the advertising community; the other is a new TV network slated to make its debut in September.
The latter–which takes its C from CBS Corp., the W from Warner Bros. Entertainment–will be a combination of the best programs from the soon-to-be-shuttered WB and CBS-owned UPN networks. The plan calls for two fledgling networks to become a strong single network.
This CW network in turn has devised another c.w., this one in lower case–“content wraps”–which combine advertising and entertainment. Content wraps deploy serialized stories told in three two-minute segments that run during an evening of programming. CW is hoping that its c.w. will lead to meaningful advertiser experimentation.
The new hybrid ad form is designed as a means to hold viewer attention, counteracting the TiVo effect in which commercials get bypassed. There’s also the fear that another countermeasure to TiVO, product integration in TV series, could eventually reach a saturation point, meaning that advertisers still will need other forms and genres–such as content wraps–to effectively get their messages and branding across to prospective consumers.
Though a first sponsor had not yet been lined up for the content wrap concept at press time, the CW network has a sample of how the three-part format would play. In the prototype, a geeky young man gets a makeover, then goes out on a date, and then conjectures about whether he will get a second date–all the while talking about certain products.
While the CW network will still primarily rely on traditional advertising support, the diversification into content wraps and other forms is deemed necessary due to the changing media landscape in which viewers can more easily circumvent spots.
Effie UK and Ipsos Report Concludes Marketing Industry Should Do Its Part To Heal Societal Divisions
Society has never been more divided, according to a new report Healing the Divide in which Effie UK and brand and advertising experts from Ipsos explored brandsโ role in shaping society and healing societal divisions.
The report details how instability, inflation, and COVID recovery โthe convergence of multiple interconnected crises around the world that coincide with and amplify each other, causing hard to resolve systemic challenges, have become the norm over the past few years. As a result, the use of division as a weapon is now a major theme in todayโs culture and politics, and sadly 47% of the UK and 49% of the US agree with the statement that โWithin my lifetime, society in my country will break down,โ according to Ipsos Global Trends 2024.
While some brands have tried to respond to this, the report finds responsible marketing is now threatened by weaponized division. It points to the World Federation of Advertisersโ decision to shut down the Global Alliance for Responsible Media following an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Muskโs X, combined with DEI rollbacks, as significant setbacks.
The report says these setbacks underline the importance of marketing in solving collective problems, such as climate change, food security, and harmful online content. It also points to a need for marketers to take more interest in and more responsibility for healing divisions.
Research claims marketers are ideally placed to build and rebuild the antidote to division (trust, empathy, a sense of control, connection and collaboration). According to the Ipsos Veracity index of trusted professionals, society is becoming more trustworthy of advertising executives. Additionally, 57% of Britons agree that brands should communicate their... Read More