Gamekillers

A new show called Gamekillers premiered on MTV tonight. The show is a collaboration between Axe and MTV that promotes Axe's new product, Axe Dry.

It is a reality-type show that is so different, I couldn't help but watch it. I still don't know if the events were real or staged, but that intrigue drove me, and likely many others, to the internet to get more information. Granted, I wanted to know who made it because it reaked of advertising, but the pull to generate traffic on the Web site was still there. You can find out a little more about Axe's plans from Confessions of a TV Maven.

In my mind, this show is a harbinger of this to come in the industry. Finding new and unique ways to create content is the future of advertising. Although tonight was not the first time I have seen this pulled off on a national level, it was certainly the most directed and focused on selling the product to the target market.

Unlike shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which is a highly successful walking and talking plug for Sears, Gamekillers had no product placement or noted affiliation with Axe during the show. In fact, the only plugs for Axe throughout the whole thing were two commercials, which aired during regular commercial breaks and featured characters from the show.

Overall, this was a clever and pretty effective way to reach Axe's target audience. A show on MTV at 11 p.m. that demonstrates how to overcome obstacles and get girls pretty much hits home with the young males Axe is trying to reach (Trust me, I'm in their target demographic). So props to Axe for taking risks and doing a pretty good job pulling it off. Now if you can only make products that don't smell like Indian food in a diaper...

Stay tuned for Super Bowl rants and a special message from Fox and The O.C.