My pitch to Ben Silverman.

I read this today in a New York Times once-over of an advertising conference, specifically, the AAAA (Alcoholics Anonymous in American Advertising — or maybe something less truthful.) Said Ben:

Ben Silverman, co-chairman at the NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios units of NBC Universal, said that agencies needed to think more about new methods of working with the networks — like integrating brands into the plots of programs — rather than relying on traditional tactics like commercials, which have become easy for viewers to zip through.

Now, Mr. Silverman, as it happens I sent some tool at NBC a concept (with pilot script) along these lines about three years ago, only to get a form rejection explaining why NBC couldn’t read it. The basic idea was to make characters of advertising. The project title was Product Placement, but I think I’d change that to the international term Agree Exposure because it sounds as if someone might be naked. I wrote the pilot simply as a demonstration, and it’s a little dated because it featured Cadillac’s former theme. If it were to feature Cadillac now, the plot would involve slapping the self-satisfied turd and turdlettes in their advertising, but still, you get the idea.

Here’s the pilot script in glorious HTML. For background, it was originally an hour long, but I cut it. Some thought the hour was better, but the half-hour still did well in competitions — finalist often, though no big cigar. Also a coverage reader shit all over it once, because “no one is interested in what goes on at an ad agency.” Personally, I think they are interested, if for no other reason than the question of because why so many commercials are so awful is one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time.

Bear in mind, the pilot script is for demonstration purposes only. An obvious theme the work in would be the conflict between traditional agency people and the new behavioral peeping Toms of the digital media age. Plus, it might be fun to incorporate a little more improv/mocku-madness if we haven’t milked that cow dry yet.

Just to make the script reading offer irresistible, I feel certain I could bring my former art director partner Harry on board as “consultant,” depending on the Kraft Services arrangement. I’m including his debut podcast episode. Fair warning though. Harry knows people who know people in the entertainment industry. He is a force to be reckoned with. That’s value!