Brands Borrow Classic TV Formats to Make Ads Feel Like Shows
Denny's, JCPenney and Skittles are building campaigns around sitcom, reality TV and episodic formats as marketers chase content audiences choose to watch rather than skip.
Updated
The brief
- Denny's 'Welcome to Denny's' campaign by BarkleyOKRP mimics a 1990s sitcom, complete with laugh track and influencer guests with 1.8 million Instagram followers.
- JCPenney's four-minute 'Retail Rejuvenation' spot, made with Mischief, achieves video completion rates in the 'high 90s,' according to Catalyst Brands CMO Marisa Thalberg.
- Skittles released 'Ghost Roommate,' a sitcom series delivered in six-second increments on TikTok around Halloween.
Is that an ad, or is it a TV show?
Recent campaigns from several brands are trying to be a little bit of both. Denny's and Skittles borrowed the feel of sitcoms, JCPenney riffed on docu-drama and reality television, and Johnston & Murphy parodied ESPN's SportsCenter.
As advertisers look to entertain audiences rather than interrupt them, some are drawing on traditional entertainment formats. For some, the inspiration comes down to look and feel. For others, it also includes release schedule and episode structure. Skittles, for example, rolled out a sitcom series, "Ghost Roommate," in six-second increments on TikTok around Halloween.
Sitcom nostalgia for a diner chain
For Denny's, the appeal of its sitcom-like campaign, "Welcome to Denny's," came from the nostalgia attached to the long-standing TV format—and from the desire for potential diners to feel at home in the "third place" a classic diner provides, Meredith Thornton, VP of brand strategy and communications at Denny's, told Marketing Brew.
The spots, created by BarkleyOKRP, feature a horn soundtrack, a laugh track, warm visual tones and a slight gauzy blur that evoke a 1990s sitcom. One spot plays almost like a title sequence in which meal deals are the stars, though the mock sitcom also includes characters such as "the booth," "night owls," and influencer guests the McFarland family, who count 1.8 million followers on Instagram.
"[The campaign has] really stood out and felt ownable and breakthrough for the brand," Thornton said. The ability to create "this sitcom feeling of characters and seeing yourself there and the entertainment overall," she added, has benefited the chain.
Reality casting at JCPenney
JCPenney was not trying to spoof reality TV with "Retail Rejuvenation," a four-minute ad that feels like a reality show in which consumers rethink their purchasing habits. Instead, JCPenney and agency Mischief aimed to create content consumers would actually watch. The fact that the spot could be mistaken for entertainment is no accident.
"We were very purposeful in thinking about this not really being a traditional ad," Marisa Thalberg, chief customer and marketing officer at JCPenney parent company Catalyst Brands, told Marketing Brew. She described the spot as social-first storytelling that could "disrupt preconceived notions in an entertaining way."
The approach has already paid off on engagement, according to Thalberg. The video completion rate sits in the "high 90s," she said, with viewers watching both shorter and longer versions of the campaign.
Kevin Mulroy, partner and executive creative director at Mischief, told Marketing Brew that the reality-like concept shaped the casting process. People auditioning were asked to bring an object they regretted purchasing, explain why they bought it and describe how they felt about it. The creative team used that exercise to find people who could convey the real emotions intended for the spot.
"People hate ads; they love good ideas," Mulroy said. "In terms of the reality piece, we didn't just want to do actors…We found real shoppers."
"My show is on"
The strategy reflects a changing media environment in which getting viewers to engage with brand content is increasingly difficult. Some brands are already pushing into original content, including scripted social series and microdramas.
"Brands always have to blend in," Sam Ogborn, marketing strategist and consultant, told Marketing Brew. "They can't act like they're showing you an ad because they know that someone's attention span is .005 seconds at this point. They have to find ways to capture attention in whatever means in any way that they can."
An ad that feels more like a show than a traditional spot may help capture that attention. It also helps that the concept of "My show is on" is very popular right now, Ogborn noted.
"That's just another easy way for a brand to gain traction," she continued, "without coming off like they're an ad."
Based on Marketing Brew; privacy.morningbrewinc.com
Filed under advertising, brand-content, tv-formats, denny-s, jcpenney
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News editor covering industry trends and analytics at Marketing Herald.
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