In my last installment of what's current in co-op advertising, I covered the ways Hilton and American Airlines shoehorned--perhaps shoehorned is too harsh, I saw the film and can personally attest, their inclusion was seamless--their brands into Jason (son of Ivan) Reitman's film, Up In The Air; ultimately concluding that Lady GaGa and Pizza Hut would make a fantastic co-operative advertising team... whew! Recently, while conducting my (self-)required perusal of MediaBuyerPlanner, I came across another interesting example of co-op advertising, this time, the two parties are AMC's critically-acclaimed drama, Breaking Bad, and notoriously bad energy-cola, JOLT. 

We're all aware of JOLT cola aren't we? The cola whose aluminum can bares the slogan: "All the sugar, twice the caffeine"? Whose genius was that? In a time when McDonalds is hustling salads and energy drinks are handing out more heart palpitations than a Taylor Lautner appearance at a Twilight: New Moon midnight DVD release party, do we really want to push the fact that we've got all the sugar, and twice the caffeine?

I'll put JOLT in the same "we're-well-aware-of-America's-burgeoning-health-issues-caused-by-the-products-we-peddle-but we-don't-give-a-flying-***k-and-if-anything,-we'll-strive-to-make-our-products-even-more recklessly-harmful" as Carl's Jr. or RJ Reynolds. Take the "Grilled Cheese for Grown-Ups" Carl's Jr.'s--or Hardees, for you regional readers--extra jumbo bacon cheeseburger-turned-"grilled cheese" monstrosity. The ad for it even guilts me into thinking it's how grilled cheese is supposed to be for a twentysomething MAN such as myself--mom's grilled cheese never had a 1/3 lb. beef patty or bacon but they'll be damned if I don't remember it that way.

Anyway, I digress, as MediaBuyerPlanner reports, JOLT cola now adorns their cans with Breaking Bad's network, AMC, and when you can catch it: 10/9c.  In return, JOLT gets air time during each high-octane episode.  Financial details of the agreement are under-wraps, but this has all the makings of a straight-up co-op advertising deal.  A tit-for-tat, if you will.   If you ask me, JOLT made out like a bandit in this deal as Breaking Bad is an up-and-coming rising star and JOLT continues to be a down-and-out white-dwarf of a dying star.  Regardless of a clear "winner" both parties are happy with the agreement, with Brandweek reporting:

“Breaking Bad is an edgy show that pushes the envelope in every way possible: extreme characters, awesome action and outrageous situations, the show’s heart thumping, in-your-face attitude is a perfect fit with the high intensity lifestyle that is Jolt Energy.”

Ughh...  please don't try putting the 'tie-in' designation on a clearly straightforward co-op example.  What's BB's demographic? Low-income tweakers with increasingly-questionable futures and a penchant for Xanax binges? Regardless, I'm a huge fan of these sorts of synergized marketing efforts.  There is a lot of ad space out there. Why buy when you can barter?

Which brings me to my 'tie-in', of sorts.  With many of our Nobel oral surgeon clients striving for exposure to the marketplace that skews cosmetic, (often times these elective procedures can completely change the look of someone's smile) we routinely recommend they pair with a local spa, placing implant dentistry brochures in the spa's lobby--it's a great fit as women are already thinking of cosmetic enhancement upon entering.  The cost to these oral surgeons?  Less counter space in their lobbies.  Why? Because, in-keeping with their co-op advertising agreement, they'll feature the spa's brochures in their offices in return.  Beautiful.  Is it JOLT cola/Breaking Bad good?  No.  But it has to be close.