Google taps ‘Family Guy’ writer to make AdSense sexy
By Erna Mahyuni
Google inked a deal with “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlance in what might be a big gamble on the search engine’s side.
According to the New York Times, MacFarlane will unveil a new project, an animation series to appear exclusively on the Internet. Dubbed “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy”, Google will syndicate it using its AdSense advertising system. Thousands of predetermined Web sites will have, instead of a static ad, a “Calvacade” video clip.
You’re not just getting the equivalent of a YouTube copy-pasted onto a site either. There will be varying types of advertising - ads to sit through before a show, banners at the bottom of the clip or that classic standby “brought to you by” at the beginning of the show.
MacFarlane is, of course, getting a cut of the ad revenue. He’s serving up 50 two-minute episodes of this endeavour which could possibly turn Internet advertising on its head. His description of the installments - “animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier” - certainly intrigue. Family Guy is a very popular network show, with the kind of following most TV shows envy, with every episode almost certain to generate some discussion on blogs worldwide.
And to make it even sweeter a deal, MacFarlane’s getting work from advertisers to animate original commercials to run with “Cavalcade”. According to Google and MacFarlane, several deals are among the largest ever landed by AdSense.
Google’s calling this unusual means of distribution the Google Content Network, and will possibly cause a massive shakeup in the entertainment industry with its long-established means of content distribution.
“We feel that we have recreated the mass media,” said Kim Malone Scott, director of sales and operations for AdSense.
One incentive (besides the money) for MacFarlane is the unprecedented freedom he would have on the medium that television can’t grant.
“I just felt I could be a lot more honest on the Internet,” he said.
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June 30th, 2008
Interesting :D This sounds really cool. The idea behind this really isn’t new. You can watch episodes of Heroes on the NBC website. But this is the first time a major TV show was exclusive to the internet. I guess this means that we won’t be able to watch Family Guy on FOX or Adult Swim anymore, right?
July 2nd, 2008
I just totally miss read that didn’t I^^() Sorry. I thought they were going to put Family Guy on the Internet exclusively. The name “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” just confused me.