What do you get when you cross Jimmy Fallon‘s subway busking hijinks with the world of brand marketing? A comedy bit for the Tonight Show host’s upcoming primetime reality competition, On Brand with Jimmy Fallon.
In a sizzle reel for the new series presented to an audience at this week’s Cannes Lions Festival, Fallon—in disguise as a weird biker dude—can be seen pranking a focus group for Pillsbury.
“Does the Doughboy eat dough?” Fallon asks the focus group facilitator. “Because that is—1-2-3—cannibalism!”
Each episode of On Brand with Jimmy Fallon will task the show’s contestants with developing their own ad campaigns for a given brand. While only one will become a fully executed campaign, as Fallon himself told attendees at the advertising confab Wednesday, the show’s format of competing ideas effectively means the brands are getting multiple campaigns at once—and a full primetime hour’s worth of audience exposure.
The show signed eight major brands for its debut season. In addition to Pillsbury, othe episodes will be devoted to Dunkin’, Sonic, Therabody, Captain Morgan, KitchenAid, Marshalls, and Southwest Airlines.
“It’s so beyond product placement,” Fallon said at the Cannes panel. “We’re giving you 40 minutes as opposed to a 30-second spot… I’m talking about your brand for a whole hour.”
Contestants’ other tasks will include creating a new year-round viral-worthy drink for Sonic and a new breakfast offering for Dunkin’ (the latter of which results in a particularly misguided product idea from one contestant).
Fallon, who hosts the new eight-episode series alongside marketing executive and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Bozoma Saint John, brought the concept for the series to NBC, whose sales team worked with CAA to secure the brand partnerships for the series.
On Brand with Jimmy Fallon debuts this fall on NBC.
Advertising as entertainment. Come on, Jimmy
Fuckface Fallon can’t help but suck donkey balls!