In-show advertising is as old as late-night itself, but as shows face declining ratings and shrinking budgets, sponsored content (or “brand activations,” as they’re called in marketing circles) has become increasingly common and, at times, more elaborate than ever before. In this recurring feature, we keep tabs on how late-night shows are working to wed commerce with comedy.
Starbucks has ordered a double shot of late-night show real estate this season. Just days after Late Night with Seth Meyers produced an in-show ad for the brand, Jimmy Kimmel Live! has done the same.
Like most product integrations on JKL, this one started with Kimmel at his desk, tossing to a video piece starring the show’s announcer Lou Wilson alongside Kimmel’s sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez. And much like in Late Night’s own recent Starbucks ad, the host had the coffee chain’s annual holiday cup displayed prominently on his desk.
“The holidays are here at Starbucks,” Kimmel began, “which is a fact our announcer Lou just learned with the help of a special tiny friend.”
“The bustle of the season is just too much,” Wilson says as he gets knocked to the side carrying presents just outside the show’s studios.”I’ve lost the holiday spirit,” he laments in the campy-on-purpose sketch.
That’s when a tiny gingerbread man—or, Rodriguez in a goofy gingerbread man costume—leads Wilson to a place that he says can bring back the holiday spirit: Starbucks.
Perched on Wilson’s shoulder, the tiny Rodriguez orders two Starbucks grande gingerbread lattes. As the tiny Rodriguez points out, he needs Wilson to pay, because “I don’t have any money. I’m a cookie.”
The pair then chat with several Starbucks customers, with gingerbread Rodriguez questioning just how weird it is that he’s drinking a latte flavored to taste like him, before defensively telling a customer not to judge him. Naturally, the bit ends with gingerbread Guillermo sacrificing his delicious leg to Wilson.
The 90-second in-show ad comes shortly after Seth Meyers and his writer John Lutz visited Starbucks together in their own activation for the coffee chain. Which begs the question: which late-night host will adorn their desk with a Starbucks holiday cup next?
