Welcome to LateNighter’s Spon-Con Watch. 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) have 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.
Buyer interaction is key when it comes to brand activation, since that’s what sets it apart from traditional one-sided advertising. As The Tonight Show viewers witnessed Monday night, what better way to interact with consumers than to scare the heck out of them?
That’s where State Farm and Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares—the late-night host’s halloween haunted maze in Rockefeller center—come in.
“It’s been fun,” Fallon said in reference to the theme park-like attraction. “It’s been funny. But more than that, it’s been terrifying. In fact, we’ve teamed up with State Farm to put our best scares of the week together, and we had a little help from someone you might recognize.”
Thus began a 30-second segment showcasing real hidden camera footage from inside Tonightmares. First, three sets of participants were seen getting spooked by the Werewolf, one of 10 distinct characters lurking throughout the maze.
Thrillseekers posing for photos at the end of the maze were given one final jumpscare as a seemingly innocuous window with a pane bearing the phrase “I survived Jimmy’s Tonightmares” opened to reveal a screaming Jake from State Farm.
Dressed in a red jacket bearing the State Farm logo, the spokesman was shown scaring about 30 people in half as many seconds. One yelled out, “It’s Jake from State Farm!” while two others clamored to see more of him once the pane rose back into place.
“Just like that, like a good neighbor,” Fallon said back in studio. “Our thanks to Jake and all of our friends from State Farm for helping to make Tonightmares a little scarier.”
Monday night wasn’t the first time State Farm and Fallon’s Tonight Show have collaborated on a brand activation. In January of this year, Jake from State Farm and State Farm pitchman Arnold Schwartzenegger faced off for a rousing game of Pup Quiz on The Tonight Show that’s racked up over 100,000 views on YouTube.
Fallon himself also appears in a State Farm commercial alongside Jake from State Farm, and has posted State Farm-sponsored content to his personal social media.
Tonightmares, which was originally scheduled to close on Halloween, is now set to run until November 3.
