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.
Jimmy Kimmel has his security guard/sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez to keep him safe, but who does Guillermo have to keep him safe? A smartphone app, apparently.
That’s what viewers learned in the middle of Kimmel’s show Tuesday night in a new brand activation for myQ, a line of smart home products controllable by a mobile app.
As usual, the ABC late-night show’s latest bit of spon-con starred the lovable Rodriguez—this time alongside show announcer Lou Wilson.
In the minute-long clip, Wilson FaceTimes Guillermo to warn him that his garage door has been left open. Guillermo, who appears to be on a tropical vacation, explains he can close the garage himself on his phone, thanks to myQ. As the bit continues, Guillermo demonstrates how he can also check in on his pet—a large turtle named Guillermo Jr.—thanks to his myQ security cameras.
He caps off the gag by asking Wilson to go inside his home and check on his couch, using the myQ app to unlock his front door remotely. When Wilson does, he discovers Guillermo’s beachside backdrop was merely wallpaper, and that the security guard has been sitting in his living room all along.
As has is typical of most smaller brand integrations on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel didn’t appear in the spot himself. He did, however, introduce the pre-taped piece from his desk with a bit of straight ad copy.
“My friends and coworkers Guillermo and Lou are always watching out for each other—the same way the MyQ app watches out for your home,” he said from his desk before the video.
Of course, Kimmel and team found a way to put a little bit of an edge on the bit. As Wilson touts a 15%-off deal for MyQ, he announces the coupon code to cap off the bit: BIGASSTURTLE.
