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.
Spon-con never takes a day off. Late night’s newest brand activation came on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night—in the middle of a repeat episode.
With JKL already on its holiday break, ABC has been airing reruns this week. But last night, in between interviews with Jude Law and Kyle Mooney, the show dropped in a new activation for PAW Patrol. The episode originally aired on December 3rd with a different activation (for Starbucks) in the same slot.
In the new 90 second clip, a bah-humbug Jimmy Kimmel receives a video call from Paw Patrol characters Rubble and Chase, who get him into the holiday spirit with an inspirational “PupTalk.”
The clip was intended to promote the availability of PawPatrol video messages on Cameo. Short personalized video messages can be purchased through the company’s Cameo Kids offshoot for $25 each.
Kimmel’s security guard/sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez also appears in the spot, passed out on a couch while Kimmel chats with the PAW Patrol pups.
Despite the new content being dropped into an old episode, last night’s sponsored segment has been planned for a while. The in-show ad caps off a larger “PupTalks” campaign that kicked off last month with a TikTok video featuring musician Meghan Trainor. Another late-night star also took part few weeks back, with Saturday Night Live‘s Kenan Thompson appearing in a sponored post he shared to his social media channels.
