ABC, Wal-Mart Try Smellovision

Call it "contextualized commerce" or "organic integration," but ABC loves the smell of perfume in the afternoon. It smells like money.

"Fragrance integration" is TV's latest product placement partnership, coming to a TV soap/Wal-Mart near you. ABC And Wal-Mart Thursday were touting an "unprecedented programming and retail event,"  for which Wal-Mart is ponying up in the low seven-figures. Wal-Mart in September will launch an actual fragrance to coincide with the launch of the same faux fragrance, Enchantment, from Erica Kane's (Susan Lucci's) cosmetics company on ABC soap All My Children. The new perfume will become part of the ABC soap storyline in July, while the non-integrated ad campaign touting the fragrance won't launch until September.As part of the deal, Wal-Mart is launching a multimedia buy including network, print, outdoor and more. ABC will get a big in-store plug: The perfume will be called All My Children’s Enchantment.  All My Children stars will return the favor by making in-store appearances to hawk the fragrance.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.