Nokia and Pepsi planning all-sponsored TV series

American rap artists seek internship at Nokia headquarters

Nokia and Pepsi, together with an American TV-producer Michael Davies, are planning a TV-series without any commercials. Instead, the advertising messages, products, and logos would be incorporated into the show, the New York Times reports. According to the daily, the programme that is scheduled for this summer consists of six one-hour episodes broadcast live in the United States. Nokia and Pepsi both pay between USD 600,000 and a cool USD 1 million for one hour's air time. In addition to the two main sponsors, four other sponsors are also being sought for the series. The series will be shown on the WB Network channel, which is popular among youth viewers. The channel is owned by AOL Time Warner.

The idea for the show rose from the advertisers' concern that more and more viewers use personal video recorders that automatically skip commercial breaks. Producer Michael Davies, a native of Britain, explains in the New York Times interview that the sponsors' messages are not to be hidden in any way, but logos are clearly visible and the names of companies and their products are shamelessly repeated throughout the programme. Davies also reveals that among the planned programmes there is an idea to send rap artists Redman and Method Man to the Nokia headquarters in Finland for an internship. "A funny three-minute episode could certainly come out of that", Davies laughs.

On Tuesday, no one at Nokia headquarters knew anything about Redman's and Method Man's possible internship later this year. "But diligent, energetic, and polite young men are always welcome to train here", Nokia Mobile Phones Communications Manager Marianne Holmlund remarked. The music style of rap artists Redman and Method Man, whose records have sold platinum in the United States, represents the so-called East Coast gangsta rap. Their lyrics deal with gang violence, commend cannabis-based drugs, and boast about casual relationships. Last year both Redman and Method Man were seen in the film How High, which dealt with drug use.