Novel Adventures a Not-So-Novel Advertisement

Poorly conceived disguises draw attention for the wrong reasons — for examples, look no further than Bobby Valentine returning to the Mets’ dugout wearing a fake ’stache, or Tobias dressed as Mrs. Featherbottom on Arrested Development.

That’s the dilemma facing any sponsored vid series: How to develop compelling content without creating a disingenuously disguised advertorial. Artfully sublimate the brand into the fiction and you soft sell to viewers who already have a favorable view of what they’re watching — Reese’s and E.T., for example, or BMW in the recent Bond films. But press fiction into service of the brand and not only are you poorly disguising the sales pitch with shoddy fictions, you’re refusing to acknowledge the viewer’s media savvy.

That’s the problem with CBS’ latest video series, Novel Adventures. Ostensibly about a married L.A. woman who finds similarly-minded, fun-loving friends at an otherwise stultifying book club, the show’s really about car manufacturer Saturn.

To wit: The star (Ashley Williams, who was just as cloyingly cute on How I Met Your Mother) is married to a Saturn dealer, which is about as subtle as E.T. dry-humping a Reese’s Piece. Much of the first five-minute vid — premiered Nov. 3, with seven more to follow — is devoted to ogling/talking about/driving around in a Saturn hybrid vehicle. The camera fawns over the chassis, loitering on the logo and the word “hybrid”. At one point, Williams actually discusses at length how the vehicle goes electric at stop lights to conserve gas.

Since it’s so obviously in service of a brand, the rest of the plot’s dismissible — for what it’s worth, it’s an inspirational tale about “finding yourself” in a new city, with every episode riffing off a classic novel (e.g., the first ep’s about The Old Man and The Sea). That the advertising overshadows the plot is too bad, since the series is created by Jonathan Prince, whose credits include A&E’s The Cleaner and CBS’ Cane. The actresses are also credited talents: Daphne Zuniga from One Tree Hill and Spaceballs, Paola Turbay from Cane, and Jolie Jenkins from Desperate Housewives.

Novel Adventures is a deplorable misuse of talent. CBS may help its bottom line promoting commercials like this, but it doesn’t help its own brand at all.