NBC/TurboTax deal sees middling returns

Who doesn't want more Ken Jeong? Though some of us are still a little scarred from seeing too much of the doctor-turned-actor in The Hangover (that was no stunt double in the full frontal scene), fans of the sitcom Community need mucho mas. Jeong, who plays a prickly, condescending Spanish teacher, lights up the screen during the little time he spends on the sitcom. Same goes for castmate Jim Rash, who plays the second-rate community college's ambiguously gay dean. So, it's a good idea to put these two guys in a commercial that aims to keep the comedy rolling and stop viewers from hitting the DVR's fast-forward button. NBC made such a deal with Intuit for the marketer's Turbo Tax software, with ads starring Jeong and Rash sprinkled through the Thursday-night comedy block. There's a related Web site with more content and a whole layered marketing program running through February. Problem is, the spots aren't very funny, so the much-deserved extra screen time for these characters is kind of squandered. But I didn't zap the commercial, simply because I wondered what these guys were doing in the ad pod. So, that's at least half the battle for the network and its advertiser. Score one (or maybe 0.5) for branded entertainment.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley