Falcon Beach to boast bods, babes, and now, brands

Seems Global's not the only brand banking on the hotness of Falcon Beach. The new, Canadian drama has scored General Motors' brands, Pontiac, Cadillac and Buick to appear alongside hot bodies in hot locales throughout its first season, 13-episode run.

'We saw this as a unique opportunity for a range of GM brands,' explains Hugh Dow, president of M2 Universal, the agency behind the deal. 'We wanted a
By Pia Musngi
January 5, 2006

Seems Global’s not the only brand banking on the hotness of Falcon Beach. The new, Canadian drama has scored General Motors’ brands, Pontiac, Cadillac and Buick to appear alongside hot bodies in hot locales throughout its first season, 13-episode run.

‘We saw this as a unique opportunity for a range of GM brands,’ explains Hugh Dow, president of M2 Universal, the agency behind the deal. ‘We wanted a seamless, highly-visible ‘fusion,’ aligning various products with certain characters.’

Dow says the female lead character, Paige Bradshaw, will be seen driving around Falcon Beach in her Pontiac Solstice while her mother will be spotted cruising in a Cadillac SRX. Yet another character, a wakeboard company rep, will be aligned with the Pontiac Torrent. ‘The brands are selected by the character’s demo and [because of the product’s close ties with the character], it’s their own implicit endorsement.’

The vehicles will be featured and displayed throughout the show and Dow says M2 Universal worked closely with the net’s Marketing Ventures team for ‘production positioning’ – shots that capture the vehicles’ primary features, including its handling and internal characteristics. In one episode, the wakeboard rep demonstrates how the Torrent’s trunk can be used.

Other brands appearing on the show (deals done direct by Marketing Ventures) include Yamaha, where yet another lead character, Jason, is seen atop his ubiquitous Yamaha motorcycle. Jason will also be clad in American Eagle Outfitters exclusively.

For the rest of the Falcon Beach gang, look out for cameo appearances of waterski apparel company, O’Brien, plus Bombardier’s Sea-Doo. Pepsico’s brands including Pepsi and Aquafina provide background brand talent. CanWest’s director of corporate communications Dervla Kelly says the net plans to develop promo deals with the partners as the season evolves. A promo is currently in place inviting viewers to visit globaltv.com for a chance to win tickets to the Grammy Awards in L.A. And the trivia question involves the Pontiac Solstice to boot.

‘There are not a lot of high-audience Canadian prime time products available for integration, so we’re feeling very optimistic,’ adds Dow. ‘[The show] is very similar to The O.C. and to 90210 and has lots of appeal.’

Let’s hope the show proves as hot as the beach.