Google and Family Guy creator – would you like fries with that?


18 Aug 2008

Normally when a new TV series or movie does product tie-ins with a fast food chain, it manifests itself in the form of branded drinks containers and wind-up toys, but Google and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has chosen to work with fast food joint Burger King in a decidedly new media way – by animating the ads.

Cavalcade of Comedy, an animated TV series made exclusively for Google by the 34 year old Seth MacFarlane, is set to launch next month and the Burger King ads, which are animated in the same style, will air on Google ahead of the mini-cartoon show as pre-roll ads, but more entertaining.

According to the New York Times, this advertising will be quite low key by virtue of being worked into the overall sensibilities of Cavalcade which is targeted at a young male demographic.

Displaying MacFarlane’s unique sense of humour that appeals to a younger, trendier demographic, one ad sees the Burger King mascot appear briefly before jumping out of the screen and running off while being chased by warriors with poison darts.

Similar to the Cavalcade series, the Burger King ads are delivered through Google’s AdSense platform and together these creations of Family Guy’s MacFarlane represent the biggest deal made by Google to date for its online-advertising platform.

By Marie Boran