Evan and Gareth, characters created to promote Unilever's Axe via a dating-advice site (evanandgareth.com, with the tagline "play or be played"), are now the subjects of a cable TV project via a partnership between marketing agency Conductor and reality program producer Reveille (best known for NBC's "The Office"), reports ClickZ. The Evan and Gareth online webisodes attracted 10 million viewers age 15-25, according to the companies.
The companies also plan to produce advertiser-financed multimedia programming. They will develop original content for the web and TV that integrates Miller Genuine Draft and other client brands.
"Conductor and Reveille share the same goal of creating original content that delivers strong results for consumer brands and that also stands on its own as pure-play entertainment," said Ben Silverman, CEO of Reveille, in a statement. "Evan and Gareth proved this model online, and we're excited to translate it to television, where it has a 'pre-sold audience' of millions of unique viewers who've already been enjoying the comedic adventures over the internet for a year."
