MacFarlane character
Peter Griffin of Family Guy

Three months ago, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane partnered with Google to pilot an AdSense content distribution program. MacFarlane planned to use Google to disseminate short-form video and associated advertising across the sites of AdSense users.

That effort is poised to launch at last. The first few episodes of web series "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy" are now available on www.sethcomedy.com.

The pilot marks Google's first attempt to use its vast network of partner sites to distribute content in addition to advertising, wrote TechDirt.

The creator describes "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy" as "animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier." New characters were developed exclusively for the project. And production costs have not been spared: it's getting "the full Hollywood treatment," observes geek blog Metue.

Before launching the series, MacFarlane studied Google's data on online video consumption habits. To correspond with what he learned about viewers' short attention spans, he made each episode less than two minutes long.

Videos will include sponsorship banners (a video player "skin" or "provided by" introductions), pre- and post-rolls, and onscreen overlays. MacFarlane helped produce many of them.

One of the first episodes, "Super Mario Saves the Princess," is sponsored by Burger King. Burger King's mascot, The King, was animated MacFarlane-style and seamlessly integrated into story, a pop culture satire with variety show music. (MacFarlane often spoofs brands and nostalgia labels, making advertiser integration more fun to watch — and potentially more appetizing to publishers.) View it here:

Ad inventory is handled by production company Media Rights Capital (MRC). Revenue generated from click-throughs on ads or videos will be divided between MacFarlane, Google, Media Rights, and the site hosting the material, explained ArsTechnica. Ad rate cards were not provided, but MRC said rates would be "significantly higher" than a straight video AdSense buy.

Last October, Google gave sites in its ad network the option of embedding relevant YouTube videos to get extra cash from text ad overlays and graphical banner ads (via The New York Times).

But the money generated from the embedded-video option was miniscule, and "the whole thing seemed extremely forced and not all that compelling, wrote TechDirt, noting most sites have plenty of content options that provide more value than videos chosen from a "kiddie pool."

But MacFarlane's animated renown — fused playful ad integration, a more targeted ad model, and a critical mass of willing AdSense partners — may prove a successful mix. At least that's Google's hope.