Jimmy Fallon spent a lot of time last year promoting his business reality format On Brand.
Unfortunately, it was one and done for The Tonight Show host after NBC elected to cancel the unscripted series.
The show, which was created, hosted and exec produced by Fallon, follows him as he starts a marketing agency “and fills it with the most creative, clever, and competitive go-getters he can find”.
He was joined by former Netflix marketing chief Bozoma Saint John, who was also a cast member of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as On Brand Agency’s Chief Marketing Offer, where she mentored the creatives and evaluated their work.
The series did not perform well in the ratings. It had a slightly unusual roll out with original episodes on both Tuesdays in the fall at 10pm as well as at 8pm on Fridays before the NBA took over some of these slots.
In each episode, the contestants worked with a major brand in need of a big idea for a massive, high-priority campaign. In a final big assignment, [SPOILER ALERT], former pre-law student and digital marketer Bianca Fernandez won a $100,000 cash prize, a feature in Adweek, a trip to Cannes Lions, and the title of Innovator of the Year for her pitch to wellness device company Therabody.
Other brands included Captain Morgan, Dunkin’, KitchenAid, Marshalls, Pillsbury, Samsung, Sonic Drive-In and Southwest.
On Brand with Jimmy Fallon was produced by B17 Entertainment and Universal Television Alternative Studio, in association with Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog. Fallon exec produced alongside Brien Meagher, Rhett Bachner, Pip Wells and Kelly Powers.
Fallon even went to Cannes, France last year for the Cannes Lions advertising trade show to promote the show. “It’s so beyond product placement,” Fallon said on a panel hosted by Savannah Guthrie. “We’re giving you 40 minutes as opposed to a 30-second spot. I’m talking about your brand for a whole hour.”
Talking of Guthrie, Fallon is working with her on a Wordle game show that has just been picked up to series and his other game show Password is heading into its third season.