Applebee's Doing Better Than Most Actors

If you're like me, then you undoubtedly love Applebee's for one reason and one reason only. Not the entrees or fancy desserts or ambiance, but for the Spinach Artichoke Dip. Is that not the best? I mean, honestly, it should already be on the table when you arrive, sitting next to the A1 Sauce, just to save time because we all know you're going to order it --- everyone orders it.

But I digress.

It appears that Applebee's is not just your primary source of Spinach Artichoke Dip anymore; it is also a television star. That's right, Applebee's is doing better than Joey Tribbiani. Thanks to Starcom MediaVest Group, a media planning agency, the popular restaurant chain has earned a recurring role on NBC's drama "Friday Night Lights."

According to the March 3, 2008 article featured on Advertising Age's Web site, Applebee's makes an appearance on the show on an "almost" weekly-basis, playing the role of the site where heart-to-heart chats between the football coach and his wife occur. The restaurant even shows off its range by also playing the meeting spot for many of the team's boosters. And the decision to link Applebee's with the book-turned-movie-turned-television show has been nothing but positive, according to the article.

"While many product and brand placements come off as contrived, the ubiquity of chain restaurants in small towns actually serves to make the NBC show feel more authentic, not less," the article said.

"Writers and directors don't often like brands to have an ongoing relationship with a show," said Laura Caraccioli-Davis, exec VP, Starcom Entertainment. "It's added a sense of realism to the show."

Product placements are nothing new. In fact, sometimes, they can even go a little overboard. But this particular relationship, between a real-life restaurant that proclaims itself as a neighborhood establishment and television show that often takes place in a neighborhood restaurant, is a perfect union. Furthermore, it shows the direction that some brands could be heading --- rather than resorting to expensive, overbearing commercials during primetime. I feel that you could see many brands taking this jump in the near future, trying to find a new and different way to reach consumers.