Medias Collide: Reality Television's Newest Segue

"The Meow Mix House."

Ten Culturally diverse cats from all over the U.S. spent June 13-23, 2006 together in a posh pad on Madison Ave. in New York. Web cams were placed in all corners of the household, so fans could watch their furry feline stars any time they wanted! Everyday one cat would be voted off by viewer's choice, and in turn given a good home and a year's supply of Meow Mix. The final remaining kitty would be the winner, given a new family and named "Feline Vice President of Research and Development" at the Meow Mix Company.

The 3 minute shows aired on Animal Planet starting June 16, and every Friday thereafter until the winning kitty was announced. Every episode is available online, including feline Bios, new reports and pictures of the contestants on the website devoted to this innovative spin on reality television:

http://www.meowmixhouse.com

Ladies, are you tired of cleaning up after your sloppy other half? Sick of feeling more like your man's mother than his lover? Ever wish there was a camp to reshape men back into REAL MEN? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're going to love,

"The Brawny Man Academy"

Available exclusively on the web, the show features eight "men" sent to participate in the program by their wives or girlfriends. Its aim is to guide them through training and practice for skills in household chores, romance, and handyman duties. The instructor and star of the show is "Brawny Man," who epitomizes the perfect male figure-strength, romance, charm and oozing with that raw, male aura associated with icons like Fabio and Wayne Newton.

Taking cues from any popular reality series, "The Brawny Academy" features some of your favorite caricatures:
Alfonso-"Child-like, goofy one"
Barclay-"Naïve, simple kind of man"
Mathew-"Young, street smart, hip one"

The first episode aired June 12 (Surprisingly close to Meow Mix House premiere!) Each episode is approximately 10-15 minutes long and available on the web at:

http://www.brawnyacademy.com

Reality television has come a long way since the very first episode of the real world. Similar to the futile existence of the ever accumulating love-bug, reality television will procreate with just about any new "scene" that crosses its path; and do it over, and over and over again.

The general public revels in observing the drama, humiliation and irrational behavior of perfect strangers. Advertisers have accepted this fact and utilize it to their best interest, in a holy tripod of media glory: Advertising, Reality T.V. and the Web collided and created "The Brawny Man Academy" and "The Meow Mix House."

Both shows materialized in order to function as a highly interactive marketing campaign for their obvious corporation sponsors. While making substantial efforts to keep the shows more entertaining and less bombarded with propaganda, they also had to take complete authority over some of the more controllable aspects of the show; possibly less apparent to most viewers.

Let's take a look:

Brawny realizes that their target audience is women, who presumably care about the paper towels that they buy; they are most likely married or looking to get married, and they might have been with the same man for a pretty long time. This is the perfect example of someone who would enjoy watching "The Brawny Academy." While Brawny Man coaches the men in how to do "manly" things, he also encourages their idea of marriage and commitment. It focuses mainly on ways in which the men can please their wives or girlfriends. All this while being hosted by a pretty hunky guy, if I don't say so myself

Meow Mix customers have cats. Those who have cats, and are concerned about the cat food they buy, most likely adore all cats! Anyone with a love and passion for cats is going to be enthralled with the idea of secretly watching 10 rescued kittens interact with each other in a house. The Meow Mix campaign also maintains the assertion that the purpose of the show is to raise awareness of the cats in shelters needing a good home.

We will see how effective these campaigns prove to be, and it will be very interesting to note the companies that follow in their footsteps. If you had told me five years ago, that "The Brawny Man" would star in a reality television show available exclusively on the web, I don't think I would have even laughed; I would have probably looked at you strangely and kind of confused.

When the sky is the limit, what new info-reality-mercial do you think is next?

"Keebler Elves teaching kids how to make magic cookies?"