It can be increasingly difficult to tell when a company is advertising their products and when they’re just trying to relate to potential customers. Comcast is apparently combining those two things with a new short-form series that follows a couple who get “Glued” to a TV show, that is in reality just one big commercial for the company.
The six-episode series masquerades as a sitcom exploring the relationship of a married couple who begin watching a hit TV show and let other aspects of their lives fall to the wayside.
While that might sound entertaining to some viewers, Variety reports, that the real purpose of the show is to point out the supposed benefits of Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand service, from which the couple find their new favorite addiction.
The series also serves as a cautionary tale of sorts, with episodes focused on different watching behaviors, like setting viewing rules and developing parenting skills that allow for more binge-watching, Variety reports.
“There are so many stories around the way we watch television, and we had so much fun telling them,” Sharon Horgan, director of the series, said in a statement. “We didn’t have to stretch very far beyond our own real lives. It all felt so fresh, and clever, and real, which is what I really responded to.”
So far, four episodes of “Glued” — which runs between three and five minutes in length — have debuted on Comcast’s YouTube channel, Wachable.com, and, of course, Xfinity On Demand.
Variety reports that for now, the series is slated to be a one and done, with no other commercial/series in the works.
Comcast Xfinity’s First Original Series Is a Marketing Campaign Masquerading as a Sitcom [Variety]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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