Trace Adkins will compose and perform the theme song to TruTV’s “Black Gold,” a reality series that focuses on the lives of workers on a Texas oil rig. Adkins is becoming something of a pro in the reality TV circuit; he recently was the runner-up on “Celebrity Apprentice.”
The announcement was made Wednesday morning when Turner – which consists of TNT, TBS and TruTV, recently rebranded from CourtTV to show their expanded emphasis beyond crime shows – revealed their fall programming for advertisers at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Turner has stepped up its original programming efforts in recent years and they now have a goal of presenting 80 percent self-generated content in primetime.
Current shows with room for placements include “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” which received an additional 26 episode order on top of the astonishing 100 episodes TBS ordered last year.
Among new shows, one that seems to show potential for synchs is this fall’s TNT drama “Truth in Advertising,” a heartfelt look at the lives of two advertising executives in Chicago who are best friends. “Will and Grace” lead Eric McCormack and “Ed’s” Tom Cavanagh star.
On the advertising side, Turner is using its vast movie library to offer what they are calling “TV in Context.” Under this form of advertising, the ad shown during a commercial break would directly relate to the scene in the film that preceded it. For instance, the scene in “Hitch” where Will Smith’s face swells up from an allergic reaction would be immediately followed by an ad for the antihistamine Zyrtec; an ad for eHarmony would follow the scene in “Anchorman” where Will Ferrel leads a quasi-tender discussion on the nature of love.
Given previous placements of songs or artists in a film that’s in Turner’s library – which is one of the largest in the world and spans almost a century of film – this ad format seems to provide a exciting potential outlet for music advertising.
