Who's Really Bankrolling your Favorite TV Shows?
Friday, May 1, 2009 at 3:55PM
Nicole in TV


The great Herman over at Terrible Analogies posted a newsworthy item that made me realize that corporate partnerships have an even wider influence in the entertainment industry than I thought. Some of you who are 18 and under may not recall the TV show Who's The Boss, which became popular in the 1980s. It boosted the fame of Tony Danza (The Tony Danza Show, The Practice), Judith Light (Law & Order: SVU, Ugly Betty) and Alyssa Milano (Commando, Charmed). Thanks to Terrible Analogies, I found out a little known fact about one of those Who's The Boss producers.


In a recent blog posting, Terrible Analogies displayed an image and video clip of the on-screen credits from one of those Who's The Boss episodes. Guess who is listed at this TV Show's Supervising Producer? Well, it ain't Aaron Spelling or Kevin James. The Budweiser brand was listed as a supervising producer for Who's the Boss. I am aware that movie productions make use of money from commercial brands for their budget and TV shows also make sponsorship deals with large companies (American Idol and Coca-Cola for example) in a partnership that works well together and is appropriate for audiences.

However, I wonder who thought that it was a good idea to land a collaboration between Who's the Boss and a product that is heavily consumed by wild sports fans and drunken college students at tailgating events. Who's the Boss is listed as a family comedy....keyword "Family", so where was the emphasis on that when making deals with beer companies? Budweiser as a "supervising producer" on TV shows like Two and a Half Men or Miami Vice (for those that would prefer an older show for this comparison) seems like a more appropriate fit than Who's the Boss.

Do you agree or not?


Should TV Shows or movies(whether in the form of money, services or products) have sponsorships or collaborations that reflect their type of genre? Leave your comments below!

Terrible Analogies is an entertaining blog that posts insight on a variety of topics that are of interest to men and women around the world. Check it out in your spare time and subscribe to the blog to learn about everything from Super Germs that Antibacterial soaps cannot kill and Mexican legalization of drugs to unwanted surprises found in packaged foods!

The Main Photo was from a recasting challenge on Buzzsugar. It was great for this type of post because Who's the Boss was just one example of many TV shows that may not have appropriate sponsors or parents. Partnership choices that TV and Film executives make that are not always appropriate.

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