TV\'s Upfront Ad Sales Get the Onion Treatment

Few people outside of the media industry know about the upfront presentations, the annual early selling of television and, increasingly, digital media shows to advertisers. But the event's obscurity is not stopping Dodge and the marketing team at The Onion, the satirical news Web site, from using it as the backdrop to the first branded entertainment collaboration between the two companies.

In a video being unveiled this week on The Onion's YouTube channel, Dodge is promoting its new Dodge Dart to so-called millennials, the generation of consumers born in or after 1980. It features the car in a series of mock programs featured during a fictitious upfront presentation by Onion Digital Studios, the company's real digital entertainment arm. (Dodge announced in July that it would be the sole sponsor on The Onion's channel on YouTube.)

The video, which lasts 2 minutes and 49 seconds, begins like many actual upfront presentations - with the (fictitious) head of Onion Digital Studios, Dave Vessel, walking on stage and announcing in a deadpan voice that he “just got off the phone with New York” and that Onion Digital Studio was “the No. 1 network in the world.”

Mr. Vessel then presents a new lineup of shows that include “Pumpkin Growers,” a reality show in which contestants compete to grow a pumpkin but only one of them has actual pumpkin seeds, and “Voight Hunters,” which features four people driving around in a Dodge Dart in their quest to get a glimpse of the actor Jon Voight.

“I've been chasing sightings my whole life,” says one Voight Hunter. “I'm just hoping to get that one good look at Jon Voight before I die.” An intensely dramatic musical score is heard in the background.

To end the upfront presentation, Mr. Vessel tells the audience, “Programming like that shows you how easily we rake in the ad revenue and how great my life must be. I was just handed the keys to a brand new Dodge Dart b ackstage.”

Mark Malmstead, who manages social media campaigns at Dodge, said the fact that many millennials were unaware of what an upfront was did not matter. Instead, he said, it is important to reach them on YouTube and through The Onion because many of them do not watch television.

“Millennials like to take their news sources online and with a dose of humor,” Mr. Malmstead said.

Other parts of the Dart campaign include banner ads, introductory videos and promotion on Facebook and Twitter.

NBC Peppered by Online Critics in Shuffle of Hosts

Same outrage, same channel, different co-host.

The “Today” show's Facebook page lit up this weekend when Erica Hill became a co-host of “Weekend Today,” the Saturday and Sunday offshoot of the NBC morning show. Hundreds of fans said they were dismayed by the network's decision to bump Jenna Wolfe, the previous co-host on Sundays, out of the job.

The angry comments called to mind Ann Curry's departure from “Today” in June, which also stirred up resentment of the show on social networking Web sites. “First Ann Curry, now Jenna Wolfe getting the short end of the stick,” read one of the dozens of Facebook comments comparing the two situations.

There were hundreds on Twitter, too; one commenter there used Ms. Curry's name as a verb for demoted, saying that Ms. Wolfe had been “Curried.”

Ms. Wolfe agreed to stay on “Weekend Today” as its news anchor, generally considered a lesser role than co-host. Previously she co-hosted only on S undays; now she reads the news on both weekend days.

Many viewers thought she looked unhappy in the new role. Wrote one viewer, “I felt so bad for Jenna, looking very uncomfortable. It's like seeing Ann Curry all over again.”

Other commenters complimented Ms. Hill, who came to NBC from CBS, where she co-hosted the weekday edition of “CBS This Morning” until July.

But most of the feedback was on Ms. Wolfe's demotion, and unkind to NBC. “Why does the ‘Today' show keep messing around with their anchors. Isn't viewer loyalty worth anything?”

NBC called the changes an improvement to the overall show. No network wants to feel as if it can't try anything new for fear of online outrage. But it is awkward when that outrage is scrawled all over a show's Facebook page.

Ms. Wolfe tweeted last week that she was staying at “Today” because there was “more to be done here.” Hinting perhaps at her displeasure, she added, “Mom once said ch ange is good, but I think she meant my diaper.”

On Sunday, asked about the angry postings, Ms. Wolfe said through an NBC spokeswoman that she's still “very much a ‘Today' show anchor” and added, “our ‘Today' family got stronger this weekend with the addition of Erica to our team.”

A Wedding, With Followers

For couples planning a wedding, the process usually includes facing a jury of mothers, aunts and future sisters-in-law - all offering a verdict on gowns, hairstyles and an array of other details.

But next spring, one couple will face a jury of thousands.

Brides Magazine is set to announce on Monday that it is offering to help organize and pay for a wedding worth $1.2 million next April 7 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort in Dana Point, Calif. The gown and bridesmaid dresses will be supplied by David's Bridal. Buddy Valastro, known as the Cake Boss on his TLC show, will design the cake. Tresemmé will handle the hairstyles, and Jos. A. Bank will provide the tuxedos.

The catch? The bride and groom must agree to let all of the decisions about their special day be voted on and curated by followers on social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Talk about extended input. But Keija Minor, the new editor of Brides, says that's what couples want in an age w hen wedding planning crosses multiple platforms - from television shows to magazine advice to columns to Web sites like theknot.com.

“In a world of reality TV, where we have seen this level of sharing and community interaction, I think this is exciting,” Ms. Minor said. “This couple, they're going to become social media stars, and I think that's an experience for any couple.”

The entire wedding was conceived with social media in mind. Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, is helping to produce the event online. The magazine has offered to donate $1 to a charity of the couple's choice for every person who “likes” something on Facebook related to the wedding. The magazine is even holding the wedding on a Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time because that's when Facebook has the most traffic.

The promotion comes at a time when Brides Magazine, owned by Condé Nast, is struggling. It reported a 14 percent decline in advertising pages in the first half of the year and a circulation decline to 317,687 in June, compared with 360,807 at the same time five years ago.

Michelle Myers, the publisher, says the latest program reaches brides where they are most likely to share wedding updates.

“So many millennial brides announced their engagement by changing their Facebook status to engaged,” she said.