Nellie Andreeva

You know those deals that seem too good to be true? A few days ago, a number of people received an email with an offer for product placement on ABC’s upcoming reality series The Bachelor Pad, a spinoff from The Bachelor franchise. It read as follows:

NEW ABC TV SHOW – AMAZING BRANDING OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUbachel1

THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED $250,000 DOLLAR DEAL!

YOUR PRODUCT ON THE SHOW FOR ONLY $20K

THIS WAS A LAST MINUTE EFFORT BY ABC TO BRING IN REVENUES

CLOSING FRIDAY JUNE 4TH, 2010

batch2The offer was accompanied by an elaborate 7-slide PowerPoint presentation (you can see some of the slides pasted on left), and contact information for Tamara Henry from The Escapes Group.

The steep discount makes ABC look pretty desperate for some extra cash for its new summer series and sure seems like a pretty good bargain.

batch3The problem is that, despite the fact that ABC’s logo is splattered on every slide, no one at the network or Warner Horizon, which produces The Bachelor Pad, has heard of The Escapes Group. An Internet search didn’t turn up anything on such a branded entertainment company either. And those familiar with how product placement works say that it is never done for a flat upfront fee but is always a subject of batch4negotiation.

That made me wonder how exactly The Escapes Group was planning to get potential advertisers’ products on The Bachelor Pad for $20,000. I emailed and called Henry but never heard back. So, if you are one of those who fell for this offer, you may want to call your bank and cancel the check. As they say, if a deal seems too good to be true….

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.