Oprah Winfrey Deal With Procter & Gamble May Rock Old Advertising Model

April 29, 2010— -- The Oprah Winfrey Network, the 50/50 joint venture between Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Inc. and Discovery Communications, announced last week it had secured a significant commitment from Procter & Gamble, the world's largest advertiser.

P&G, the manufacturer of dozens of household name brands like Tide, Crest, Tampax and Pampers, committed to a deal reportedly worth more than $100 million over three years. The agreement, which includes the purchase of time and integration into programming, is unprecedented in that Winfrey's network (OWN for short) will not be on the air until January 2011, does not yet have a full programming lineup and has no audience and therefore no basis for ratings, reach or demographics.

Yet this partnership between Proctor and OWN has the potential to change further the way the advertising agency media business operates.

On the surface, it is pretty straightforward.

Oprah Winfrey is arguably the most powerful woman on the planet and a manufacturer's dream spokesperson. It has been well documented that from automobiles to books on Zen, Oprah is the consummate salesperson to her daily audience of more than eight million viewers, predominantly women between the ages of 18 and 54.

Procter & Gamble, for its part, markets many of the world's largest and most successful consumer household products.

That said, two powerful brands coming together is generally a safe bet.

For the advertising industry, this mating dance usually happens in a different and more formal way. In the "upfront" season, commercial media put their best foot forward, showcasing programming line-ups for the upcoming season including shows that have yet to air. Advertising agency executives evaluate and carefully select shows to recommend to their clients based on anticipated ratings, market coverage, reach and demographics.

There are sacred ground rules. If the show does not perform, advertisers generally get some type of "make good," generally the right to run additional commercials. Although we have to assume the deal between OWN and P&G has laid out parameters based on some kind of performance measures, the truth might be more juicy.