Luxury auto brand Lexus leads a pack of sponsors that have been integrated into season two of Peacock’s Bel-Air, which has its premiere Thursday.
Lexus returns as the vehicle of choice for Will, the show’s main character, and his family as they tool around Los Angeles’s ritzy Bel-Air neighborhood. In the show, Will is seen behind the wheel of an LX 600 Ultra Luxury.
Also integrated into the series are State Farm, Target, Xfinity and Molson Coors’s Simply Spiked. Xfinity is a Comcast brand. Comcast owns NBCUniversal and Peacock.
“We’re thrilled to join Peacock for another season of one of its most-watched series. This sponsorship has allowed us to find new ways to seamlessly integrate our products and brand vision while connecting authentically with the audience,” said Vinay Shahani, VP, Lexus Marketing. “Our Lexus vehicles have been an integral part of Will, Carlton, and the family’s story, and we can’t wait to see where they take them this season."
Simply Spiked lemonade, distributed by Molson Coors, is first-time sponsor of Bel-Air. The brand gets a boost from Will’s cousin Hilary Banks, an influencer in the show.
“We’re so excited to partner with Bel-Air for their second season,” said Joy Ghosh, VP of marketing, Above Premium & FMBs, at Molson Coors. “With Hillary’s meta storyline, we’ve found that both Coco Jones and her onscreen persona match the energy of the Simply Spiked brand in ways that complement each other. We can’t wait for fans to see what Simply Spiked and Hillary have up their sleeves this season.”
NBCU’s Creative Partnerships has produced custom spots for State Farm and Xfinity that use Bel-Air intellectual property and its stars.
- A State Farm spot features Jazz from Bel-Air and commercial character “Jake from State Farm”;
- The Banks’s family fixer, Geoffrey, teamed up with Xfinity to showcase how the next generation of Bel-Air meets the next generation of internet via the Xfinity 10G Network;
All of the marketers that signed on for Bel-Air season two are exploiting Peacock's array of commercial formats, including the Binge, Engagement, Pause and Solo Ads.
For example, if a viewer needs to take a pause while watching the show, during the pause they’ll see a graphic featuring Jazz and Jake from State Farm in Bel-Air’s local record store.
Xfinity is running an engagement ad that enables viewers to play a trivia game about the series.
Peacock’s new Watch With feature, which allows fans to tune in and interact with the talent from their favorite movies and shows, will be sponsored by State Farm on Friday. Viewers can watch with Bel-Air stars Jabari Banks and Olly Sholotan.
In Season 1, Bel-Air was one of the most-watched Peacock original series. Brands that engaged with the show experienced a halo effect for their businesses, according to the programmer.
“Peacock has the power to inspire audiences, shape culture, reimagine advertising, and so much more through NBCU’s expertise in both content and technology as we work hand-in-hand with our partners,” said Peter Blacker, executive VP, Streaming & Data Products and head of diversity, equity and Inclusion, Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal.
“We’ve been able to collaborate and seamlessly add immense value for our audiences and marketers across the platform since launch. And during this new season of Bel-Air, we’ve pushed the boundaries even further by infusing this iconic IP authentically with brand partner messages delivering an elevated viewing experience to fans,” Blacker said.
Bel-Air is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Westbrook Studios. ■
