Where the product is a star

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: Reebok will segue next month from shoe business to show business, teaming with the IFC cable network for a celebrity interview series that is being produced by a new entertainment arm of Reebok.

The series, called Framed, is scheduled to begin December 14 on IFC. In creating Framed, Reebok, a unit of Adidas, joins a lengthening list of marketers that are branching into what is known as branded entertainment programming.

The tactic, evocative of the sponsored shows that ran during the so-called golden ages of radio and television, is being embraced by brands like Axe, Jack Daniel’s, Fireman’s Fund, Krups, Sunsilk and Toyota etc. Branded entertainment is intended to make the presence of marketers “zap-proof”—that is, less likely to be fast-forwarded through—by embedding their products and brands in the plots of shows.

“With the whole landscape of media changing, campaigns are not the only way to reach people,” said Todd Krinsky, vice-president for sports and entertainment marketing at Reebok in Canton, Massachusetts. The six episodes of Framed, each 30 minutes long, will feature athletes who endorse Reebok footwear and apparel, interviewed by celebrities—Reebok-related and otherwise—in fields like music and movies. For instance, the basketball player Allen Iverson will be interviewed by the singer Nelly. The actress Paz Vega will interview the soccer player Thierry Henry and so on.

Evan Shapiro, executive vice-president and general manager at IFC. He recalled “I was very skeptical” of the initial presentation from executives at Reebok Entertainment and Carat Entertainment. “I sat there with my arms crossed and said, ‘Win me over’.” The executives did so, Shapiro said, by promising that the series would be imbued with the same entertainment values as programmes brought to IFC by Hollywood producers.

Indeed, it would be great to watch an interview with Tiger Woods. Oops, he is a Nike endorser. How about David Beckham? Alas, he wears Adidas. Andy Roddick? Babolat shoes, the same brand as his racquets. Derek Jeter? Sorry, also Nike.

Well, Terry Tate, the “office linebacker”, must still wear Reebok, yes?