I had the realization recently that I actually haven't been paying as much attention to the specific phenomenon of co-branding in recent weeks. I've been reading some theoretical texts, film history books covering the convergence of cinema and TV in the late 1950s, and looking at a lot of electronic press kits from the 1990s. Which is not to say I have been ignoring my topic completely. I have just been thinking about larger pictures in lieu of the smaller picture presented by co-branding.

So, how small is this picture, really? This morning I got the idea to catalog all the co-branded spots I have been able to collect and view, and was surprised to learn that I had surpassed the 100 impressions mark. Of those 100+, about 90 are spots I was able to download from the AdLand archive and other online sources, so I have acquired those commercials permanently. The sample may not be large enough to write a whole book on co-branding, or a PhD. dissertation, but it is potentially enough material for an honors thesis, or, eventually, an exhaustive expansion of the Wikipedia article on brand alliances.

Here are the highlights from my collection, in the form of a 1998 era internet thumbnail chart of random stills. The brand identities come through, somehow, and it is interesting to see all the stills together. This is my research project.

I am definitely inspired to a large degree by the Yum! Brands, Inc. philosophy, and its effects on contemporary fast food restaurant aesthetics. The combination of multiple brands in a single location is a fascinating, and a scary, thing, as evidenced by the above thumbnail chart. A lot of confusion, a lot of brands, and many, many advertising impressions. I think the co-branded model has legs, to be sure, and online social networking sites like MySpace are even making it possible to be friends with brands, not simply consume them.

Or is befriending a brand just another way of consuming it? It is creepy.