Branded content is always a risky endeavor because more often than not the brand tie-in is annoying or the content itself doesn’t warrant a three-episode run or whatever the plan is. Today we present a case that may not be so bad. A mix of cult talent tie-ins and classic-dude writing make for a campaign piece your 20-something male counterparts will take five minutes out of their days to watch.
‘Moochie’ is a Web series starring (as best we can tell) Jonah Hill of “Superbad’, ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ et al NY comedian/actor/wildman Jonathan Sollis as Moochie, the lovable talking hamster who can talk, but only to his bros; André Vippolis of Broken Lizzard’s ‘Super Troopers’ (littering and, littering and); Matt L. Jones from AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad’ and music from underground legend Dan Deacon.
The tie-ins may help this semi-funny awkomedy get legs. Branded by Kia, D&G helps the plot along with infrequent trips via Kia Soul, a car whose latest campaign included hamsters. The purposely-bad-puppet (as in they weren’t trying to make it look real) adds a touch of “we made this in our basement” that tends to help viral efforts. Er, videos that go viral.
Prior Kia efforts peg non-Soul drivers as hamsters spinning in their rodent wheels. There’s an accidental-seeming connection to the characters of the Webisodes as well. The guy who drives the Soul has a job, a girlfriend, future. His roommates (and Moochie), who ask to borrow the car in episode 1, are your typical slackers — gunning for jobs as Santa. Ha, it’s June, bro. Whatever, I need time to grow my beard (note: the successful-dude-drives-Kia aspect is subtle; this connection won’t be obvious to your average viewer).
This kind of preposterous humor is what the twennies look for. Off the cuff, irreverent; think ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ or ‘The League’ — two efforts from FX that hit this nail squarely in the balls. See, unexpected. It’ll be a win for those who get it. The question is will it get in front of them, something we’d bet David&Goliath have in the works.
(note: there are six episodes total)
Click continued for more episodes.
More: “Drive a Kia, Get Free Girl Talk Tickets”
Click here for episodes 3-6.