Taking the stage Friday at the Tribeca Film Festival, Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard relayed his well-tuned message that the company wants to reinvent advertising. He introduced the CPG company’s latest project on a step towards that goal—two short, introductory documentaries for P&G’s Queen Collective.
Starting April 27, the films will be available on only Hulu, rather than a social platform like YouTube or Facebook Watch. The move shows that P&G is staying consistent with Pritchard's message earlier this month.
At the 2019 ANA Media Conference earlier in April, Pritchard said that P&G would direct dollars toward platforms that are more like publishers and broadcasters—and have the power to moderate comments and ensure balanced perspectives. In February, P&G also announced a docu-series partnership with National Geographic.
“Media providers that elevate quality, ensure brand safety and have control over their content will be the preferred providers of choice for P&G,” he said at the conference.
The new Queen Collective films tell two stories created by female filmmakers. “If There Is Light” is the story of 14-year-old Janiyah Blackmon, as her family moves out of the shelter system. “Ballet After Dark” follows Tyde-Courtney Edwards, a young woman who survives abuse. The films mark the world premiere of the Queen Collective, a partnership first announced at Cannes Lions with Procter & Gamble, Tribeca Studios and actress Queen Latifah, each with the goal to accelerate gender and racial equality for female filmmakers.
Traditional ads will not be “interrupting the work,” Pritchard said. Instead, the directors created backstories that merge the film with P&G brands.
Despite the films being available on only Hulu, P&G has promoted the films on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, underscoring that even when work lives on a publisher's platform, reliance on social channels is hard to shake.
