Ad Age is reporting that American Express is about to launch an innovative new show on the Internet featuring a live Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman.  The series of five-minute Seinfeld Webisodes is the latest example of 'branded marketing,' a volatile mixture of the marketing methods of Madison Ave. with the entertainment content of Hollywood.  The Seinfeld Webisodes will be available exclusively on the American Express Website.

 

Fans of the original Seinfeld sitcom, which is now nearly ubiquitous in syndication, will remember numerous references to comic books including several major nods to the last son of Krypton, so having Jerry team up with Superman makes thematic as well as demographic sense.  John Hayes, American Express's chief marketing officer, noted that a decade ago, Amex spent 80% of its ad budget on television spots, but today the percentage is down to 35%.  Hayes feels that the combination of Seinfeld and Superman on the Web might just be the way to reach a portion of the young male audience, where TV viewing has been steadily declining over the past few years.