Blogertisements!

Once, again, Nick Denton has innovated around blogs in a way that is both clever and unspeakably devilish! Following the lead of Conde Nasty magazines like the New Yorker, he's devised a partnership arrangement where an advertiser pays Gawker to set up a blog devoted to the subject of their choosing. In his understated British fashion, he is calling this endeavor "Gawker Media Contract Publications", and labeling the individual sites as "Special Advertising Sections" (really! it's in very small font in the upper right hand corner of the blog). The cost of setting up a little Gawker microsite of your own has not been revealed, but we're betting that it's a pretty penny. The first site is a partnership with Nike, which has been advertising on Gawker of late. It's a month-long blog called the "Art of Speed" weblog, and Remy from New Yorkish is writing it. Subject matter seems to be largely devoted to exploring the work of artists participating in the Art of Speed project. [Shoutout to our friends at Honest Media, who contributed a hilarious short.]

Some of the service Gawker is promising to its clients (emphasis ours):
� conceive a weblog campaign
� provide editorial talent and oversight
� create a co-branded page within one of the Gawker sites
� design and build a standalone blog
� promote the campaign weblog on Gawker sites
� promote the campaign weblog on other weblogs
� syndicate out the campaign blog content to news reader applications
� distill and spotlight weblog buzz on the campaign

So many questions swirl around this kind of thing. How much will this kind of relationship with advertisers contaminate Gawker's real blogs? What kind of clients will Nick do this thing for, and which advertisers would be deemed off-limits? Would he do a blog for pornography company on Fleshbot? Are the writers being paid more than the average Gawker scribe? Surely they should be- because this sort of thing isn't too different from writing a corporate brochure, or the text on the back of a cereal box. And how will Gawker readers feel about the whole thing? We want answers!

Gothamist has no plans for contract publishing, but if we did, here are some titles that we think would be a "good fit" (add your own in the comments!):
- Fairway produce and cheese blog
- Washington Zoo panda mating blog
- Law and Order Blog (natch)

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

June 3, 2004 2:10 PM

Comments [rss]

some guy

yep, it didn't take very long for the TransNationals to get wind of the latest youth craze and co-opt it for their own ends. Nirvana, David Carson, and now Jeff Zeldman. the cycle never ends... the Brand Wars continue as the MegaCorporations attempt to squeeze blood from a stone.

Hashim - a Nike enthusiast? a Nike employee, more like it. the only person i've ever known who was really into Nike was from the Phillipines. that was pretty fscking sad, since a lot of Air Jordans were/are manufactured there. the guy sold out his own country for a pair of shoes and a backpack. then again, this is the same guy that moved to the US for school, and upon arriving in the rental house provided for students, he asked where all the maids were.

that's it, i'm moving to the woods.

Pete

Creepy. Nike is notorious for its sweatshops and evil MNC ways...but I guess if Michael Jordan can live with himself...

greg.org

The important thing is to cash the check, Sarah. Priorities.

Hashim

I love the idea! For Nike enthusiasts this is a cool way to get some news from them. This is no different than writing a newsletter for a company. Only they're doing it in the increasingly popular blog voice. Very cool.

Sarah

This was really only a matter of time. The important thing is to keep it in check, I think.

unspeakablymodern

God. Because what we really need right now is to give money to aspiring-faux-socialites so they can endorse products geared at an audience with single-digit IQs. What a lovely tale of rags-to-riches!