Advertising these days is certainly one of the most popular business themes. After all, with companies willing to spend less on TV and newspaper ads, companies do need to replace these efforts with something original. And it would seem that certain companies have found that niche. A well-known TV anchor by the name of Abrams has decided to branch out on his own and provide public relations consultancy for multinationals.

We have obviously heard of those paid endorsements and advertisements that appear in newspapers and television, but this practice takes advertising to a whole new level. The idea is to sell your product or service to the audience of a popular journalist or medium. Sure, I can imagine pitching a new language service to Matias Prats or some other well-known journalist, but I would much rather have him selling for me, right?

The concept is new, innovative and allows for some elbow room for new journalists, looking to make a name for themselves inside a highly competitive and to say the least, limited professional field here in Spain. But the fact remains to be seen: will hungry consumers buy into their goods or services based on the popularity of the messenger?

If you were to ask Nike if they are convinced that Michael Jordan’s old adverts were worthwhile, the answer would be a resounding yes! But here we are talking about something different. Some might call it, cross-selling or selling goods or services to an already achieved clientbase. But the fact of the matter is, that many of the Spanish media or television networks already buy into (sell) this type of advertising in every single program you see. There is not one day that goes by when you see a special sponsorship ad or spot during any newscast. This is quite different from other television networks around the world. Sure, sponsorship exists and of course, there are special programs that are funded and sponsored by certain entities, but not with such frequency as you see here in Spain.

Here is a list of some of the expressions you might here when watching an English programme:

“Portions of today’s programming are brought to you by…. Heineken, Think Green!”

“Today’s program is sponsored in part by…”

“Heineken and BBVA present – the Spanish Football League….”

So if big companies like Heineken and other major organisations like Banco Bilbao Vizcaya are sponsoring events, why not popular media / news anchormen / journalists like Matias Prats, Pablo Montero, or maybe even Vicente Vallés or Cristina Saavedra?