‘For your Emmy consideration’ plugs hit the valet ticket

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It’s either the ultimate example of Hollywood insider marketing or awards fever run amok.

In a car-centric city like Los Angeles, valet parking is as much a part of life as cellphones and sycophantic assistants for Hollywood power players jetting between lunches, meetings, drinks and parties.

Ads on the back side of the valet ticket stubs drivers use to reclaim their cars, of course, have been around for a few years. And ‘For your consideration’ ads promoting movies and TV shows for awards have been a staple in Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and, yes, parts of the L.A. Times much longer (since the recession hit, however, not so much).

But when I was handed my valet stub at a party last night related to the E3 video game conference and saw a ‘for your Emmy consideration’ ad from Warner Bros. for the CBS comedy ‘The Big Bang Theory’ on the back side of it, I had to admit: It’s the first time I’ve seen parking and promotion melded together.

Even at an industry party, the vast majority of attendees are unlikely to be Emmy voters, raising questions just how efficient the ads are at reaching their target audience. Warner Bros. must be really eager for ‘Big Bang’ to drive away with one of those golden statues.

-- Ben Fritz