Wal-Mart and P&G partner to produce family films

If you watched NBC's The Jensen Project on Friday, you probably didn't realize how much the science-fiction movie owes to toothpaste and diapers.

It's part of a broader narrative being written by the world's largest retailer and the world's largest consumer products company. The film was produced and bankrolled by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. as the second of what the companies hope is a long-running series of family-friendly programs for TV.

The Jensen Project is a secret community of geniuses formed to solve some of the world's problems. They wind up fighting to keep a new technology from falling into evil hands. The companies consider it a perfect movie for parents to watch with their children without bad language or questionable content.

NBC says it " is programming that the entire family can enjoy together."

"We're trying to increase the supply," said Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer at Wal-Mart. "Our belief was that the demand was there but the supply was short."

The companies' first movie project, Secrets of the Mountain, ran on NBC in April and was seen by an audience of 7.5 million people. It was subsequently packaged by Wal-Mart to sell in its stores as a DVD and has sold more there than any other television movie, Quinn said. The Jensen Project will get similar treatment.

The companies say their research shows customers want more family material. What is more important is that consumers have a more favorable view of their products, and a stronger inclination to buy them, if advertisements are associated with family-friendly material. And the shows counter an opposing trend: Some consumers notice if a company's ads are seen in racy programming, and advertisers are often targeted when boycott campaigns are launched.

"You've heard of being judged by the company you keep?" said Marc Pritchard, global marketing and brand-building officer at Procter & Gamble. "We're judged by the company we keep."

For NBC, a family movie on a summer Friday night is a relatively risk-free move particularly when the producers paid to make it and have guaranteed that the network will not lose money by showing it.

Wal-Mart and P&G started the Alliance for Family Entertainment with about 40 advertisers, including Hasbro and Pepsi-Cola. They have one other movie, A Walk in My Shoes, that will be ready to air this fall.

The alliance is working with MTV on a show, Pedro & Maria, that will begin this fall, Pritchard said. It would like to enter the growing Spanish-language market, too.