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Google finds yet another internet niche, an animated series created by Seth MacFarlane (creator of “The Family Guy”) called “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” which will be streamed on the web only. And they have high rolling backers who agree that the idea is worth millions.

What really makes their plan innovative? Their marketing scheme. Instead of just randomly dumping static ads here or there, Google plans to use their AdSense program to make sure they are hitting their primary demographic for the program - namely, young men. So, when Johnny goes searching for more, more, more MacFarlane… Johnny will now get to see a video clip of “Calvacade”. There will of course still be advertising built into the clips. It may be as simple as “brought to you by”, or the usual little blip commercial before the actual clip starts for example.  Mr. MacFarlane, who receives a percentage of the ad revenue, has done his part by already building up a group of new characters to star in the web-series, which are slated to run in 50-minute clips. He described the installments as “animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier.”

Until now, Google has only dabbled in distributing original content. However, this partnership with Mr. MacFarlane represents a daring step into the distribution business.  A step that, if successful, will surely cause the entertainment business to take major note. Not merely the brainchild of a very high-profile Hollywood talent, “Cavalcade” also comes with a multimillion-dollar production price tag attached, easily the biggest ticket on original Internet content to date.

Via [NYTimes]