Davie Brown Entertainment

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Davie Brown Entertainment was founded in 1980 by Jim Davie, who had created the legendary "Pepsi Challenge" marketing program, and Brad Brown, as the entertainment marketing agency of PepsiCo, which was concerned about how much exposure its primary competitor, The Coca-Cola Company, had in the entertainment space. At the time it was founded, it was known as the "Pepsi-Cola Entertainment Group," according to the book Madison & Vine by Scott Donaton.^[1]

At the time it was founded, Davie Brown was one of the first product placement and entertainment promotion agencies in the U.S. For the first five years it was in business, the agency worked exclusively for PepsiCo.

Over the next decade, the Los Angeles-based agency expanded its client roster and moved into "brand integration," the planned, pay-for-play arrangement that is guarantees a brand's appearance in particular properties such as TV or film.^[2] The agency is credited with the first brand rebate on home video (E.T.), the first commercial on home video (Top Gun), the first animated product placement (Antz), and the first internet promotion (E-Trade/You’ve Got Mail).

Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMS) acquired Davie Brown in September 2001 and added it to The Marketing Arm, a network of marketing services agencies specializing in non-traditional marketing.^[3]

Tom Meyer, a former director of marketing at Paramount Pictures, currently serves as president of Davie Brown. Jim Davie remains as chairman and CEO. Meyer was responsible for the branded entertainment deal between Mini Cooper and Paramount Pictures to feature the cars in the 2003 remake of the movie "The Italian Job," starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, and Edward Norton.

[edit] Pearl Jam censorship

In August 2007, Pearl Jam performed a live concert via an AT&T video feed on its blue room website. During the concert the singer improvised song lyrics criticizing U.S. President George W. Bush. This content was edited out. AT&T later claimed that its contractor Davie Brown Entertainment removed the political content from the live webcast.^[4]