Brands Sidestepping Media to Audience?

Producing entertainment is expensive and risky. Worse than trying to cut through the clutter with a national advertisement? Probably not. A company with a large budget may as well try to bond directly with their audience. Maybe advertisements eventually will only be for companies that can't afford to produce entertainment?

NY Times: Brands Produce Their Own Shows. 2006-Nov-10, by Louise Story 

...Office Max recently created a show on the ABC Family channel. Anheuser-Busch plans to start a seven-channel TV network online, called BudTV. “It’s the exploration of sort of a new world,” said Doug Powell, chief integrator of Maiden Lane, an advertising agency. “Clients would love to have a way for customers to be able to participate with their brands more often and not have to rely on the traditional media world.”...