Director/producer Luc "The Fifth Element" Besson is teaming up with advertising exec Christophe Lambert to launch Blue, France's first company devoted to 'advertainment', described as a blend of entertainment and advertising.Blue will produce clips, films, TV series and talk shows co-produced/financed by consumer brands.
Besson said he is counting on the deregulation of French TV to allow for more product placement/branded content.
Lambert was formerly an exec at FFL, an advertising group he co-founded with Frederic Raillard and Farid Mozartan in 2006, whose client list includes L'Oreal, Lagardere and Cartier.
Besson’s production and distribution company EuropaCorp is investing in Blue via his holding company Front Line.
EuropaCorp is also launching 13 digital channels, all dedicated to cinema, in the spring, which will be accessible from cell phones and other hand-held devices...
