AAIBYY (13 points)

Cable subscribers in the city of Minneapolis might not be aware of the hidden gem that awaits them on Tuesdays at 11:00pm on MTN 17. Sandwiched between Black Economics and Red Cross Heroes Breakfast is Totally Scrabble Tuesdays, a show that pits the city of Minneapolis against its host, Hamil, in a Triple-Word-Score fight to the death. Viewers battle against each other to be the first on the line (yes, one phone line) to challenge Hamil but can converse and plot their next moves at defeathamil.net (obviously not standing much of a chance with a .net domain). Hamil is relentless with his knack for double- and triple-word scores on words like "quiz" (22 points) and "kex" (14 points). Totally Scrabble Tuesdays, in all its poorly lit, fuzzy quality glory, combines two of our favorite branding techniques: local and true interaction.


As we've mentioned, TST is impossibly low-budget. But I bet Hamil could make a few bucks--and advertisers could gain a few very attentive viewers--if he opened the show up to ultra-local sponsorships. Not cheesy ones, like getting a free coffee if you spell "Caribou" for 14 points, but more along the lines of Doritos' Stephen Colbert partnership. But even if the Minnesota Twins don't have Joe Mauer make a special guest appearance or Stub & Herb's doesn't provide Hamil with free beers-of-the-month, we'll keep tuning in.

Technically, according to the MTN handbook , public access isn't supposed to be ad-supported. But their definition of "advertising" is pretty loose, and mostly just doesn't want to include brands that do not "further the noncommercial message of the program." Let's face it; there's a brand name pretty prominently displayed right in the title of the show...and regular viewers would agree that topics on TST range from Michael Jackson to LOLcats on a regular basis. It wouldn't be impossible to imagine a brand or two sneaking in.

So kick back, grab a piping hot bowl of Hamburger Helper and an ice cold Keystone Light and check it out.