Yesterday Disney announced a new type of mobile advertisement, though with a twist. To promote its new MVNO, Disney Mobile, the company has produced a half-hour television series that will be shown on ABC Family channel on conventional TV. The show will "mix the rational and the entertainment to explain features that could make the difference in families keeping track of each other and of [their mobile phone] minutes."

The idea of tuning into a weekly show to watch a 30 minute infomercial about how a family keeps track of their mobile phone minutes sounds a tad tedious to me, but I think it points to some interesting issues. Disney's other MVNO product, Mobile ESPN, is failing to attract subscribers and may be canceled before the year is out. Disney Mobile wants to make sure that Disney Mobile, which is also rumored to be doing poorly, successfully communicates the value that it offers to families, and notes that traditional 30 second advertising just can't do that successfully. Hence the company uses yet another of its own media outlets, ABC Family channel, to promote the service. How successful the infomercial series will be remains to be seen, but it goes to show how determined the company is not to have the MVNO fail.

Perhaps a series about a how a hockey team uses Mobile ESPN to communicate successfully and win the Stanley Cup will be appearing soon on ESPN 2?