The Pitch is a new reality show from AMC that pits two ad agencies each week against each other to see which one can win a new client. The show premiers Monday, April 30 9/8c on AMC, but you can watch the first episode online before its TV debut. The first episode features McKinney and WDCW as they compete to gain the business of Subway, who is looking for a new ad campaign to promote their breakfast sandwiches to the 18-24 demographic. Here’s an excerpt from AMC’s show description:
The Pitch is a new reality show from AMC that pits two ad agencies each week against each other to see which one can win a new client. The show premiers Monday, April 30 9/8c on AMC, but you can watch the first episode online before its TV debut. The first episode features McKinney and WDCW as they compete to gain the business of Subway, who is looking for a new ad campaign to promote their breakfast sandwiches to the 18-24 demographic. Here’s an excerpt from AMC’s show description:
“AMC’s new original series The Pitch offers viewers an intense, gripping, never-before-seen glimpse inside America’s top ad agencies. Each week watch two agencies as they compete to win a new client the only way they can: by going head-to-head in a cut-throat, winner-takes-all showdown, a presentation known as The Pitch. With only seven days to prepare, the pressure to perform is intense. The whining, the brainstorming, the blue-sky thinking: it’s all here as the teams work around the clock and pray for the moment of inspiration that will win them the job and keep their companies alive.”
My first impression of the show can be summed up in one sentence: The Pitch is an intriguing, but incomplete, look into the world of how advertising agencies work to pitch prospective clients. Compared to the spectacle (both good and bad) that is The Apprentice, The Pitch is a much more realistic look at one aspect of the business world. It occasionally devolves into standard reality show tactics (playing up team conflicts or unsuccessful idea pitches for dramatic effect), but for the most part it keeps things “professional”, if you will. The lack of a host also helps contribute to the documentary-like quality of the show.
The marketing challenges are real, and so are the solutions being offered by the ad agencies. Unfortunately, roughly 45 minutes of airtime is not enough to depict the initial brand meetings and then 7 days’ worth of creative development for 2 different agencies, plus their pitches. Whole days of the creative process are cut out from the show, which is the part that interests me the most; half the fun is learning how the teams arrived at their final pitch ideas. It’s a necessary evil of cable TV, but the material for the first episode could have easily been turned into a 90-minute documentary.
Overall, The Pitch seems best suited to those who have worked in the marketing industry. It’s hard to say if the series will catch on with the general public. Despite my reservations, I hope the series receives a full run.
Have you watched The Pitch yet? Let me know what you think about the show in the comments!
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