If you’ve ever loved dad jokes, there’s a new show dedicated to celebrities telling them—and brands get the last laugh.
Digital video network Culture Genesis premiered Celebrity Dad Jokes this week on the All Def channel on YouTube, which tapped Nick Cannon as an executive producer and the host. The show, which Culture Genesis describes as “Hot Ones meets Dad humor,” adopts a late-night talk show-style format and alternates between celebrity interviews and comedy segments.
Culture Genesis was founded in 2018 and has over 150 channels, including All Def (which the network acquired in 2019). According to CEO and co-founder Cedric J. Rogers, the network wanted to extend the success of All Def’s Dad Jokes format, which originally launched in 2017.
Cannon already produces his own shows on YouTube through his production company, N’Credible Entertainment, and a partnership made sense for both the company and advertisers for Celebrity Dad Jokes.
According to Cannon, the sponsors become integral to the content of the episodes, and the final product is a “hybrid of entertainment and advertising.”
“We have something as universal as a dad joke as an entry point, so for example, if we have a cleaning product per se that becomes our brand partner in the space, then all of the dad jokes become about cleaning,” Cannon said. “Or if it’s an automotive partner, all of the dad jokes for that episode are about cars and traveling. This is a mechanism that can give context to whatever the brand is that we’re selling, and it doesn’t feel so overtly in your face.”
The first episode is sponsored by BET+, and Cannon interviews actor and comedian Kevin Hart, who currently stars in the new animated series Lil Kev on the streaming platform. Procter & Gamble is also a brand sponsor for the premiere episode. Meanwhile, other brand partners will be revealed as new content airs.
Cannon said he and Rogers are trying to continue to build an ecosystem that can connect with ad partners.
“We’re removing the middleman of what we call ‘network,’” Cannon said. “Those are the dinosaurs slowly deteriorating away. It creates better relationships because when you get the creators and the brands together, the content is endless.”
According to Cannon, this new model moves past outdated techniques that are overused on platforms that have become less relevant and aren’t interactive.
“Everything has to be interactive these days,” Cannon said. “People want to talk directly to the creators. They want to comment on the content, and that’s just not present in the old model of TV. What better way for advertisers and brands to know what to do with their product and how the audience feels about their product? It has to be interactive. It has to be in your hand.”
