Hello! I’m Dana Harris-Bridson and welcome to In Formation. This is the founder newsletter of Flamingo Media, where we make sense of what happens when brands get into show business. This week I’m sharing a new-to-me acronym, rekindling my love of the Happy Mondays, and putting the fun in funerals.

Let’s get into it. 

While the rest of us trip over what to call brand-backed content (a term I find neutral and awful all at once), the Brits have it figured out: AFP, aka advertiser-funded programming. It’s standard industry shorthand and my theory is the UK defined its terms early on out of necessity since Ofcom is hardcore around TV product placement (it’s allowed, but with restrictions that make it wildly unappealing). 

Necessity being the mother of invention and all, I suspect the near-ban had the net effect of creating a programming culture that normalized AFP. UK grocery store chain Waitrose’s podcast, Dish, is in the global top 100 on Apple and Spotify. ITV reality show Cooking With the Stars, funded by department store chain Marks & Spencer, is in its sixth season.

Anyway: AFP. Flamingo is a fan.

An occasional series where we examine the AFP that gets it right.

The brand entertainment business will test anyone’s confidence. So many producers and agencies tell me about creating cool ideas, beautifully pitched, that can’t survive the brands’ internal arguments around the risk, cost, and work. Especially the risk.

And then there’s Channel 4’s “Celebrity Send Off,” in which one famous person creates the funeral of his also-famous pal and at the end of the show they watch it together. And a brand paid for it.

It probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that “Celebrity Send Off” was produced in the UK. Its backer was Co-Op Funeralcare, which operates more than 800 funeral homes. Surprising: The show is totally charming. Even more surprising: With all the pitches that crash and burn, how did this survive? And why did a funeral company pay to make death funny?

First episode: Bez, hype man for iconic Manchester group Happy Mondays, plans lead singer Shaun Ryder’s funeral. Bez selected a hearse (“Some proper posh, right?”) and ordered fireworks to shoot Ryder’s ashes into space. It may have been a bit on the nose given their hard-partying histories, but beneath it all was real care between the two perma-lads.

You can watch it here.

“Celebrity Send Off” went on to generate 10 million views, a bunch of industry awards, and a case study that said 63% of surveyed viewers felt more comfortable discussing funeral wishes. Here’s what made it work. 

You don’t know what your best friend wants at their funeral. Co-op wanted to get people talking about their funerals. Funeral planning makes me think of muffled rooms, overripe irises, and Hell no, but this premise created a way in: Knowing someone inside out doesn’t mean you know how they want to go out. (Shaun actually preferred a horse-drawn carriage.) Seeing where they disagreed was the fun and the reason for the show.

Helping brands tolerate uncertainty is its own profession. AFP sherpa isn’t an actual job description, but it probably should be. A brand accustomed to approving every word of an ad has to get comfortable with a show whose appeal rests on people saying strange and unexpected things.

Co-op bought more than a show. Making something people might watch solves only part of a brand’s problem. This partnership combined the program with distribution on Channel 4’s YouTube, social and streaming platforms, plus TV commercials promoting the episodes.

Channel 4 also brought reputation: Carat cited research finding that 48% of UK adults considered it the commercial broadcaster best equipped to handle taboo topics. It provided a place to make the show, a route to viewers, and an environment in which a funeral company could take a risk.

Every decision Bez made — coffin, hearse, music — is something Co-op helps its customers decide. The format gave viewers a reason to pay attention to choices most of us would rather put off.

Brand and funder: Co-op Funeralcare
Creative concept: Lucky Generals
Production: Interstellar TV
Media planning: Carat UK
Entertainment partner: The Story Lab
Commissioning and distribution: Channel 4

You’ll be able to explore the project and its connections, and many more, in the Flamingo Index.

That’s all for this week. I leave you with my favorite Happy Mondays song. Happy Friday.