From the Wall Street Journal:
Toyota Motor Corp. is trying to break out of the TV ad prison.
In a first-of-its-kind agreement, Toyota Motor and News Corp.'s Fox network plan to announce today that they have cut an extensive deal for the auto company to sponsor -- and be featured in -- a spinoff series for mobile phones of the hit drama "Prison Break." Toyota, as part of the cross-platform deal, also will sponsor exclusive content for a Web site dedicated to the program and get ad exclusivity in several episodes in May as the series nears its season finale.
The "Prison Break" mobisodes, which will be available to Sprint customers starting this week, are two minutes long, twice as long as those for "24," allowing for better story and character development. For instance, the main character is a goody-goody ("I have to help! He's my friend!") but intrepid (she cuts through police tape to snoop on a crime scene) and when the going gets tough, she flirts.
"Prison Break: Proof of Innocence" wasn't written by the same people who work on the regular series, and the mobisodes won't feature actors from the show, although the original producers have veto power over anything. The series introduces the character of Amber McCall and follows her path to exonerate her friend L.J., who has disappeared after being framed for murder. In the regular series, L.J. is the son of one of the lead characters. Amber will be played by actress Mandell Maughan; Fox says this is her first professional acting credit.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article..._20060523.html