Iconic marketing executive Bozoma Saint John will be joining Jimmy Fallon for “On Brand with Jimmy Fallon,” a new series on NBC. The network announced the greenlight today and has recruited Saint John as the On Brand Agency’s Chief Marketing Officer, where she will mentor the creatives and evaluate their work. Saint John is a legendary marketing executive famous for pushing boundaries and who boasts an unmatched resumé of C-suite experience at the world’s top brands, including Uber, Pepsi and Netflix.
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, Fallon listed Saint John’s impressive accomplishments, “You were Chief Brand Officer at Uber. You were the Head of Global Marketing at Beats by Dre, Apple Music, and iTunes. You were the Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at Pepsi, and did Super Bowl halftime shows like Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, etc. You were named Billboard’s Female Executive of the Year, and you were inducted into the American Marketing Hall of Fame.” Since leaving her role at Netflix, Saint John has ventured into building brands for herself with the recent launch of her beauty line, Eve by Boz and is currently a cast member on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
The show is an innovative unscripted series that follows what happens when Jimmy Fallon starts a premier marketing agency and fills it with the most creative, clever, and competitive go-getters he can find. The series will be hosted, executive produced and created by Fallon based on his experience and expertise working with an impressive list of his own global partnerships in the auto, insurance, apparel, gaming and technology industries. It will premiere later this year in collaboration with production company Electric Hot Dog. Among the household brands to be featured are Captain Morgan, Dunkin’, KitchenAid, Marshalls, Pillsbury, SONIC® Drive-In, Southwest Airlines and Therabody. Samsung will power the “On Brand Agency’s” headquarters.
In each episode, the On Brand Agency creatives will work with a major brand in need of a big idea for a massive, high-priority campaign – from creating earworm jingles and unbelievable activations to producing the most quotable commercials and must-have merchandise. They will have unprecedented access to the client’s businesses before pitching their vision to a brand representative, along with Saint John and Fallon, with only the best ideas moving on to proof of concept and the opportunity to see their campaign brought to life on the national stage after each episode.
In a final big assignment, one visionary will be named the best in the business, given a cash prize and provided the experience of changing the cultural landscape. All the creatives will truly need to flex their innovative muscles to turn the unfinished into the unforgettable. The only rule? The best idea wins. “I love branding, I love marketing, I love the world of advertising, and I think there are a lot of people out there who do as well,” said Fallon. “This show lets the audience and our contestants get a peek behind the curtain of how campaigns for some of the biggest brands come together and what goes into making them. It’s exciting.”
The “On Brand” format will be licensed globally by NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group. Executive producers will include Jimmy Fallon, Brien Meagher, Rhett Bachner, Pip Wells and Kelly Powers. Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) Media & Entertainment Partnerships division serves as a collaborative business partner with NBCUniversal to bring leading brands to the show.