Howard Webster skips the ad agencies in his search for Graphic Novel sponsor

Although I'm sure this could fall comfortably into Chittendango territory, I'm going to cover it because I think this is just fascinating.

Howard Webster, the creator of what he calls a 'second-generation graphic novel' by the title of The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore, decided he wanted sponsorship for his work, but didn't want to tangle with ad agencies, whom he feels don't 'get' the online space. So he...I kid you not...sent out hundreds of letters to companies that marketed products that could fit comfortably into his story. He eventually settled on Triumph motorcycles.

Now, I use the term 'graphic novel' loosely here, since it's really sort of in between a static grahic novel and an animation. Check out a preview to see what I mean.

But this idea impresses me nonetheless- why shouldn't they hunt down their own sponsors? Obviously the creator of such a work would know what fits into the story most comfortably, and that by extension, can improve the experience for the audience. It's not about turning the work into a commercial- it's about capitalizing on what's already there.

I suppose a debate could rage on for hours about whether inserting brand logos into a game or animation or graphic novel should follow the same principles as traditional advertising or not.

Check out the article on Clickz.