Nestle Life Creates Web Series to Promote Product

Nestle’s line of Pure Life has partnered with Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia and has co-created a new online advertisement. It is said to be the first time the brand has used online video to endorse itself. The series was developed through ZO’s branded content unit, Newcast, and with Electus, the production company headed by former NBC Entertainment president Ben Silverman.

The series, called the Nestle Pure Life Hydration series, aired last week on the Web site ModernMom.com. ModernMom, which also helped develop the series, is a site devoted to mothers seeking healthy lifestyle suggestions for families. Subjects include parenting, pregnancy, family, cooking, finances, career, health, wellness, beauty and entertainment. The series will also be showcased on ModernMom's Youtube channel.

The series features nutritionists and others providing tips about raising healthy and well-hydrated kids. The Pure Life products are notably featured in each episode, although the messages more broadly address the health benefits of drinking water (not just Pure Life), as well as other diet and exercise tips.

See more about PureLife

“Mob Wives” Gets Second Season

Electus’ hit “Mob Wives” has proved its staying power: VH1’s Jeff Olde has announced the show will be renewed for a second season. High viewing numbers encouraged the network to continue its programming, after the show averaged 1.3 million viewers during its first five weeks on air.

“Our viewers have connected passionately with these women and their unique, authentic stories in the realms of pop culture and music,” Olde said to Gather.com. “We’re very happy to be able to continue these storylines.”

The show follows the lives of four women who run their households while their husbands or fathers are focused on the Mob. The main characters are all friends who live in New York’s Staten Island. “Mob Wives” is produced by The Weinstein Company, Electus studios, JustJenn Productions and Left/Right. Alongside Olde, the show’s executive producers include Shelly Tatro, Kari McFarland and Rick Hankey.

Electus’ Jordan Hoffner Speaks at Variety Summit

Variety’s Entertainment & Technology Summit was held on May 2, and among the renowned industry executives who were chosen as speakers was Jordan Hoffner, President of Digital at Electus. The summit’s panels explore recent buzz topics in the entertainment industry, including social networking popularity, exploding mobile platforms and new distribution strategies.

After the event, Variety spoke to Hoffner about the evolution of consumers purchasing and storing digital content for access by any digital device. He explained to the publication that “profits tend to flow more in the direction of platform owners like Facebook or YouTube than to the content creators who utilize the platforms.”

“The reality in digital is that it’s the platform that makes the most money,” he said.

Speakers who joined Hoffner include Steve Mosko, President of Sony Pictures Television; Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution; Robert Kyncl, Global Head of Film and TV at Google; and director and producer Eli Roth.

At Electus, Hoffner oversees all content and distribution deals in the digital market. Before working with the company, he was the director of content partnerships at YouTube.

Electus Helps Grow Profits for Barry Diller’s IAC

Barry Diller’s Internet company IAC, which includes the multimedia production studio Electus, has jumped 22 percent in revenue, reaching an $18.1 million first-quarter profit. IAC’s “media and other” segment also includes CollegeHumor, a stake in Newsweek Daily Beast and production firm Notional. The company also operates more than 50 Web sites. Along with Electus, it was these companies that helped grow IAC’s revenue 13 percent to $54.3 million.

The $18.1 million profit is especially notable when you compare it with IAC’s year-ago loss of $18.7 million. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Diller said that he expects the value of a recent extension of a deal with Google to reach $5.5 billion, compared with the original revenue estimate of $3.5 billion. The extended deal with Google will run through March 21, 2016.

As for Newsweek Daily Beast, Diller said it’s too soon to tell about the possibility of future synergies, but that the Daily Beast does help to sell Newsweek’s print magazine. Diller was previously head of Paramount Pictures, Fox Broadcasting and USA Broadcasting. He started IAC in August 2008.