Apple is among a handful of companies making deals with NBC Universal to have “Saturday Night Live” cast members write and star in commercials, Variety reports. This weekend’s broadcast of the show featured an ad for Verizon penned by Colin Jost and featuring Keenan Thompson, created in the hopes that spicing up the content of the commercials that run during the show will draw more people to the live broadcast. Two sources familiar with the discussions said Apple will be the next advertiser with a custom spot, which will look decidely different than the Verizon ad and appear in “a few weeks’ time.”
“Saturday Night Live” is enjoying its highest-rated season in decades thanks to its politically charged humor and is currently selling a 30-second commercial slot for $110,000. Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships at NBCUniversal, said that’s partially because the demographics of the late-night TV audience have shifted to the younger crowd more coveted by advertisers. “When you really dig down and look at the audiences, they are younger. They are more upscale. They have really become quite a surrogate for primetime,” Yaccarino said. Apple has shown a keen eye for targeting a younger demographic with humor in its ads, from the Mac vs. PC ads from years ago to more current Apple Music spots tapping popular stars like Taylor Swift, Drake and James Corden.
